Dear JAMS families,
By now, you’ve seen the letter from the district informing us of the impending loss of 2.4 teaching positions at Jane Addams Middle School. This translates to a loss of $228,000 for our young school. Our October numbers show that JAMS enrolled approximately 20 fewer 8 th graders and 20 fewer 6 th graders than projected. (Yes, you read that correctly, a loss of 48 students is corresponding to a loss of 2.4 teachers.) Already, 136 8 th graders are being reassigned to new science classes in preparation to displace half of a science teaching position. If JAMS receives no additional mitigation funding, further cuts will be necessary.
What we can do:
Write to the school board ( [email protected]) and superintendent (Larry Nyland, [email protected]) today!
Key points to include could be:
- The district promised continuity after the geo-split from Hamilton and Eckstein. 3 levels of world languages, advanced math and 5 levels of band and orchestra at JAMS are imperative to keep that promise.The very same children are being negatively impacted by short-sided district decisions.
- We are a brand new school.We need more than 1 year of appropriate mitigation funding.It isn’t practical to assume that in the second year of operation we can successfully function like a school with decades of enrollment data and funding behind it.Hamilton, Hazel Wolf and many other schools in transition have received special mitigation and transportation support.
- The district hasn’t opened a new secondary school in 40 years.Several are slated to open in the next few years.JAMS is the test case for appropriate funding, leadership support and community buy-in.
Thank the school staff. Principal Montgomery is aggressively advocating on behalf of our school.We’re lucky to be part of a community that has such deep concern for our kids’ academic success and social-emotional wellbeing.
Thank you so much for your concern and support. We’ll continue to keep you updated. Feel free to contact the PTSA board with concerns and ideas; we want to hear from you! Come to Curriculum Night (tonight from 6:30-8:30). Also, the PTSA board meets Monday, October 12 th at 7pm in the library and all are welcome.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Chenette
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