Hinsdale South Getting Raw End Of Deal?

HINSDALE, IL — Some residents fear that a proposal for remote learning may mean students at Hinsdale South High School could get the short end of the stick. Because Hinsdale South is about half the size of Hinsdale Central, they said, South may end up with fewer classes staffed by in-person teachers.

As it stands, classes are already canceled at South because the school's enrollment isn't large enough to fill them, the residents told the school board last week. With remote learning, they said, South students would likely take more classes by computer without in-person teachers.

Burr Ridge resident Alan Hruby said he doubted any school board member believed remote learning was better than actually having a teacher in the classroom.

"The real question is whether you decided to put students in suboptimal, teacherless classrooms so you can cater to special interests that want to perpetuate cost-inefficient, antiquated boundaries that underlie our ridiculous enrollment imbalances that are, in turn, the root of inequities that we're trying to fix now," he said.

Burr Ridge resident Betsy Levy said that when her daughter graduated from South years ago, the enrollment was 1,900. Enrollment was about that number as recently as 2008. In those days, Levy said, classes weren't canceled.

"Not once was she or her friends denied access to their desired classes because of insufficient signups," she said. "That was because there were enough students in the school to populate the classes that were offered. Nowadays, with 500 fewer students, South finds itself to be half the size of Central enrollment-wise. It's no wonder that canceled classes seem commonplace at Hinsdale South."

Levy said it was the board's fundamental duty to make efficient use of both buildings and solve the problem of lopsided enrollment. That way, she said, the district won't feel the need to rely on remote learning.

If remote learning is required, Burr Ridge resident Adolph Galinski said, the district could rotate teachers between schools, so no one is learning remotely more than half the time.

"Students at the smaller school are already bearing the brunt of scheduling constraints because of fewer courses," Galinski said.

In response, school board member Kevin Camden, who lives in the South area, said residents raised a "fair question" about the effects of remote learning. "What is the benefit of the physical presence (of a teacher)? I don't know," he said.

Board member Erik Held, a Central graduate, said the remote learning program would not affect core classes, only electives.