by Laura Weisskopf Bleill
On the eve of the general Champaign Unit 4 kindergarten lottery opening, it’s time for some reflection. (Registration starts March 1; see our Champaign Unit 4 registration process schedule page for more information on a new forum and tour date Tuesday and Wednesday.)
Over the past couple of years we have been longing for new digs. But last spring, our house hunt came to a screeching halt, after I realized what a silly decision it would be for us to move.
Yes, the Champaign kindergarten assignment process meant that I put my house hunt on temporary hold.
As I said previously, we are one of the “lucky” ones; we have Proximity A “status” to two schools that we are excited about.
Taking a look at some houses — let’s face it, a lot of houses — would effectively jeopardize our chances to get ANY schools that we wanted.
Why? Because if you are one of the many families that live in the “infamous” Proximity B areas — more than 1.5 miles away from an existing school — you are effectively treated as a second-class citizen by Champaign Unit 4’s school assignment process.
According to the 2010 census data, the city of Champaign saw 20 percent growth in the past 10 years. Where are all those people going? Many (though certainly not all) of them are buying houses in Proximity B. I don’t have data, but it’s not difficult to guess that the majority of the new construction and housing starts that has occurred in the past 15 years in the city of Champaign are in areas more than 1.5 miles away from an existing school (although the construction of Barkstall in Southwest Champaign helps reduce that number).
I’m not here to talk about sprawl or other issues regarding the growth of the city, but there seem to be two diametrically opposed goals here. The city, on the one hand, promotes development — new subdivisions, new construction, new, new, new. Meanwhile, the school system has decided to close its eyes to this fact.
Here are some facts about Proximity B:
- When a family lives in a home beyond 1.5 miles distance of a school, that family gets assigned a Proximity B school for the lottery – whichever school is geographically closest.
- There are four schools that are more or less closed off to any students who live in a Proximity B area. Those schools include Washington, Westview, Dr. Howard, South Side. Why? Because it is basically impossible to have Proximity B status at any of those buildings. Those schools are closest to the center of the city and/or the border with Urbana; it is almost a guarantee that another of the remaining schools would be closer. Bottenfield has a much-reduced pool of Proximity B families because of the new Savoy site.
- Of the 55 students who were unassigned to any school in the 2010 Kindergarten Lottery, 60 percent of them had Proximity B schools.
- Proximity B does include some areas with older housing stock, such as the village of Bondville, as well as apartments. It is not solely new construction.
- Roughly 30 percent of students in the District live further than 1.5 miles away from a school (thank you to Charles Schultz and his excellent blog for this information).
I am not the first person to suggest that there should be drastic changes to this process (expanding to five choices, with all due respect, is a Band-Aid — not a solution). But by the very virtue of how the system cycles through families, there is little pressure on the school board and administration to do so.
It is an eye-opening experience for the families in the middle of it. But once they’re done, generally they’re done. When families go through the system for the first time, there appear to be four outcomes: 1) the family gets a school they are happy with. 2) the family decides it doesn’t want to “deal with it” (I hear that often) and pursues private school options, homeschooling and/or moves out of the district. Therefore the district loses the family before it can become a statistic. 3) the family goes through the process and leaves after getting an unfavorable outcome; or 4) the family just doesn’t care and takes whatever assignment it gets.
Perhaps if city leaders and the community at large would take a global view of how this system — and in particular, the disenfranchisement of Proximity B families — is weakening the district and therefore the city, things may change. But instead, they choose to look at the consultant’s boasting of what is working with the process — which certainly doesn’t tell the whole story.
There is absolutely no reason why the school assignment process cannot be changed to accommodate — and dare I say it, make the system more (gulp) EQUITABLE for all residents/taxpayers of Champaign Unit 4. (And I’m NOT suggesting that they get rid of socioeconomic status as a factor.) Of course, it will take some creative thinking, solid implementation, and effective communication strategies.
The Unit 4 mission statement ends with a phrase that it wants to provide “… dynamic, resource-rich learning environments and experiences in which people and lifelong learning are valued.”
Is it me, or are some people valued more than others?
Laura Weisskopf Bleill is the co-editor of chambanamoms.com. She has a child who will be participating in the Champaign Unit 4 school assignment process this spring.