Another blow for Bessie Rhodes school

"Unprecedented."

"A complete surprise."

"The pedagogical undoing of our school."

That's how a parent at the Bessie Rhodes magnet program termed a message Wednesday afternoon from District 65 Superintendent Angel Turner.

In an email to Rhodes parents, Turner said that "at the close of the first trimester (November 15), we will close the 7th and 8th grade sections at Bessie Rhodes," leaving the school K-6.

The impacted students will transition back to what would have been their home middle schools — Chute, Haven or Nichols.

This is the latest bad news for Rhodes students, parents, and staff.

The school board had already decided to close the Rhodes building and end its K-8 bilingual program once the new Foster School opens in Fall 2026.

But there was never any mention of dropping two entire grades before that, until now.

Melissa Rosenzweig, the parent of a Rhodes elementary-age student, and a leader of the "Save Rhodes" movement, said, "It's hard to imagine" how bad the staff morale will be when the district is "willing to cut grades in the middle of the school year."

As for the students, Rosenzweig noted that the 7th and 8th graders have been at Rhodes longer than any others.

She said they are "the kids who endured the worst instability" for the longest time, as the school board first promised to put the entire Rhodes program into the new 5th Ward building, then abandoned that plan to save money.

Superinendent Turner said that "we have had difficulty staffing for several key positions" at Rhodes.

She added that "with approximately 20 students per grade level and a limited team of educators," the situation "do[es] not provide the consistent, well-rounded learning environment that our students need and deserve as they prepare to enter high school."

Turner acknowledged that hearing this news is not easy for Rhodes families, and "we know there will likely be a range of emotions."

It was a difficult decison for D65, Turner said, but is also "one which we feel is the best educationally for our students."

Turner added that "we are partnering closely with our Bessie Rhodes educators and leadership team to support a smooth transition for students."

She said there will be a number of supportive activities and services.

One major parental concern is that 7th and 8th graders will have to move from a very small school to one which is much larger.

District figures show that Rhodes has 266 students K-8. Chute has 628 in grades 6-8, Nichols has 728, and Haven 836.

Put another way, while grade sizes at Haven may vary, the average grade there has more children than does the entire Rhodes building.

Rosenzweig said that many students who have stayed at Rhodes despite all the ongoing turmoil "do better in small classes," but now have to move "with just a month's notice into a big feeder school."

She also said that D65 has been enrolling new, Spanish-speaking students at Rhodes because the bilingual (TWI) program "is the most supportive educational environment for them."

There are still plenty of questions, such as what will happen to this year's 6th graders? The Rhodes building still has one more school year after this one. So will 7th grade be reinstated for that final year, or will 2025-26 just be K-5?

What about transportation? What buses will the Rhodes 7th and 8th graders have to take, if they are not able to walk to their new middle school?

And finally, what happens to the Rhodes 7th and 8th grade teachers? Assuming they are not substitutes, they should have full-year contracts.

But with staffing cuts likely as part of the overall budget reduction plan for the 2025-26 school year, will they be working somewhere else in District 65, or having to look someplace different for a job.

Those questions, and presumably others, will likely be posed to the superintendent during a Zoom call with Rhodes parents at 6 p.m. Thursday.

But Rosenzweig said she and other parents are also going to contact their political representatives, to see if there might be any way to stop the change.

Shutting 7th and 8th grade now, she said, "sets it up for [the district] to start closing down each grade," one at a time," a "slow death" for a unique program.