McClernand Elementary at 801 N. Sixth St. has had its share of bad news lately. It made the state's list of troubled schools based on requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Since 2000, it has had at least four principals. The school's copier is on its last legs. This fall, a District 186 employee was caught stealing funds from the school's fledgling Parent Teacher Organization. The employee, whom the district will not identify, also was a parent of a McClernand student and resigned from 186 after agreeing to repay the PTO to avoid prosecution.
Since then, the PTO has disbanded, though the school still keeps a PTO mailbox, which is piling up with fliers, folders, and other material. The school's secretary refers parents who are interested in a PTO to the acting principal, Chris Hampsey, who has only held the job for a few months and couldn't answer Illinois Times' questions about parental involvement at the school.
As it was, the school's PTO ranged from about three to no more than five parents, says Carol Votsmier, district spokesperson. Other district schools of comparable size -- between 200 and 300 students -- have PTOs several times as large that raise funds, volunteer and work closely with the district. They sponsor book drives and extra-curricular activities and field trips. While parent involvement is seen as a crucial component for any school, confusion about PTO bylaws has further stalled any new organizing at McClernand, according to Karen Osburn, a special ed teacher there.
McClernand, a long time ago, could have bragged about the number of its involved parents. Joyce Sandage, a part-time McClernand employee, sent six of her children there between the 1950s and '70s. She recalls days when parent-teacher organizations packed the school's gymnasium for regular meetings. Extra meetings, just as full, were held to keep parents up to speed on education trends and laws. As McClernand's demographics changed, the school added government welfare programs on top of its teaching mandate. Students are fed breakfast and a full-time employee at the school does social work -- with the parents. "After a child is born, we do all the rest," Sandage says.
Nearly 98 percent of the students at McClernand come from low-income families. More than one out of every three of its students either leaves or enters the school mid-term -- many of them come from families that move frequently or are homeless. Parents of many McClernand students are more concerned about keeping up with gas and electric bills than helping out at school.
Many of the programs at McClernand are funded by federal and state grants. Several of them used to target parent involvement, says Christine Stahly, McClernand's principal during the 1990s. She now holds the same position at Feitshans-Edison Elementary on West Ash Street. Of those grants that still exist, most target student achievement. They used to help provide transportation, child care, and food for parent meetings. "There is a parent component to the No Child Left Behind Act," Stahly says. "But even that is tied to student achievement."
"There's nothing more the district wants than active parents," Votsmier says. But she adds that the district doesn't initiate anything at the local school level to get parent groups up and running. Still, district officials will provide any help if asked, she says. That's not likely to happen. Some of even the most interested parents aren't even aware of what parent-teacher organizations are.
Take Brian Winkler, a 27-year-old mechanic from the west side of Springfield whose son Christopher attends pre-school at McClernand. Brian has never heard of PTOs, though he says they sound like a good idea and something he'd be interested in. Nor was he familiar with the district's VOICES meetings, which are open to anyone in town and are held about once a month at Springfield High School.
VOICES meetings are supposed to lead to a long-term improvement plan for the district to be adopted by the school board next summer.
Winkler, though, sounds like an involved parent. Every Wednesday, the school puts a note in Christopher's book bag. The note comments on his progress and provides news of upcoming school events. Brian reads every Wednesday note. That is where he learned about the school's "Donuts for Dads" day, held one morning during the fall. Brian went and says about 100 other dads were there, too. It sounds like a great idea. But Winkler hasn't seen any news of another donut day.
In the meantime, the Enos Park Neighborhood Association has stepped in as surrogate parent. The association, which has supported the school in various ways in the past, is holding a pie fundraiser to buy the school a new copier. It has raised about $700 so far. It needs about $4,300 more.
