Residents set priorities for St. Charles schools

Smaller class sizes, better retention of quality teachers and more foreign language offerings were among priorities laid out Thursday for St. Charles Unit District 303.

More than 500 district residents weighed in on the future of the school system at the first of monthly public forums, called Summit 303.

"There's a lot of the same concerns from most community members," Julie Lee, whose son attends Wild Rose Elementary School, said after the two-hour meeting. "It's good they're taking the fight from a broad perspective because we all want the same things, we just have different ways of going about it."

At the meeting, Superintendent Don Schlomann addressed the current state of the district as it compares to others with similar demographics. The discussion was then turned over to the residents randomly seated at roughly 60 tables.

Each group was asked to outline a list of priorities, which are to be posted verbatim on the district Web site, www.d303.org, in coming weeks. The answers also will be used over the next several months to draft recommendations for the school board.

Some of the ideas that came up repeatedly Thursday included offering foreign language classes as early as kindergarten, reducing class sizes by addressing facilities crowding and hiring and retaining good teachers.

Several residents also said they fear students won't be fully prepared for college and will be unable to compete in a global economy.

Schlomann told the crowd that St. Charles schools are already high-achieving, "but we can do better."

"This is not a district in crisis when it comes to student learning," he said.

The next Summit 303 meeting is planned for 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at Charlestowne Mall, 3800 E. Main St.

Lee said she is hopeful the meetings will lead to positive changes in District 303.

"It's a nice effort," she said. "The proof will be if anything we've discussed ever actually gets implemented."