Why Lisle junior, high school are letting out early

Lisle junior and senior high school students will be dismissed early two days a month to allow for more teacher collaboration this year.

School began Wednesday for about 1,700 students in Lisle Unit District 202.

Teachers teach everyday and students learn everyday, Lisle administrators say.

So why should teachers wait months for an in-service day to discuss professional development for what they do regularly, Lisle Curriculum Director Christine Messina asked.

"By having (meetings) more frequently we're able to communicate more consistently, and then we don't have the gaps in communication," Messina said. "It's a countrywide initiative."

This use of 'professional learning communities' is based on a model established by nationally acclaimed Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, officials said.

For example, Lisle officials hope among other things that the meetings eliminate instances where students learn the same material two years in a row.

At the elementary level, where it's easier to coordinate teachers' schedules, teachers will use time during the school day for such collaboration.

At the middle and high school, they'll dismiss students about 45 minutes early on the first and third Wednesday each month.

"They say that a teacher's job is far more complex than most people really understand," Superintendent Peter Lueck said. "As many as 3,000 decisions are made in a given day - everything from determining if students are understanding a particular concept and the list goes on. Just like any other adult, if we have the opportunity to work together sometimes that sharing of ideas and doing things as a team produces a far sounder result than having someone just operating in isolation."

The dismissal won't impact curriculum, Messina said.

Students who are involved in extracurricular activities can stay and study or relax until the after-school activity begins; other students will be free to go home.

"Our teachers welcome that opportunity to collaborate and be leaders together and to grow and improve," Lueck said.