One of several maps presented at a Monday, Aug. 1 Dist. 59 School Board meeting with possible boundary changes along with school pairings which would put K through 2nd graders in one school and 3rd through 5th graders in another.

Elk Grove Township School Dist. 59 board members spent nearly two hours hearing a presentation from consultants and discussing preliminary options for redistricting at their Monday, Aug. 1 meeting. 

Matthew Cooper of Cooper GIS presented two general options for evening-out imbalances in both school building utilization and demographics within Dist. 59 schools. 

Monday’s discussion followed a review of data from the consulting firm reviewed at the July 11 school board meeting. Further discussion is expected at a Monday, Aug. 8 school board meeting.

One option would shift the boundaries of individual schools. The other option would make a grade level shift by pairing schools, so rather than attending one elementary school from kindergarten through fifth grade, students would attend one school from kindergarten through second grade, then attend a different school from third through fifth grade before going on to junior high school. A third option would both reconfigure school boundaries and pair schools with reconfigured grades. Several map options were presented.

District officials and consultants said the proposals discussed were only “preliminary first draft” options put together by consultants based on attendance numbers and district student demographics, and would still need to be vetted by school board members with input from community members and stakeholders. District officials said a task force would be formed for further study before coming back to the district with more information. 

Consultants and school officials said any changes in boundaries or grade level configuration would not take place until the 2023-2024 school year, saying school boundaries and grade levels will remain as they are when students return to classes in the coming weeks.

Consultants said moving district boundaries could solve the issue of space utilization within schools, but not imbalances within the demographic make-up of individual schools based on race and low-income students qualifying for the free or reduced lunch program.

The existing Community Consolidated School Dist. 59 school boundary map.

The goal of redrawing school boundaries is to move as few students as possible. Consultants said Forest View, Devonshire, Byrd, and Salt Creek schools would see no changes in boundaries within the first draft proposal.     

The alternate proposal to pair schools and reconfigure grades would go further to equalize those demographic disparities. 

The first draft proposal, would pair Devonshire for grades kindergarten through second grade with Brentwood for third through fifth grade, would pair Forest View for kindergarten through second grade with Juliette Low for third through fifth grade, pair John Jay for kindergarten through second grade with Robert Frost for third through fifth grade, pair Rupley with Salt Creek and pair Byrd with Clearmont. 

The model puts students attending Ridge Family Center for Learning back at their home schools, raising the question of repurposing Ridge, located in Elk Grove Village. 

Consultants said there are drawbacks and positives to adding a transition to elementary students. Younger students would have to transition between schools between second and third grade, which in itself could be both stressful but could also better prepare students for the transition to junior high. 

Demographically, consultants said there would be more students of a similar age within one school building, but that would also lose opportunities for older students to mentor younger students. The longer-term relationship between students and a school’s principal would be cut short, but more teachers could better collaborate on a more focused grade level curriculum and could better arrange class placements to serve students.   

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