'We Had a Problem; Instead of Putting a Bandaid on It, You Cut Off Their Arm': Fischer Parent

Conrad Fischer parents, some moved to tears, others with raised voices, again let District 205 School Board members and administrators know they are not happy with changes happening at their school.

A special board meeting was held at Fischer Tuesday with the dual purpose of explaining the district's plan for school choice under the federal No Child Left Behind law, and addressing parents' concerns.

Related: 

• Fischer Students May Soon Be Able to Transfer to Jefferson Due to Federal NCLB Provision
• District 205 Responds to Parents' Concerns About Fischer School
• Parents Claim Racial Tensions and Segregation Affecting District 205

Residency, segregation, property values, long-term bilingual education vs. English immersion education, screening processes, government mandates, the Fischer "stigma" and more were debated. Much of the discussion centered around the idea that "best practices" being followed by District 205 are not in line with parents' desires for their children's education.

An interpreter translated the meeting into Spanish for parents who do not speak English.

"We are here to listen to what you have to say," School Board President Jim Collins told parents.  

But he also made it clear that the School District is bound by Illinois school codes.

"Every page of this book takes away some of the power of local school boards," he said, holding up a copy of the Illinois School Code. "We spend a lot of time and effort complying with laws written for us in Springfield."

Superintendent David Pruneau concurred, saying the recent changes at Fischer, including the decision to hire several new bilingual teachers, transfer four teachers to other schools in the district, and conduct some classes solely in Spanish, are decisions based on state law. 

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Charles Johns spent about an hour and a half explaining the history of the English language learner program and pouring over data that shows a learning gap between ELL students and the general student population at Fischer.

Following are some of the points from his presentation:

• The district was out of compliance with ELL, so it began in 2010 to put together a four-year plan for compliance. That work continues, and best practices, research and the law factor heavily into that long-range plan.
• Non-ELL students at Fischer are doing much better academically than ELL students. Narrowing that gap is a major goal of the district.
• In high school, the number of transitional ELL students who take advanced placement courses is only 4.3 percent, versus 44 percent of non-ELL students, "and those classes are critical" to future success, Johns said.
• Best practices show that instructing ELL students in their native language prepares them better for the rigors of middle and high school curriculum than teaching them in English.
• Nearly 19 percent of ELL students also are identified as needing special education services. "I suspect they don't truly have learning difficulties," Johns said. "I suspect we're missing the mark on how we identify them, or other learning issues are appearing as special education issues."
• The federally mandated Home Language Survey asks two questions when students enroll at Fischer: 1. Is a language other than English spoken at home? 2. Does the child speak a language other than English? If "yes" is answered to either question, the state requires the child be tested for English language proficiency. Parents of 251 students at Fischer indicated another language is spoken at home; for 200 of those, the language is Spanish.
• If a child's test results indicate a need for ELL services, parents have the right to refuse services, but the child's progress still will be monitored by the district until they meet transition criteria.
• Given the number of Spanish-speaking students at Fischer, the school must offer a transitional bilingual education classes taught in Spanish at every grade level. General education classes still will be offered.

Fischer Principal Jane Bailey took the microphone following Johns's presentation and was met with cheers and applause. She immediately answered one of the questions parents have been asking for months: With the ELL and low-income population at Fischer increasing dramatically, are some students improperly attending school here while living outside District 205 attendance boundaries?

"I'd really like to try to put this (question) away. These are our children," Bailey said. "I go out to the apartments. If the kids don't come to school, I knock on their doors. I go around the community, I see the kids playing outside. Let's take ownership of all the kids and support what it takes to make every kid successful."

Parents repeatedly said they understand state mandates and the need for compliance in bilingual education, but the district's methods of compliance, especially the transferring of four teachers from Fischer to other District 205 schools, is shortsighted and heavy-handed, they said.

Sally Sullivan said she was "shocked" to learn about the transfer of Fischer staff members. One of them was instrumental in developing an at-risk kindergarten program, another is a speech pathologist, another a "good male role model" for students in poverty.

"Is this meeting the needs of all Conrad Fischer students? Does this consider the needs of the community?" she asked. "Repair the collateral damage that's been caused. Reinstate (them). Rely on your staff to give you good answers."

Patricia Moll, a Conrad Fischer teacher, said administrative decisions are "tearing apart our school." Fischer has always celebrated diversity among students, but separating students into English-speaking and Spanish-speaking classes is a bad idea, she said.

"You're denying both groups the chance to learn and grow from each other," she said.

Moll and other parents said there are multiple ways to comply with state mandates for ELL without segregating students and replacing qualified teachers.

"I implore you to consider all options, table these changes until a full and complete review can be made," Moll said. "Please slow down, ask administration to detail all possible options, and proceed carefully."

Sarah Garcia agreed.

"Compliance with the law is not an option. We understand this. But you have a choice with how you comply with the law," she said.

Audience members had done their homework, making phone calls to representatives of the Illinois State Board of Education and legislators, and reading case studies. While district officials were citing studies that support the benefit of long-term bilingual education, parents were citing a study out of Texas and others that support instruction in English and early-exit bilingual education for Spanish-speaking students.

"We've looked at many (studies). We'll send you some," Bill Sullivan told ELL Coordinator Karen Mulattieri. "If you want to continue to quote a (study) from 1974, we have a Chicago one from 2012. And Texas, which has been on the cutting edge of this research, has a very contrary study to what you're presenting to us.

"What we're asking is for you to go back and ask more questions. Don't implement something we can't undo."

Rashidat Brobbey wanted to know how poverty factors into the achievement data.

"A lot of parents have been looking into this Texas study," she said. "One of the key drivers is poverty." 

An achievement gap based on poverty is not a Fischer issue, it's a national issue and it's not going to be corrected by placing students in a  bilingual program, she said.

Many parents said that students are misidentified as needing ELL services because the screening process is flawed. Parents can check a box stating another language is spoken at home, said Alice Rudenga, an ELL teacher in a neighboring district. That triggers a screening test. But the child could be fluent in English, and the screening test is almost impossible to pass, Rudenga said.

"If you let them mark that box, then let them walk away, the odds are not with (students) to pass the test, even if they speak English at home," she said. "It is a daunting, long test" and students, especially if they are shy or nervous, won't be able to pass it.

Jennifer DeBosschere wanted to know if Bailey and Fischer teachers have been involved in the staffing and curriculum decisions.

"Nobody is saying not to comply (with state mandates), but what about contacting the staff here? Has that been done?" she asked.

Anita Postawa said the district's decision to relocate four established teachers at Fischer was "heavy-handed."

"I don't think you utilized Jane Bailey and her staff," she said. "The teachers and Jane know what's going on with all Fischer kids. They can tell you what works and what doesn't work."

Pruneau said decisions that have been made involved discussions with Bailey. 

"We've been in numerous conversations with Jane Bailey," he said. "People who don't believe that can ask Jane. 

"We can argue about research … but the bottom line is, because of the number of (Spanish-speaking) students, we have an obligation to provide bilingual education." 

Bill Sullivan said there is more to the story.

"We had a school that was functioning very well; kids were excelling, they were happy," he said. "We had a problem, and instead of putting a bandaid on it, you cut off their arm. The solutions you have come up with are not acceptable. Let's charge this administration with coming up with a new answer that solves our problem, this mandate and that doesn't gut our school and community.

"We'll help you. We've pulled data, we've read studies, we've gone to meetings. That's why we know we can do better."

Collins thanked parents for sharing insight.

"It's time for us to go back … continue to communicate with you and come up with solutions that work," he said.

To listen to the entire 3 1/2-hour meeting, click here.