An early adopter of Track E, Drummond school stats indicate favorable program results

Sonia Lopez, Asst. Principal, and Mark Neidlinager, Principal of Drummond share a quick conversation before classes begin

With 900 students assigned to a building that maxed out at 350 about eight years ago, Thomas Drummond Elementary School, 1845 W. Cortland St., was one of the first multi-track Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Classes had to be scheduled so that all students received their educational hours annually.

"As gentrification came into the neighborhood and the population began decreasing, we became one of the first Track E schools," explains Drummond's principal Mark Neidlinager. He has been at the school in various positions since 1997.

Track E schools are becoming more popular, each year additional schools are choosing the new type of class scheduling. This year's 247 schools with approximately 115,000 students is substantially greater than last year's 195 schools with under 100,000 students. Aside from Drummond, two other Track E schools in our area are Moos, 1711 N. California, and LaFayette, 2714 W. Augusta. In total approximately one quarter of the CPS student population is now in the Track E program.

What are the differences between Track E and regular scheduling schools?
While students on the Track E schedule and those on  the regular schedule have the same number of instructional hours annually, they begin a month earlier and have three longer vacations throughout the year.

What are the benefits of Track E?
As 1st Ward Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno explains, "Track E school hours are spread out over the year and studies show retention occurs at a higher level when this is done."  "There is less learning loss when there is less then a ten week break," emphasizes Frank Shuftan, a CPS spokesperson. "When not in school, students, for the most part, have no learning structure. It takes time for them to get back into the school mode."

"From the teaching side, this schedule gives more even timing for planning units and aligns better with assessments. It gives us a healthy pace. There is a better sense of achievement by the students. Teachers have better spaced time off, minimizing teacher burnout." Neidlinager explains further, "This leads to better retention and our stats show it. At Drummond, we have seen a steady rise in our test scores since adopting the "E" Calendar. We were in the 40th percentile and are now in the 90%."

What are the challenges or negatives of Track E?
Both Moreno and Neidlinager point out that families with children in both Track E and the regular schedule system can have family scheduling issues. Neidlinager indicates that it makes it more challenging for the administrator because there is less time for planning between school years.

How does a school change to Track E?
The principal must apply by January to the Board of Education which makes a final decision in February.

Ultimately the move to Track E is a principal's decision and principals are required to inform their local school councils in advance. However, for the most part, principals have effected change through a consensus building process participation of the teachers and parents.

West side of Drummond school in early morning

What about future school scheduling?
To date, it appears that no school has moved to opt out of Track E and more and more schools are looking to move to Track E. Most statistics seem to show favorable student improvement.

Will the school day and year be extended? Shuftan said that Track E and extension of school time are mutually exclusive and they (CPS) are not focusing on the extended classroom schedule at the moment. Considering the large budget gap that needs closing without increased classroom time, it is understandable that that is a subject for another year.

Moreno's comment is "Longer school years and longer school days. Something Track E does not do."

"When I was a child visiting in Puerto Rico, I remember children starting school in August, wearing uniforms and walking. I remember thinking how serious and disciplined they were about education," comments Rey Colon, 35th Ward Aldermen. "Since Track E schools are not in session longer than traditional schools, the main advantage is keeping students safer by shortening the summer break. If you have multiple siblings on different schedules, it may present challenges for parents with transportation and childcare issues during October, December and spring breaks.

"We can't afford to make the school year longer in Chicago yet, but it should continue to be our goal. Some say that a longer school year doesn't always translate to higher performance, but when it comes to education and preparing our children to compete in the world economy, we must provide them with the quality and quantity they deserve."