Beginnings: 1991-1996: There's No Place Like Home: Community Survey

This is a re-creation of the community survey and its results distributed to 74 Madison residents who attended a Community Forum in January of 1992.

Madison Metropolitan School District
South Madison Middle School Advisory Committee
Survey of Community Views

The Advisory Committee has been asked to make recommendations to the Board of Education on such issues as the site of the proposed middle school program and the type of focus it should have. In order to help represent community views as accurately as possible, please take the time to fill out this survey.

1. Of the possible buildings and sites under consideration for a permanent location, please list the three you favor:

2. If the District needs to find a temporary location for the new middle school program until a more permanent site can be developed, which would you prefer:

• Hoyt
• Longfellow
• Heurikon
  

3. If you will have a 6th grader next fall, would you be interested in having your child(ren) attend the new middle school program?

• Yes
• No
  

4. If you will have a 7th or 8th grader next fall, would you be interested in having your child(ren) attend the new middle school program?

• Yes
• No
  

5. The new programs will each have a special emphasis. Which of the following would you find most interesting and appropriate for your child?

• math/science
• computers
• fine arts (music, drama, art, dance, etc.)
• media (newspapers, radio, TV)
• foreign language immersion
• community service

Other specialties we should consider?

6. Do you currently have children at:

• Cherokee, grade(s)
• Van Hise Middle, grade(s)
• Franklin, grade(s)
• Leopold, grade(s)
• Lincoln, grade(s)
• Midvale, grade(s)
• Randall, grade(s)
• Shorewood, grade(s)
• Thoreau, grade(s)
• Van Hise Elementary, grade(s)

South Madison Middle School Advisory Committee
Survey of Community Views
January 16, 1992
RESULTS

Q1. Of the possible buildings and sites under consideration for a permanent location, please list the three you favor.

Total equals more than 100% because respondents had up to 3 choices.
Of the 74 respondents, 31 (41.9%) did not pick a site.

Q2. If the District needs to find a temporary location for the new middle school program until a more permanent site can be developed, which would you prefer?

*Between 3 and 5 people objected strongly to each of these sites.

Q3. If you have a 6th grader next fall, would you be interested in having your child(ren) attend the new middle school program?

Here are the comments written next to each question:

Q1. Of the possible buildings and sites under consideration for a permanent location, please list the three you favor:

• Badger (no clear choice, seems to be the best)
• Badger School-work with the County. Try to make it available.
• Badger School-all others are unacceptable!!
• Baseball diamonds on Fish Hatchery Road. New site not yet picked.
• Lyckberg-Am very uncertain about all proposed sites. NOT LINCOLN!
• Heurikon-if school is really going to be magnet school. K-mart-if school is going to be neighborhood school and community center. I don't feel K-mart will draw west side students as a magnet school.
• Heurikon. Franklin Field.
• I do not believe any of the buildings recommended are suitable nor do I believe in adding on either of the elementary school is in the children's best interests.
• I would prefer a middle school to be placed in a more residential area than a light manufacturing area. I am interested in further exploring the Franklin Field area for a community based middle school.
  
• It seems that building selection has some problems:
  • Open floor plan doesn't work-current experience from teaches and students at Thoreau support this
  • Building choice is second to the issue of racial balance. If racial balance is to be maintained, this maybe e difficult with polarized sites like Ann St./Classic Lanes and Cherokee.
  • If racial balance is the primary issue, why not use Hoyt (teachers and kids---)as the magnet school and bus people as necessary. Beautiful facility, saves $.
  • Spend money----on small class sizes and support staff to draw good teachers on a volunteer basis. Spend money on programs not mortar.
  • How can we express a desire to attend a school with a curriculum as yet undeveloped-not enough time to develop a viable curriculum.
  • If Cherokee operates on house concept-could Hoyt be a "house." Move early childhood programs to another school.
• K-mart with parking turned to grass.
  
