More than 200 weigh in on Arlington Hts. Dist. 25 overcrowding
After more than two months of meeting with parents and staff members, Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 Superintendent Lori Bein said officials have gathered more than 20 ideas about how to deal with an unexpected enrollment boost that is causing overcrowding at several district schools. Bein updated the school board on the topic at Thursday night's meeting and said that by the December meeting she would present a narrowed down list of two to five options for the board to discuss and investigate as possible short- and long-term solutions to the overcrowding.
The study comes after District 25 saw more than 200 additional students enroll this year than were expected. At Ivy Hill Elementary, a new first grade teacher had to be hired the week before school started due to the enrollment hike of 31 students from last year and an additional classroom had to be added in a former resource room near the library.
Since September, Bein said there have been five parent forums held throughout the district, with more than 200 people attending.
"They have been amazing experiences with parents really engaging and looking at what the concerns are, what do they value about our district and what ideas do they have for addressing enrollment now and in the future," Bein said.
Bein has also held three staff sessions and plans to hold three more over the next month to talk to teachers about what impact the overcrowding has had on their classrooms and teaching methods.
She also met with groups of homebuilders, apartment owners, the village's department of planning and community development, the local chamber of commerce and park district, and a group of superintendents from surrounding districts to discuss enrollment trends in the area.
The district is also expecting to receive an updated demographics study in the next few weeks that will be presented at the December school board meeting.
Bein said it is too early to discuss what exact options the district will pursue and how much they might cost, but she said nothing is off the table. She said transparency and communication throughout the process is important.
"It is a topic of high interest to our community so I will continue to share updates will all participants who came to the forums," she said.
After the list of options is narrowed down, Bein said, she will hold one or two more information sessions with parents and the community to discuss details, costs and which options will work best for the district before the board starts making decisions early next spring.
The Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 school board next meets at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, at Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary, 303 E. Olive St., Arlington Heights.