All Things NOT Equal in Lincoln-Way 210

With the newly reassigned student population in Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210, concerned community members have questioned administrators about the availability of critical student services--nursing, social work, psychological care, and academic counseling--at each of the three campus buildings.

Cyndi Grobmeier, a communications professor and parent of two District 210 students, pointed out the disparity in services in a speech she delivered to the District 210 Board of Education at its Aug. 18, 2016, meeting. She maintains that the student-to-professional ratio is poorly distributed, given unequal populations at the schools. With 1,914 students at Lincoln-Way West; 2,140 students at Lincoln-Way Central; and 2,954 at Lincoln-Way East, there are 814 fewer students at Central and 1,040 fewer students at West than East. Yet the buildings each have one nurse, for example. Grobmeier asked the Board how it can afford the “luxuries” of a foundation director, and a communications director, when adequate coverage of basic health services is so lacking. The Board did not respond to her concerns.

Here is the full text of Grobmeier’s speech:

"We have heard a lot about “equal opportunity” in Lincoln-Way recently—much of it focused around athletics and extra-curriculars. Tonight I would like to get back to the basics and talk about 'equal opportunity' in terms of our students’ health and guidance.

"I believe you are playing with semantics. If you consider equality in terms of buildings then things are very equitable in Lincoln-Way; however, if you consider equality in terms of student populations, then there’s some discrimination in this district. I would like to look at the numbers—based on student populations, not buildings, and in terms our students’ health and guidance. Please note that this in no way even scratches the surface of the inequality that you have created among the three campuses, as I am sure many other examples exist, but I wish to focus solely on these two important issues—student health and guidance—tonight.

"With student populations of 1,914 at West, 2,140 at Central, and 2,954 at East, there are 814 fewer students at Central and 1040 fewer students at West than East. When we look at important student services, such as nursing, social work, and psychological care as well as academic counseling, at each campus, the disparity become more evident and must be addressed by this school board and this administration immediately.

"I’d first like to look at administration because this will be relevant later on. Each building has one principal and two associate principals. This gives West a student to administrator ratio of 1 admin for every 638 students, Central a ratio of 1 to every 713 students and East has a student to administrator ratio of 1 principal to every 985 students. I’ll come back to this later.

"As a parent of a teenage daughter with acute asthma, the school-nursing situation concerns me the most. With just one school nurse at each building, West has 1040 fewer student’s health needs to attend to verses at East, where one nurse is expected to meet the needs of almost 3,000 students. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend one school nurse per 750 students. So East should have four school nurses to meet the basic needs of that school’s student population. I can’t tell you what fury will reign down on this board and administration if anything happens to my daughter because she cannot receive adequate medical intervention on time should she experience an acute asthma attack. I’m sure the Philadelphia school districts, whose lack of access to a student nurse directly contributed to the deaths of two students in 2014, can attest to that parental fury.

"Next, let’s look at additional health support staff. Once again each building is staffed with one or two psychologists and social workers. Those student to staff ratios at Central and West are the same as the nurses, so I don’t think I need to repeat them. At East, that means a student to psychologist and social worker ratio of 1:1547. The National Association of Social Workers recommends a 1 to 250 ratio—we’re not even close. Especially during this time of transition, these staff members are going to be overburdened. Again, let’s hope there are no dire consequences.

"Finally, academic counselors. I also have a junior and this is a crucial year for her. I cannot figure out how the counseling staffing was determined. With over a thousand fewer students, West has six counselors dedicated to that building. East has eight and Central has six dedicated to their buildings and they share one other. That’s one counselor for every 454 students at Central and a 1:364 ratio at East, verses 1 to every 319 students at West. A load difference of 45 to 135 students per counselor. How can you possibly find that equitable?

"Why are we staffing based on buildings and not student populations? I know, you’re thinking how can I be asking a cash-strapped district to spend more money when we are trying to save that magical 5 million dollars so we can rebuild the reserves that you have been deficit spending from for more than 15 years? Because I don’t think it’s equitable or conscionable for my daughter with acute asthma or my junior to be more at risk or less prepared because she goes to one school over another in the same district. Do you?

"So as promised, back to the administrators. If we reduced West to two principals, there would be a student to administrator ratio of 1 to 957, which is still less than the current 1 to 985 at East. The salary of one of those extra principals at West could easily pay for extra staffing critically needed at East and Central. In addition, how can we as a district justify paying for luxuries like Communication Directors and Foundation Directors, when we are willing to put students at risk both in terms of their physical and mental health and their academic guidance because one nurse at East is expected to be responsible for the health of 28 to 35% more students than the other campuses or one counselors sees 400 more students—that’s not equal and it is not acceptable and it must be addressed immediately."

* Some of the numbers have changed since this speech was originally delivered on Aug. 18, 2016, because the District’s website had not been updated with its current staffing. These numbers are derived from the District website, as well as an Aug. 17 FOIA for current enrollment numbers per school.