IPSD 204 states that they have a commitment to equity and educational excellence, yet not all schools are included in this commitment. Three 204 schools fall below the state average in state testing: Georgetown, Longwood, and McCarty. The teachers, students, and families are striving for educational excellence, but the administration and school board are not committed to equity for those schools. When the district designed the boundaries of Longwood, it gave them a low-income/FRL population that is more than doubled the district average of 21%. Georgetown's low-income/FRL population is more than tripled the district average of 21%. Then, the district created even more inequity by having three of its low-income/Title I schools, Georgetown, Longwood, and McCarty, feed into Fischer Middle School.
School districts do not have to create inequitable schools that cannot meet the state testing averages. Naperville 203 has a similar low-income/FRL population to IPSD 204. Naperville 203’s low-income/FRL average is 18%. Unlike IPSD 204, Naperville 203 does not have a single school with a low-income/FRL average that is more than doubled the district average. As a result, every single school in Naperville 203 is well above the state average in state testing.
IPSD 204’s commitment to equity and educational excellence should be for ALL of its schools. The administration and school board should NOT be designing schools with inequitable obstacles for teachers, students, and families to overcome. We deserve to be included in the district’s educational excellence. We want equitable schools for Fischer, Georgetown, Gombert, Longwood, and McCarty.