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D. 65 Arts and P.E. Teachers: Cuts Are 'Unreasonable'

Patch columnist Christine Wolf talks to three D. 65 teachers whose workloads would be increased by the proposed reductions in arts and P.E. staff.

Evanston-Skokie School District 65 is considering reducing the number of fine arts and physical education teachers in order to cut costs, while asking the school’s current teachers to teach more classes so the amount of instructional time remains the same. I went to several teachers to see, what, exactly, those changes would mean on the ground level. It’s not pretty. Related: District 65 Teachers Are Running On Empty They feel that the administration and Board of Education talk endlessly about teachers meeting student's needs through differentiated education and yet, they claim, the administration refuses to recognize that teachers deserve similar differentiation as well. They say that the Fine Arts demand more planning and preparation …

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Richard Schulte

7:21 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Richard Schulte's son did indeed go to Baker Demonstration School, but I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. No way would I have allowed my son to attend public elementary schools in Evanston-the public schools in Evanston were shoddy back then and they are even worse today. Regarding being the "village idiot", after 28 years of living in Evanston, I recently moved to the panhandle of …   more ›

ETHS Adopts Single-Sex Freshman P.E. Program

ETHS aims to improve physical education performance and focus among freshman by making the switch from a coed program.

Starting next fall freshman physical education classes at ETHS will be divided by gender. Department Chair for Physical Education Theresa Patterson said she decided to make the switch from a coed program to improve both the effort of female students and the focus of male students. “The goal of the single-sex program is empowering girls and boys to really understand the needs they have and to take it to another level competitively,” Patterson said. Patterson said that during her 20 years as a physical education instructor in Evanston schools, she often observed female students who were hesitant to physically exert themselves around boys, and male students who were distracted, choosing to behave immaturely around girls. A 2005 study by the …

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