Hooker Oak parents speak up

When fifth-graders get out on the lawn with picket signs protesting the reassignment of their teacher to a different classroom, people tend to ooh and ahh over how cute it is. That’s just what happened at Hooker Oak School last Friday (May 21), but parents say they wish everyone would take their kids more seriously.

The issue is not just that of beloved fifth- and sixth-grade teacher Linda Holm’s being moved to the fourth- and fifth-grade classroom starting next year. The issue is communication, some say, and while the kids are applauded for exercising their First Amendment rights, teachers’ and parents’ concerns are falling on deaf ears. And all this is to blame for declining enrollment, they say.

“There are a lot of parents trying to work with the administration, and I don’t feel that the administration is really lending an ear,” said Kathleen Huber, a mother of a fifth-grader at Hooker Oak. “The parents who usually recommend the school aren’t recommending the school anymore. There’s a huge communication breakdown between the administration and our teachers and the administration and our parents.”

Huber speaks from experience. She’s dealt with the administration—everyone from the school’s principal, Sue Hegedus, to district officials—and hasn’t felt satisfied with the results.

CUSD Superintendent Kelly Staley feels otherwise.

“As a district we’ve had more communication with Hooker Oak School over the past two years than we have ever had,” she said.

Huber concurred, adding, “We’ve had countless meetings with the district, and we’re just not getting anywhere.

“I think because of the communication breakdown there are teachers who are afraid to push because teachers are being let go,” Huber said. “It’s unclear to everyone involved why teachers are being let go or moved. Nobody wants to lose their job right now.”

Staley clarified that classroom shifts are determined by individual principals; however pink slips are given strictly based on seniority. Hegedus declined to be interviewed for this story.

“It is tough to change grade levels—I get that,” Staley said. “But we have teachers who are losing jobs. We’ve lost 200 teachers over the last two years.”

Huber understands the current struggles.

“I know it’s hard times,” she said, “but that’s when communication breakdown is not an option. Low numbers at Hooker Oak are not normal. It’s a school of choice.”

Staley didn’t seem as concerned, saying that the district is experiencing low enrollment across the board, and when the whole district is hit, Hooker Oak is not immune, despite its status as a school of choice.

Because Hooker Oak is an open-structure school, the classrooms are split differently than at a traditional campus. For instance, the grade levels are combined, with teachers overseeing a group of kids for two years. So when longtime teacher Linda Holm was recently told she’d no longer be teaching fifth and sixth grades but rather fourth and fifth, the kids and parents were understandably upset.

“Linda is kind of like the queen of open structure at our school,” Huber said. “It seems a bit selfish to demand that your teacher not be the one that is moved. But she’s a teacher that all the parents hope to have for their child.”

Holm did not respond to an e-mail request for an interview.

The decision was made due to declining enrollment in the fifth- and sixth-grade classroom, explained Joanne Parsley, CUSD director of elementary education.

Hegedus told the Enterprise-Record in a story that ran Saturday (May 22) that Holm was chosen to switch grade levels because of her high level of experience.

Huber said she hopes that is the truth, but the feeling among the parents is that teachers get reassigned when they speak their mind.

“What you have are a small group of teachers who are upset about things changing,” Staley said, adding, “I have not seen a lack of people speaking up, so that doesn’t quite ring true for me. It does not feel like people are afraid to voice their concerns.”

As for a communication breakdown, Parsley said she hopes parents and teachers feel comfortable coming to the district.

“It seems like maybe some people feel that way [about a breakdown], but we’re available to talk whenever they want to,” she said.

Regardless of what the district officials say, the parents contacted for this story were clearly concerned about the future of a school they’ve grown to love. For Huber, she’s not sure her daughter will continue at Hooker Oak after sixth grade.

“It’s very stressful to see your teacher stressed,” she said, “to see they’re not spending their time lesson planning because they’re distracted by the issues going on at the school. It’s not right.”