Hinsdale High School Teachers Association

Last May, HHSTA-Central looked at what “average” class size meant, and how to best determine just how many students are actually in the “average” class at Hinsdale Central as opposed to a nebulous staffing ratio most often quoted on this subject:

The HHSTA class size study at Central looked at all departments and the over 700 sections offered to Central Students that its members teach. The results showed:

Average All Class Size: 23.1
Average Core Class Size (English, Math, Science, and Social Studies): 22.4
Average Advanced Placement (AP) Class Size: 22.4
Percent of Classes with 13 or fewer students: 6.4%
Percent of Classes with 30 or more students: 9.6%

As was noted at the end of this post, this type of data fluctuates over time. So this year Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) report card data was examined to see how class sizes in 2008 compared. All data below is via the ISBE website, which has a searchable database of Illinois school report cards going back to 2002.

First, the comparison within district:

District 86 Average Class Size – 2008:
Hinsdale South:  19.4
State Average: 19.6
Hinsdale Central:  21.7

Hinsdale Central average class size, as determined by ISBE in 2008, is larger than both the state average and the average at Hinsdale South. How does this compare with other schools locally? For this comparison, ISBE data was compared with other high schools in our conference:

West Suburban Conference Silver Division Average Class Size 2008:
Lyons Township:  18.8
Proviso West:   19.0
Oak Park & River Forest: 19.2
Downers Grove North: 19.6
York:    21.4
Hinsdale Central:  21.7
Glenbard West:  26.1

Hinsdale Central average class size, as determined by ISBE in 2008, was larger that of all but Glenbard West. The next question asked was how did this data compare to the highest performing schools in Illinois? For this question, the ISBE data for the top 10 public schools from the Chicago Sun Times 2008 “Top 50 High Schools in Illinois” (excluding CPS schools) was compared :

Top 10 Illinois High Schools Average Class Size 2008:
Glenbrook North:  18.2
Deerfield:   18.5
Lyons Township:  18.8
New Trier:   20.0
Maine South:   20.2
Lake Forest:   21.3
Adlai E Stevenson:  21.6
Hinsdale Central:  21.7
Naperville Central:  22.2
William Fremd:  22.7

Hinsdale Central average class size, as determined by ISBE in 2008, was larger than all but two of the top 10 public schools in Illinois.

The Holidays are quickly approaching and I have been very fortunate to have received an early present this year.  As I was standing on top the press box freezing, scouting our potential opponent from the Bartlett vs Main South 8A Semi-Final game, I got the news that our Red Devil football team had advanced to the State Finals.  Suddenly, the cold temperatures disappeared and the feeling in my feet slowly returned. As I drove back from my scouting,  I started to think about how so many had to give of themselves so that I and others could receive this gift. As customary when receiving it is only appropriate to say thank you.  However, my thank you list is very long.

First, I would like to thank the athletes for all of their hard work, time and patience.  It was their self sacrifice which started in June that brought us to this point.  Secondly, without the aid and support of their parents this would have been much more difficult to achieve.  We cannot forget to mention the trainers, grounds crew, the support staff, faculty, administrators, and the enthusiasm of the cheerleaders and fans through out the entire season.

As a coach myself, I would like to give a special thanks to the entire varsity coaching staff and their families.  The coaching staff worked seven days a week for five weeks beyond the regular season to make it to the State Final.  However, the most important thanks need to go out to the coach’s families.  They gave the most precious gift of the season in the form of time away from their loved ones.  The gift of time through caring and giving can never be wrapped as a present, but what a great gift it is.  Teachers and coaches as well as all of those working in any area of education give this gift throughout the whole year.

So thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of you in this world who give of themselves as this is the best gift anyone can receive.

Conferences are a mix of experiences for teachers. There is the experience of being at school from 7:30am to 9:30pm, not seeing our loved ones or tucking in our own children that day. There is the stress of meeting so many new people, getting one’s books completely up to date, sitting in an uncomfortable student desk for hours, straining to be heard over the hundreds of other conferences going on, the hours of doing so invariably leading to one’s voice being hoarse the next day. And of course, there’s the part about being at school for approximately 14 hours and having to be back the next day at 7:30am prepared to teach.

On the other hand, there is the interaction with parents where teachers get to celebrate the experiences we share with their children; their strengths, their weaknesses, and all the things both good and bad they tell their parents about us that we never hear in class. There’s the gratitude that is expressed in person, the frustration shared, the excitement of planning for their child’s future college major. There’s also the sheer joy of learning from a parent that we did actually make a connection with their child - even if there was no way the student would tell us so in class for fear of looking like the teacher’s pet or somehow uncool by expressing a fondness for our subject.

Regardless of the experiences shared, what amazes me is the sheer volume of this important contact with parents that teachers are able to achieve in one event. During parent-teacher conferences this year, teachers from Hinsdale Central achieved the following number of parent contacts:

Number of parents seen: 1,000
Number of conferences held: 6,270
Number of “un-scheduled” conferences: 932

Total number of conferences: 7,202

These statistics reflect both the “scheduled” conferences that happen the day of the event as well as “un-scheduled” conferences yet to occur. These 932 “un-scheduled” conferences will take place in the form of additional phone calls, letters or email sent by teachers during their planning time, lunch time and personal time. Approximately two-thirds of Central teachers have un-scheduled conferences yet to complete, with approximately six-percent having more than 20 such additional conferences to complete.

