Wood Dale classes plan back on table

For the third time in a decade, Wood Dale educators are considering changing the district's two primary schools into grade-level centers.

A similar plan was quashed by parents in 1997 and again by teachers in 2002. This time, however, administrators believe they've got adequate research and facts to guide their decisions.

Superintendent John Corbett this week presented two alternative plans to the school board that would locate all six sections of each grade in the same school.

The first option would send all six kindergarten classes to the Early Childhood Education Center and all first- through third-graders to Westview Elementary School. Oakbrook School would house all fourth and fifth grade classes.

Corbett suggested that plan would require two more school buses and drivers and would create scheduling conflicts for some physical education classes.

To alleviate those concerns, he said, the PE curriculum could be modified to include stretching or health in regular classrooms or construction of a new $2 million gymnasium.

The second alternative would send all kindergarten through second grade students to Oakbrook Elementary, while third- through fifth-graders would all go to Westview.

This model would enable the district to offer physical education to kindergartners and to move the bilingual, special education and early intervention programs out of the library and into divided areas of one large existing classroom.

Corbett said he was directed to resurrect the controversial topic because the district is again facing the recurring problem of uneven enrollment patterns across the district.

"Kids are placed in schools based on enrollment schedules, not geography," he said Thursday. "So we literally have kids on the same block attending different schools, and we're needlessly busing kids all over the city."

Officials say they believe the curriculum also would become more consistent if every teacher for each grade were located in the same building.

Trustees, including three members who joined the board after the issue was last raised, were receptive to the proposals, including the possible expense of a new gymnasium.

"Let's give them what they need," said board member Arthur Wielga, adding he knew the physical education teachers were hampered by the restrictive space of the multipurpose room. "Everyone is more health conscious."

Administrators will now present the proposal to the community curriculum council on Nov. 1 and the Oakbrook and Westview parent-teacher groups on Nov. 7. An update for the school board is slated for Nov. 14.

A final presentation would be held Nov. 28 at Wood Dale Junior High's parent-teacher group before a potential school board vote on Dec. 5.

"If they're going to make a move for the next school year, they've got to start planning now," Corbett said. "This isn't a decision that could be made in March or April. January is about as long as they can stretch it."

The study, which responds to many concerns expressed by teachers and residents, is posted on the district's Web site, www.wd7.org.