District 205 'Bamboozled' Local School's Families: Parent

ELMHURST, IL — Residents in the neighborhood of Conrad Fischer Elementary School said this week they were left out of the loop on a proposal to end Fischer's status as a neighborhood school. One said this "lack of respect" has continued for decades.

The residents, who spoke during a school board meeting Tuesday, were responding to a proposal to make Fischer, which is on Elmhurst's north side, the site of the local gifted program. Because Fischer is already where dual-language students attend, students in conventional classes would be moved to Emerson or Field elementary schools, officials said.

The Elmhurst School District 205 board has made no decision.

Jennifer DeBosschere, who has a fifth grader, said her friends with children who will be coming to Fischer had no idea about the proposal.

"I don't know why we get treated with such a lack of respect at Fischer. It's been going on for decades," DeBosschere said. "We Fishcher families are fine with the perceptions because we know what the truth is, and we know how great Fischer is. But this proposal just bamboozled us."

She said parents in the gifted program were informed a few days before last week's meeting in which the proposal was unveiled. But she said other parents were not.

A decision is expected in April, DeBosschere said, but that is way too fast.

Another resident, Sarah Garcia, said officials stated that all stakeholders had been informed, but she said that was not true.

"There are still people in the Fischer area who have no idea to this day that the district is planning to turn Fischer into a magnet school, and this is unacceptable," Garcia said.

Garcia, who teaches in another district's dual-language program, said she was glad the local one was so highly regarded. The Fischer community was promised that if the dual-language program outgrew the school, it would move new classes to another school.

"My biggest question and concern is why no one from the district reached out to the families in our neighborhood. Why did it take our PTA reaching out several times to (an official) before she was willing to sit down with the community to discuss these plans?... How is it equitable for Fischer families to be the only neighborhood in Elmhurst not to have a neighborhood school?"

Of Elmhurst's eight elementary schools, Fischer has the greatest percentage of students from low-income families, at 58 percent, according to state data. The other schools range from 2 percent to 9 percent. Fischer is also the only one north of Interstate 290.

The school board did not respond to the residents' comments, following its policy.

At last week's school board meeting, Superintendent Dave Moyer said Fischer was the best option for a gifted, or magnet, program. However, school board members expressed concern about taking away a neighborhood school.

Since last week's meeting, the district announced Moyer is resigning three months earlier than expected. Because the district's leadership is in transition, it may be harder for a quick enactment of the Fischer proposal.