Bolingbrook Middle School has Changed

The following is a letter to Patch from Bolingbrook resident Gale Harold:

Once again another school year has begun and I for one was very excited to have my daughter begin her new class with a very well respected language arts teacher who is also an author at Brooks Middle School.

Imagine my dismay at finding out this respected teacher is no longer with the school. In all honesty, many of the practices at Brooks have been at the very least questionable, but it has been my long standing belief the teachers were of the highest caliber who would make best of the school year on behalf of the students. I called the school and spoke to one of my daughter’s teachers and was informed that the teacher in question was out on leave. Further investigation among my friends and neighbors revealed he might have indeed quit.

This led me to probe a little deeper into the goings on at Brooks. People involved in the community suggested I review the 5 Essential survey the community took part in last year.

From what I could find, the results were at best devastating. Previously, Brooks had been a long time outstanding school but obviously something has changed. I was concerned last year when Dr. Wood informed the community of Brooks had been placed on Title I status and further concerns were raised when I checked Zillow to see where Brooks fell on their recommendation, is the Mid range of 5 really something we should be proud of for such a large school? National indicators suggest Bolingbrook is in the top 100 communities in America. Shouldn’t our school be as well?

Talking to community members who have their students attend Brooks, there does seem to be a great deal of stress exuding from that building, academically and professionally. There also seems to be a great deal of turnover as well, and as a businesswoman I know that’s never a positive sign for any form of business.

Maybe its time we start to ask ourselves is it Common Core, is it leadership or is it the community culture, which has put our students, teacher and schools in jeopardy?

In the mean time, my heart goes out to that teacher and it is my sincerest hope he returns, our students need him.