Indian Prairie School District 204 will reduce class sizes in grades K-2 at all of its elementary schools, hire more mental health staff, and more thanks to approximately $13 million in federal aid.
D204’s Superintendent Dr. Adrian Talley made the announcement at the most recent board meeting.
Class Size Reductions
“Currently we have class sizes at non title one schools ranging from 27-30 in a class in grades K-2,” said Talley. “And at our title one schools from 23-28.”
Thanks to $13 million in stimulus funding from the federal government the district plans to have class sizes on average no bigger than 25 students in non title one schools and 23 at title one schools.
More Mental Health Staff
The district also plans on using the funds to hire a mental health wellness assistant director who will work with the students and staff Talley said.
“We know that we need to focus on mental health as we start the new school year,” said Talley. “Having a person who can oversee mental health will ensure we have an effective program in place to support students and staff.”
Talley added that D204 would also add several seasonal Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) at the middle and high school level to support mental and academic health for students.
Additional Adds
The federal funding will also be used to support after school activities at all levels, and lunch materials to make sure those periods are safe for the next school year.
D204 will also hire K-8 literacy and math coordinators.
“We believe the spending mentioned above will directly support our students and teachers by providing additional resources in our schools and central office to address the academic needs of our children, the professional needs of our staff, and the social and emotional needs of both our staff and students.”
Talley also mentioned tentative plans for Indian Prairie School District 204 call for all schools to return back to full days of in-person learning with pre-pandemic hours.
More details about D204’s return to learn plan will be released at the Board of Education meeting on June 14.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports
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