Teachers and students urge Thompson board to retain ELO and caution on mandated freshman seminar
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
At a lengthy public‑comment period, students and dozen teachers from Thompson Valley High School urged the board to preserve extended learning opportunity (ELO) time and warned a required freshman seminar could displace electives; the superintendent said no final decision has been made and will gather more input.
A large group of students and staff pressed the Thompson School District board on Feb. 18 to preserve Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) time and to proceed cautiously on a student‑led proposal for a required freshman seminar.
Erin Bender, a Thompson Valley teacher, described ELO as "a 45 block of time, 3 days a week" used for silent reading, AP study sessions, club meetings and academic check‑ins. "Without ELO, they would not have these opportunities for leadership within our school," Bender said. Additional teachers and staff echoed that ELO provides planning time, interventions and equity for students who cannot access after‑school activities because of transportation or work obligations.
Student speaker Caleb Waldron, part of the student advisory council, asked the board to consider scheduling and staffing impacts if a freshman seminar becomes mandatory. He said his district survey of more than 100 students found only about 20% support for a mandated seminar and warned it could reduce elective offerings such as band, theater, robotics and technical classes. "When we take an extra slot away from those, we're going to see harm to the retention," he said.
Superintendent Dr. Heller told the board he has heard mixed communication at school sites and stressed that "as far as I'm concerned, there hasn't been anything finalized about this." He said district staff will visit schools with ELOs, gather more staff and student input, and meet with the student advisory council before any board decision. Dr. Heller also noted staffing and FTE implications and that any required course could affect graduation requirements and policy changes.
Board members and district staff pushed for additional data and clarity on attendance patterns during ELO, equity implications across high schools and the tradeoffs with elective programming. Several teachers asked for meaningful engagement in any redesign; the superintendent said he plans to visit classrooms using ELO and return with findings.
No formal board action was taken; the discussion will continue in working groups and future meetings.