Diversitizing Unit 4 Elementary Schools

Through one email, the Unit 4 School Board has caused an uproar throughout nearly all parents in the district. The email was sent out on September 27th at 5:30 pm. At first glance it just looks like a simple, harmless email. In fact, it was not. The parents (apart from those on the board) were not aware of the plan until the email was sent even though the plan was created back in 2020. However, from how it sounds, the plan has already been set in stone for some time now.

The School Board claims that the plan for the Elementary Schools is to diversitize them further by creating sister schools and changing what school 90% of children in Unit 4 go to within the next upcoming years. This came from a point made by the board (regarding the 2018-19 school years) that “only 9% of African American students were proficient in English language arts and 6% in math.” Although these ratings are low , changing up 90% of elementary school kid’s lives to diversitize them seems extreme. Frankly, it sounds like it’s less about diversity and more about the test scores of the district. What will happen with the shortages of bus drivers? How long will it take these kids to get home with the new bus routes? Why aren’t the parents allowed to be involved? Is this truly about diversity, or is it just a way the school board sees will improve the test scores?

My little brother, Palmer Flynn, is currently a 3rd grader at Carrie Busey Elementary in Savoy. He has an IEP which means he requires more support than other students his age would. If Palmer were to transfer schools because of this plan then there is a high probability that he would not receive the same help or support he was given at Carrie Busey.

Karin Markovich, a parent of two elementary schoolers, is completely against the plan. While interviewing Mrs. Karin kept to her claim that “the plan is a complete mess” this was supported by the fact that the email was made unclear to the majority of parents and was a shock to many. She also brought up the point that “it’s just not fair” in regards to the children who started school for the first time during the pandemic. They finally get a normal year and now they’ll be forced to move schools. Whenever the plan will take place the majority of students will attend a sister school. Each elementary school in Unit 4 will have a sister school. For example, a child attending Carrie Busey as a 2nd grader from 2022-2023 will 90% have to move to Carrie Busey’s sister school, Booker T.

I was also planning on interviewing members of the School Board. However most of the members directed me to the head, Mrs. Armstrong. This was because she apparently speaks for the entire board, though when emailing Mrs. Armstrong herself never responded.

Overall, the plan sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Not only for the students and parents, but for the school board themselves. With this big of a bomb dropped on these parents out of nowhere the board is going to most likely going to hear about complaints and many more comments from parents in the years to come.