Parents and teachers urge Harlem UD 122 board not to close Maple and Olsen Park at public hearing

The Harlem UD 122 board opened a public hearing on proposed elementary-school consolidations and heard more than a dozen speakers who urged the district to preserve Maple and Olsen Park and to protect early-childhood and ALP offerings.

Superintendent Terrell Yarbrough opened the hearing under section 10-22.13 of the Illinois School Code and explained the public-comment rules, including a three-minute limit per speaker (six minutes if Spanish interpretation is required). The board announced 14 public commenters would speak.

The hearing’s most repeated themes were opposition to school closures, concerns about increased busing and transitions, and requests to keep specialized programs. "I emphatically oppose the closing of Maple," said Don Campbell, who argued that the proposals include no option to save Maple and described the meeting as feeling like a formality toward an inevitable decision. Piper Campbell, a former Maple student, told the board, "If you close these schools, will they just be dead empty husks, or will you sell it and make my school another car wash?" and asked the board to preserve neighborhood culture.

Several teachers warned about developmental and program impacts. "Do you understand what a truly magical place Parker Center is?" asked Mary Hunter, a Parker Center teacher of 15 years, adding that shifting kindergarten formats risks making expectations developmentally inappropriate for 5- and 6-year-olds. Katie Fowler, a Harlem UD 122 preschool teacher, said Plan 4 would force some self-contained students to change buildings every three years and place early-childhood students in buildings lacking appropriately sized bathrooms or playgrounds.

Supporters of preserving the district’s ALP program framed it as critical for advanced and neurodivergent learners. "Third grade ALP was a godsend to my son," Jamie Richard said, asking the board not to eliminate early-grade ALP in favor of honors classes. Sarah Retner, a third-grade ALP teacher at Olsen Park, provided classroom data and enrollment context: she said the fifth-grade ALP class has 24 students, fourth grade 23, third grade 19, and that in 2024 "34 students were invited to reach the total class size of 24; only 10 declined." She recommended Scenario 1 because it preserves neighborhood schools and continuity for ALP.

Speakers also raised operational concerns. Sophia O'Rourke warned that consolidations would complicate busing and add miles to routes during a bus-driver shortage. Several commenters asked the district to improve direct communications to parents — naming channels such as the board secretary, Harlem Connect and Seesaw — and to explain what the district learned during the consolidation process.

The superintendent and several district administrators were present: Terrell Yarbrough (superintendent), Shelley Wagner (human resources), Michelle Erb (curriculum and instruction), and Jason Bloom (communications and community relations). Public commenters repeatedly said they believed a closure decision had effectively already been made and pressed the board for transparency and alternatives such as leasing, partnerships or targeted grant-seeking.

After public comment concluded, a motion to adjourn was made and seconded and the board voted the meeting to a close.

What happens next: the hearing record will stand as public comment on the consolidation proposals; the board did not announce a final vote or next meeting during the recorded hearing.