Creating Birch Grove Community School was a community effort. Thanks to the Birch Grove Foundation, established in 1985, and countless other individuals and organizations, this community now has a school that educates youth from preschool to grade five. Birch Grove Community School is now in its sixth year of successful operation.
In 2006, the township of Tofte purchased the Birch Grove Community Center where our school is housed. The Birch Grove Foundation manages this facility and supports the school by providing custodial services, garbage removal, etc. Our organizations work together to ensure that we have a viable school and that we have a place on the West End as a focal point for community gatherings. Without this joint effort, it would be safe to say that our community would be lessened. I am very proud of our townships, our local businesses and other outstanding individuals that see value in local education and help to contribute to it. The old saying that it takes a village to raise a child, certainly applies to us.
With all that we have accomplished together, we still have challenges to face. It is no secret that funding for schools is barely enough to get the job done. Nor is it a secret that our enrollment, like other schools in Cook County, is declining. Essentially, Birch Grove has only its per pupil aid to work with; charter schools do not have the option of a referendum. As a result, we are continually assessing and making the necessary changes to our budget to ensure that we are fiscally responsible and that those changes have as little effect on our programming and students as possible. No easy feat sometimes, and unfortunately, it is getting harder to do all of the time. While we have a healthy fund balance, we can’t help but look at the future with some trepidation.
Declining enrollment— it is a problem for all of our schools, a serious problem in my opinion. Why is enrollment dropping in our county? Is it that there are fewer jobs here with livable wages? Is it that affordable housing is scarce and that the cost of living here is high? Is it that families with two working parents are having a hard time making it in Cook County (not to mention single parents)? How can we draw young families to our area? Once they are here, how do we keep them?
Unfortunately, I have more questions than answers. I don’t know the answers. I keep hoping that someone with more knowledge, skill and power has the ability to make some overall changes in our county. Changes that will positively affect our communities. Changes that can be felt by our families, schools and youth. Is there anything that you can do? Are you willing to do it? Right now, it seems to me that it doesn’t take a village to raise a child, it takes a county.
Here at Birch Grove we will continue to offer the best educational program that we are able to and still live within our means. We rely on our teachers’ passion to teach, our school board members desire to serve, and our community’s commitment to see value in education. Our children are our future. We will handle that future with care – making fiscally responsible choices while providing our students with a program that gives them the care, knowledge, skills and self-confidence that they deserve. It is our hope that you, our village, and our county will join our schools in these efforts.
Each month a representative of our local schools will offer thoughts in Issues in Education. This month’s s contributor is Diane Blanchette, co-director of Birch Grove Community School.
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