D122 Mulls Academic Grade Centers, Town Halls Tuesday, Thursday

OAK LAWN, IL — Ridgeland Dist. 122 will hold four town halls to get community feedback on a potential plan to house two grades in the same building. The academic grade centers could potentially lower classroom sizes and create a more equitable educational experience for students in the same grade.

“We’re exploring options and looking at models,” D122 Supt. Joe Matise said. “We’re a good school district, but we can always be better to provide more opportunities and educational experiences for kids.”

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Under the academic grade center model, two grades would be housed in each of the district’s four elementary schools, including Kolb, Harnew, Columbus-Manor and Lieb. Simmons will continue to operate as a middle school for students in grades 6-8.

For example, Dist. 122’s sizeable pre-school could be combined with kindergarten in one building, first and second grade in another building.

“If one or two students from a specific grade move into the neighborhood, it could knock a class size out of balance requiring a class to be split and making another hire at the last minute,” Matisse said. “We haven’t made a decision, we’re still in the exploratory phase.”

Academic grade centers also allow for regular collaboration through professional learning communities, stabilize enrollment fluctuation, and provide additional support and interventions for students.

“We’re a walking-to-school, parents-dropping-off-kids-at-school district,” Matise said. “By having a larger number of students in the same grade at the same location, the district has the ability to better allocate staff, space and resources.”

Under the proposed academic center plan, a reconfiguration of D122 schools could look something like this:

• Preschool and kindergarten
• First and second grade
• Third and fourth grade
• Fifth grade

Some bussing is already available to Dist. 122 students who live in Chicago Ridge and Bridgeview, and attend Kolb and Lieb schools. Bus service will be available to the academic centers, particularly for families who may have more than one child attending school in different buildings. There are no plans to close any of the district’s elementary schools.

At this time, Matisse and the school board are looking for parental feedback to the academic center model, and have scheduled town halls at the neighborhood schools. If you can’t make the meeting at your home school, you may attend any of the other town halls, which start at 5:30 p.m. on the following dates:

Sept. 7 - Lieb Elementary School, 9101 S. Pembroke Ave., Bridgeview
Sept. 9 - Harnew Elementary School, 9101 S. Meade Ave., Oak Lawn

“We’re just gathering information,” Matisse said. “This gives us tons of opportunity for enrichment and from a hiring perspective.”