As I watch dozens of freshmen and sophomores cower or furrow their brows with confusion at the seemingly endless ways The Innovative School Experience proposal would alter District 203’s school day, I feel a rush of emotions. I’m grateful that I won’t be around to suffer through a block schedule, but I’m also unsettled. Unsettled because I haven’t heard anyone express through-and-through support for the proposal and, more significantly, unsettled that the district’s response to this lack of enthusiasm is to keep pushing.
The evidence against ISE is extensive: ignored negative feedback from the community, a less-than-convincing case that it will lead to a better education for students and recommendations to approve an incomplete plan. Taken together, it’s clear the district should move on from this proposal.
The district hasn’t always appeared eager to listen to its community members on this issue. A document stated that 302 Let’s Talk submissions from “unique stakeholders” regarding the ISE proposal from the Let’s Talk Innovative School Experience inbox had been collected since Jan. 24, and that roughly 65% responses “expressed concern or disagreement,” implying that the estimated 35% of submissions remaining did not convey concern or disagreement. On Feb. 24, D203 parent Daniel Alamillo filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), requesting the submissions that were classified as part of the 35% that did not express disagreement or concern. Alamillo stated at a March 10 board meeting and in an interview with The North Star that multiple of those comments conveyed, at best, concern.
While any interpretation of this data is subject to bias, a number of the 107 entries included in the FOIA posed critical questions, contained detailed concerns and, in some, direct opposition.
“As parents, we, along with many others, are deeply concerned and confused about why the youngest children are being assigned the earliest school start time? … As parents, we strongly oppose this proposal,” Dialogue #12121 wrote.
This is one of many criticisms and questions found in the 107 entries. In addition to busing and schedule concerns, many of the respondents emphasized their anxiety over the logistics of childcare before and after school. There are also multiple entries within the 107 submissions that do support the ISE proposal.
In fairness, Bridges announced on April 16 that the recommendations for the Board of Education had been modified in an attempt to take more feedback into account. And the district has provided a plethora of resources on the entire web page dedicated to the proposal for the community to peruse.
“Through conversations with our work groups, as well as insights gathered through our Let’s Talk system and Board of Education meetings, it has become clear that, in addition to focusing on our students, we must also ensure that our staff and community have opportunities to engage, share their thoughts and better understand the potential impacts of these changes,” Bridges said.
Feedback opportunities would include the formation of a school start and end time committee, as well as “additional opportunities for feedback, clarification, and work groups in order to plan for implementation,” according to the recommendations presented at the April 21 board meeting. Other recommended actions include approving the learning structures recommended by the Level Design teams, and implementing the transition to the ISE plan during the 2026-2027 school year. The board was set to vote on the three recommendations presented at the April 21 board meeting, but delayed the vote.
“Our intention is to move forward; there’s a lot of process that needs to be done,” Wandke said.
How can board members select the right option for students, staff and families if the exact details of the plan could be altered down the line? Neither the board nor the community seems prepared for a vote on this proposal at this point.
The best argument against the block schedule can be heard in the hallways of NNHS on a regular basis. I’ve encountered complaints from students over how they’ll manage to focus for an 85-minute long biology or history class, and hesitancy for how they’ll reacclimate to a traditional-schedule style anchor day on Wednesdays after braving block scheduling the rest of the week.
What haven’t I seen? A single NNHS student with unreserved praise for the ISE proposal.
I implore the school board to take a moment to reflect, take a step back from the ISE proposal vote and, most of all, listen to the people you represent. Listen to your families, teachers and students. Listen to their legitimate concerns and dissent and drop the ISE plan once and for all.
