65 students listed as homeless
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
Sixty-five students in the Delavan-Darien School District are listed as homeless according to an internal database the district keeps.
That number is up from 50 homeless students last year, Sara Halberg, the district’s director of student services and special education, reported Oct. 13 to the School Board.
Halberg said a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report showed the district is second in the state behind only the Milwaukee Public Schools in the number of students eligible to receive free or reduced lunches. MPS shows 83 percent of its student population eligible for free or reduced lunches while D-DSD shows 69 percent.
“How does that impact education?” she asked. “How do we meet that challenge?”
Halberg said the district is working with a social worker to provide more wrap-around programs on its own and is looking into other options.
Board member Steve Logterman asked if the state is looking for ways to help with the situation. Halberg said the district receives no additional support from the state due to its high poverty level. She said the state budget funding formula does not factor poverty in, so the district has higher needs but receives the same aid as other districts.
For example, federal law requires districts to provide free education to homeless students including providing transportation and waiving all fees.
“Research shows students of poverty need more resources,” Superintendent Robert Crist said.
He said the students need personnel who can work directly with them and provide the support they need.
Dual language program
Director of Language Acquisition and Community Education Ron Sandoval gave the board an update on the dual language immersion program. He said the program is doing well with 146 students enrolled – 39 students in pre-kindergarten, 67 in kindergarten and 40 in first grade.
Sandoval said the program has room for more students. Each class has about 16 to 18 students and can have as many as 20. Sandoval said the program started with about 50 percent English-dominant learners and 50 percent Spanish-dominant, but some English speakers have dropped out of the program and the balance is about 60-40 now. He said no Spanish speakers have dropped from the program.
Sandoval said responses at parent-teacher conferences were positive, and district secretaries have worked hard to promote the program.
Board President Jeff Scherer said the district should consider adding another language to the program for future years. Sandoval said that is an option for the future.
Power over wages
The authority to provide additional compensation including salary increases, bonuses, stipends or other salary enhancements in recognition of an employee’s merit and value to the district was added to Crist’s list of responsibilities.
Crist said in a few instances over the past couple of years, he has been faced with having to offer a staff member something to keep them from leaving the district for another job and nothing is listed in his responsibilities to permit him to do that. He said it is likely in the current financial climate in education for that kind of competition for good staff to continue.
“Sometimes I need to be able to make an offer to someone within an hour or two or lose the candidate,” he said.
Middle school activities
The board discussed but took no action on a proposal to spend no more than $6,000 to start an intramural volleyball and basketball program at Phoenix Middle School for sixth grade. Crist said few activities are available for that grade level.
Athletic Director Craig Lodahl said basketball is offered in seventh and eighth grades but with shorter seasons and with fewer practices and competitions than are available at the city’s private schools.
Board member Joe Peyer said the more intramurals, the better. Board member Chad Kort suggested waiting until after the board knows the fate of the Nov. 4 referendum before spending any more money. The board decided to address the issue again at the Nov. 10 meeting.
