New group of parents on local school council
-Marc Monaghan
By DASCHELL M. PHILLIPS
Staff Writer
A group of parents who said they are concerned about the direction in which Ray Elementary School is going have formed a group called “Stand Up for Ray.” The group said its goal is to advocate for less testing, restore playtime and maintain a diverse student population in hopes that more parents in the neighborhood will bring their children back to the school.
For a year and half about 40 Ray parents have been gathering at the home of Daan and Zilke Van Rossum to discuss ways they can help restore Ray’s reputation as a high-performing school model. Several parents from the group ran for spots on the local school council (LSC) and won all six parent seats. During the campaign their platform criticized both the current and former administrations – as well as Chicago Public School (CPS) – for policies that moved the school away from what made it a stellar institution.
For example, in 2009, Ray, 5631 S. Kimbark Ave., received national attention for being the only CPS school that continued to offer outdoor recess. This led to a CPS mandate in 2011 that all public schools have outdoor playtime for the students.
“In recent years changes have been made to the school recess and other activities,” said Daan Van Rossum. “Play time is seen as ‘extras’ and not a regular part of the school’s curriculum. We think they are necessary.”
Van Rossum said the previous principal, Tatia Beckwith, required students have morning fitness time outside every day. When the interim principal Antonia “Toni” Hill came, the school’s second recess was canceled. Educational toys were also taken out of the classrooms in the lower grades.
He said the reduction in playtime and greater focus on testing has prompted many parents to remove their children from Ray.
“Out of the 37 parents in the group they each personally know other parents who have removed their children from the school,” said Van Rossum.
The Van Rossums, who have children in Pre-K, 3rd and 4th grade at Ray, removed their daughter from the school’s kindergarten class and are now homeschooling her.
“We tried to keep her in the kindergarten classes at Ray for a while but the way kindergarten is now shaped, it is not suitable for her,” said Van Rossum.
Van Rossum said the “Stand Up For Ray” members decided to try to step in to do something instead of leaving the school, but the group is concerned that the school is losing its diversity.
“Ray always had a long waiting list for those who lived outside of the boundary area,” Van Rossum said. “This year was the first time that everyone on the list got into the school. Ray loses its authenticity if it no longer has a rich mixed balance of people at the school.”
“Stand Up For Ray” is not campaigning against the current administration.
“The decisions of the interim principal have not all been negative,” said Van Rossum. “There are a number of good things that have happened, and the good things would be great if they didn’t come at a price.”
Van Rossum said Hill has been doing an excellent job helping the school run effectively while paying off a debt that occurred when Beckwith spent money on programs for students that was not approved by the LSC.
He said Hill also has personal contact with students in the hallways and before and after school.
“She’s very friendly and smiles and that is very important,” Van Rossum said.
At a “State of the School” meeting in November, Hill told the Ray community that the school was not making the year-to-year gains that CPS required them to make to maintain the school’s level two status and was a hundredth of a point away from becoming a level 3 school.
The school’s 95 percent attendance rate is also a few notches below the CPS attendance requirements of 97 percent.
Level 3, or low-performing, schools are often placed on probation and are subject to structural takeover by central office.
After that news testing became a hot topic at the school, Van Rossum said.
“Ray has over the years tested well but CPS currently measures by rate of change,” Van Rossum said. “As soon as Ray gets problematic CPS will realize their measure for rating schools is not always successful.”
April 17, 2014 @ 2:32 pm
This article is a one-sided piece of blah. The only quotes are from a gentleman who DOES NOT represent the sentiment of the school. In fact, only a very small percentage. I can only briefly address some of the inaccuracies. Most of the parents mentioned who left Ray, have had problems at Ray for years and for various reasons. The “rich mixed balance” is code for what? The morning fitness referenced was not widely appreciated by local residents and many parents objected to it as well. As one of the six who was voted into the new LSC, I am in no way affiliated with this group. Another two women recently elected did not even realize they were being endorsed by this group. Yet this group publically toted their names as sharing the same priorities. So make that only three women, elected to the new LSC, who may support this thinking. Even the caption of Don Willard being the “last remaining LSC member” is incorrect. There is a teacher, Ms. Sheridan (also in photo!) who was reelected and they both ran unopposed.
For clarity-Dr. Hill, the interim Principal mentioned, is not responsible for the schools current rating. It is residual from the prior administration. What Dr. Hill has tried to do is restore a balance of classroom instruction to help change our current predicament. Dr. Hill has provided coaching for teachers and replaced others as needed. She has been villainized as taking “recess away” when the reality is as a result of the “extra” recess of past, the K-1 at Ray is underperforming in reading in math, compared to all other schools in our district. If more instructional minutes are needed to equip our children to read at the proper level, something has to give. In addition, the teachers can take their students out for an additional recess if they want to give up some of their prep time. This is a great opportunity for these “concerned” parents to join in and help in the classroom, to make up that time for teachers. As a parent who volunteers many hours at Ray, it would be nice to see these parents help to fill the gap in this way vs. a tirade of untenable ideas of what recess should be.
As for how instructional time is spent, we are fortunate in Hyde Park to have many educational options for our children. Lab, St. Thomas, the new Chicago Free School, homeschooling and Ray. What I do not want to see is a homogenization of them. If you want more play and less directed instruction, you have an option. If you want more rigor and smaller classrooms, another. And least we not forget, Ray is under the rule and authority of CPS. No administrator is coming in and unilaterally deciding we need just one more test at Ray.
This is the type of fear mongering reporting that leads people to sharpen their pitchforks without checking the facts. I implore the Herald to seek more than one parent with an axe to grind before printing such leading, inaccurate articles.
April 21, 2014 @ 12:51 pm
The argument reads like:
We are fortunate to have a couple of good schools in the neighborhood already, there should also be room for a bad school. In Ray, students will not learn how to read properly unless they sacrifice their recess.
April 30, 2014 @ 10:42 am
My kid is at Ray. I appreciate parents trying to create a well-rounded school. I don’t care whose side is represented in this article. Ms. Florell, your arguments may be one-sided as well.
Exactly how are the schools you mention options for most people? Lab is exclusive to a laughable degree and the other schools charge more than most parents can afford. Can you pay my bills while I homeschool?
Kindergarteners have very little play, are told to sit for almost 7 hours every day and have a very short time to eat. Why was Ray School better in previous years? There are a few good answers to that. Please help when others are trying to make a school better. Don’t complain, add something positive to the debate.