Central has a long tradition of educational excellence. Numbers like this demonstrate both the sheer dedication of  Hinsdale Central’s teachers as well as the support by the community for what they do in their classrooms.

One of the great things about working at Hinsdale Central is the support the community has for what HHSTA’s professional educators do every day in their classrooms. Case in point: Central’s PTO. This year the PTO has gone out of its way to show appreciation for Central’s teachers. This week that appreciation took the form of pumpkin pie. Not a couple of pies in the faculty lunch room, or a few well placed pies, but a pie for every single teacher and staff member. Now that’s a lot of pie!

Below is a portion of the message the PTO distributed to our staff:

On behalf of the PTO, we would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope that you enjoy your pumpkin pie. This is also a thank you to your families. We know that your commitment to our students is sometimes hard on your own families.

Or motto “Where excellence is Central” is because of your commitment and heartfelt concern for the students at Hinsdale Central. The parents are very grateful for your time and efforts that have helped to shape students of character at Hinsdale Central. The character traits that are being reinforced by you will serve our children well in the future.

On behalf of HHSTA-Central, thanks to our PTO for their generous gift, their expression of genuine caring for our members and their families, and their abundant support.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Often we feel our administration is none too quick to recognize the hard work HHSTA members do day in and day out in support of our students. That’s why it is important to give them credit when they do so. Kudos to our principal for his letter to the editor in support of American Education Week published this week in the Hinsdale Doings:

The faculty and staff of Hinsdale Central High School deserve the enthusiastic appreciation and support of the Hinsdale area communities. This is American Education Week, an opportunity to celebrate the dignity of the profession and the important role of schools in our communities. I have had the opportunity in my career to serve students and families in six highly-performing high schools in the western suburbs of Chicago, and I testify to the special talents and extraordinary commitment of our current Hinsdale Central faculty and staff in their quest to enrich the lives of students by helping them take steps to fulfill their dreams.

I encourage the students and parents in the community to communicate their appreciation of the efforts of the faculty and staff. Your support is highly valued. For the adults at 55th and Grant, serving students is more than a job. Each week I hear from students and parents about individual faculty and staff who make very special, above and beyond, efforts on behalf of students. Every day our faculty and staff make hundreds of complex decisions to anticipate or respond to the needs of the hundreds of unique individual students.

In our current era, the typical measures of a fine high school are comparatively high standardized test scores, athletic championships, stellar achievements in the arts, and college matriculation. But parents know that they want more from the high school experience of their students. They want the school to cultivate character and attend to the social and emotional development of their sons and daughters. The fine faculty and staff of Hinsdale Central High School strive every day to see the whole person in order to create an outstanding experience for every student, and we achieve this to a remarkable degree.

It is an honor to work with such a fine faculty and staff.

Kevin Pobst, principal

More than thirty current and former HHSTA-Central members turned out this past Saturday morning, many before dawn, to flip pancakes at this year’s pancake breakfast. Teachers from every department were on hand manning the grill, mixing the batter, serving drinks, and busing tables. Hall of Fame inductee Dick Flescher took lessons from cooking teacher Liz Perlini which provided a show worth the price of admission to those in line for their pancakes. Gina Gagliano, a math teacher, took great pride in her ability to pour perfectly round pancakes. Guidance counselor Joe Prieto stoked the grill and looked good in his chef’s hat. Latin teacher Alisha McCloud gathered tickets and greeted the arriving masses. There were many more I’m leaving out right now, but all were very busy to say the least. I primarily ran back and forth between three grills gathering pancakes for our waiting customers - most of which I swiped from Corky:

In the morning shift which I worked, people were in line waiting out the door of the cafeteria from pretty much 8:00am until the homecoming parade started around 10:00am. According to one of our retired members, John Duffy:

What a fantastic day. Thanks for inviting me and congratulations on the outstanding organization. It looked like a turnout larger than I can recall.  Certainly, the first shift was much larger than usual.

Later I caught up with Kristen Bronke, who with Dawn Oler as co-chair, organized the event. The purpose of the pancake breakfast is to raise funds for the HHSTA-Central Scholarship fund. Last year HHSTA-Central provided seven scholarships to students entering the teaching profession or a vocational pursuit. According to Kristen HHSTA raised over $2,700 at the door yesterday alone. Couple this with the nearly $2,500 in advanced ticket sales from Central teachers, and the event will have grossed over $5,200 for our scholarship fund.

Congratulations to the organizers, and thanks to all of those who participated in their association!

You can feel the excitement in the air as we prepare for Homecoming.  Students and teachers are dressing up and celebrating Hinsdale Central with pride.  It also means that it is time for the Pancake Breakfast, taking place this Saturday, October 11^th, from 7:30am to 12pm.  Come help your fellow teachers flip pancakes before the parade and games.  Tickets can be purchased in advance from teachers for a price of $5.50; tickets are $6 at the door. Proceeds from the Pancake Breakfast benefit the Hinsdale Central Teachers Association Scholarship Fund.   Come join us and be part of this tradition.  The sign up sheet is available in the mailroom.  Even if you can’t be here for the breakfast, be sure to sell those tickets! Thanks and hope to see you there!!