Determined Parents Fill Education Gaps as Schools Grapple with Cuts

Lemont resident Julie Johnson raves about a field trip her three sons took to the NBC Studios in Chicago in 2011. She’s glad her boys were able to have this experience in a time when most “extras”—including field trips—have been eliminated from schools as a result of budget cuts.

But it wasn’t a miracle of budgeting or a determined teacher that made the trip possible—it was her fellow parents.

Johnson is part of a “field trip group” of about 15 families who banded together when the venerable off-site events were cut from the budget at all schools in .

(Off-site field trips are still allowed if the students pay the full cost of the outing, but that has happened only once for a small group of younger students since school funding was eliminated in 2010.)

“Field trips are really a small part of what’s going on at school,” Johnson said. “But when you think about what you want your child to experience—especially being near a big city—there are so many opportunities for learning here.”

About once a month, one of the parents in Johnson’s group organizes an outing for the students, who range from first through eighth grades. So far, the children have explored a working farm, seen a live performance of The Sound of Music, had a private tour of the Morton Arboretum and more.

Of course, the families themselves foot the bill for these enriching experiences.

Though Johnson is grateful that she and her fellow parents have been able to fill in the field-trip gap, she is even more appreciative of the efforts of other parents in the community who rushed to replace the clubs and athletics that were cut from the budget at in 2010.

Shortly after the announcement that all extracurricular activities at the school would be eliminated, a group of parents formed the . The group now runs a wide range of fee-based clubs, sports and activities for students in the town’s only public middle school.

“These programs that my kids are now able to participate in are priceless,” said Johnson, who has children in chess, track and other WBC-sponsored activities. “The opportunity to try new things and explore different interests has been an invaluable part of their school experience.”

School administrators have been actively involved in working with parents who want to initiate these new programs, and pleasantly surprised by the level of parental support. 

“We truly value the input and efforts parents are going to during a time when the budget does not provide for these activities,” former District 113A Superintendent Tim Ricker told Patch last month.

“Their creativeness and ability to work together is exemplary—it talks to the fact that they feel these things are important and they’re willing to go above and beyond to provide them," he said.

Determined Parents Get Involved

Since a failed referendum in February 2010 that led to significant budget cuts, parents throughout the district have been taking action to supplement their children’s educational experiences with extra activities and support programs.

“The parents in this district are setting a new level of participation, and creating a new definition of parent involvement,” Ricker said.

In some cases, parent involvement takes a school-affiliated route, such as the WBC and the new school newspaper launched at Old Quarry this year through the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO).

PTO President Shirell Mollo started the newspaper program to give her son and his fellow students more opportunities to write and to feel the pride of producing tangible work against deadlines. For a $30 registration fee, students in fifth through eighth grade get the opportunity to work on three issues of the newspaper each school year.

Mollo appreciates how the administration and parents have been working together to make projects like the newspaper a possibility.

“It’s nice that everyone’s trying to help out and add enrichment programs since the school district can’t offer them,” she said.

Class After School

Other times, it’s a small group of parents getting together outside of school.

When the advanced language arts program was cut from the middle-school curriculum, the parents of some students in the program found a way to keep it going outside of school. They hired a teacher to offer the same lessons to students from the class one evening a week at Lemont’s Safety Village.

Though the students did not receive any form of school credit for their work, it kept them challenged, said former Lemont Mayor John Piazza, whose son participated in the group.

“The only unfortunate thing,” he said, “is that some people may not be able to afford it.” Though he isn’t aware of a student who was unable to join the group for that reason, he acknowledges that not every child can participate in these kinds of programs for a variety of reasons.

However, he encourages parents to take proactive steps if they feel that their kids need extra help after school.

“There are plenty of talented teachers and mentors who are willing to put in the time,” Piazza said. “It keeps kids challenged and helps them prepare for high school and college.” 

On Their Own

For some Lemont families, addressing gaps in their children’s learning is something they are content to do on their own.

Laura Henze, who has three sons in District 113A schools, has been providing writing enrichment at home to supplement their instruction in the classroom. Her boys have lessons with a writing tutor a few times a month, and also do writing activities initiated by Henze.

“Sometimes I will give them a ‘question of the week’ and ask them to respond in writing, or we’ll write sentences with their spelling words,” she said.

Henze says she’s not the only mom doling out extra homework or seeking tutors.

“I know a number of parents who are ramping up what they’re doing at home,” she said.

Some parents are also turning to professional services for supplementation. The number of students has tripled at the E.nopi Learning Center in Lemont since its opening in September 2010. Director Yuka Wong said that about half of the students come to the center because they need to catch up, and about half come for enrichment because they are not being challenged in the classroom.

“In part because District 113A has had problems with overcrowded classrooms, the situation is bringing in more students to us,” Wong said. “Parents want to make sure their children have a good foundation of basic skills.”

E.nopi has its own curriculum for math and reading, and recommends one 45-minute session per week for each subject in which the student needs tutoring. The cost for these small-group sessions is $125-135 per month for each subject, though a range of discounts are available.

Wong admits that the program is not something every family can fit in its budget. “But our program is very effective, and we get a lot of referrals,” she said.

Whether it’s an investment in a tutoring program, private classes or field trips, Lemont parents are doing what they can to support their children’s learning experiences at a time when everything that’s not a core class seems to be on the chopping block.

“Everyone wants their children to have better experiences than they did,” Johnson said. “It’s a disappointment to me that there are things we had at school like field trips that our own kids won’t get.”

Mollo credits the close-knit Lemont community for coming together to fill in the gaps despite the budget situation.

“We’re lucky to live in a community where parents see needs and fill them—that doesn’t happen everywhere,” she said.

You can find more articles from this ongoing series, “Dispatches: The Changing American Dream” from across the country at The Huffington Post.

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