• Parcel J-Lyckberg Park
  
• Badger School
• Keep looking. Research community.
  
• Look for additional sites. Don't move too quickly.
  
• No preference.
  
• None of the choices have much appeal.
  
• None. Could the baseball diamonds by MNI be obtained?
  
• None!
  
• Not really in favor of any of them.
  
• Parcel G, Parcel F, Heurikon Corp.
  
• Present Madison Traffic Engineering. Badger School.
  
• To decide upon a site before communicating the programs this school will provide and whom it will serve is ridiculous. None of the sites is attractive.

Q2. If the District needs to find a temporary location for the new middle school program until a more permanent site can be developed, which would you prefer?

• Hoyt-secluded site. Longfellow-site that could use the UW Hospitals, etc.
  
• NO (to Heurikon). Commercial area. Kids can't walk this area safely. High auto/truck area. Not near any neighborhoods. There are no students in this area. Even though there is a natural area to the south you would have to buy additional land in this direction to be able to border this area. The natural area is mostly marsh and the land in between is very steeply sloped, making it difficult to put in play fields.
  
• Hoyt-this site is small-would the kids get PE, art, home ec, applied tech at such a small site.
  
• Longfellow--??Cash layout for remodel!; Longfellow-NO. Greenway Cross is too busy.

Q3. If you have a 6th grader next fall, would you be interested in having your child(ren) attend the new middle school program?

• Can't answer without knowing the nature of the program.
  
• How could I say? I don't know enough.
  
• NO-Probably not, considering the poor selection of the sites.
  
• Maybe.
  
• NO-knowing the little bit that I know and what I think this community knows about the new school program. NO
  
• Don't know-too many questions yet.

Q4. If you have a 7th or 8th grader next fall, would you be interested in having your child(ren) attend the new middle school program?

• NO-I don't know anyone who is interested.
  
• Can't answer without knowing the nature of the program.
  
• No, because we live so close to Cherokee.

Q5. The new programs will each have a special emphasis. Which of the following would you find most interesting and appropriate for your child?

Other: (Those not on the list)

• International studies/language. Environmental studies.
• Strong multicultural/self-esteem and human respect and value.
  
• All sound good.
  
• Teaching children they are OK no matter who or what they are. It will help self-esteem.
  
• Open classroom with many opportunities for independent and hands-on learning experiences.
  
• Incorporate all of them.
  
• I want my children to sample a variety of programs. How else can they discover their strengths sand weaknesses.
  
• We need to stress reading, writing, and math through high school. I teach at the University and see the product of our high schools. Let's stick to the basics.
• Why not integrate all of them? World's social and environmental problems. Approached from interdisciplinary perspectives. Multicultural/racial history.
  
• Language arts, writing, environmental issues.
  
• The emphasis should be based on the educational needs of the students that will attend. The population of the new school should be decided first.
  
• Children this age need diversity not a narrow focus.
  
• The school program should be based on the needs of the kids that go there. If they need the basics, like reading-math-science, then that's what they should have.
  
• Career preparation-whether it be for business/office environment or for social/community service-skills need to be taught/offered for both.
  
• I want my child to have a general education with no area of "special emphasis."
  
• The most important thinks you can do is not to limit community input on the school to public forums. It is essential that a school council be established that includes staff, parents and community representatives. If you want this school to succeed, this is the most important step you can take. It is community input over the long run that matters, not isolated efforts like those represented by this survey.
• An integrated middle school curriculum like that being piloted in some classes at Marquette Middle School is my first choice. It also needs to emphasize multiculturalism.
  
• Do a Montessori program and integrate all subjects. We are much too divided as it is. This means do Montessori public schools from preschool level on up. This is the method that has prepared my children so well that they tread water for 5 years in elementary school.

Q6. Other comments (not connected to a specific question):

• It is the perception of many neighborhood parents in Fitchburg that a South Madison Middle School is not a safe choice for their children, nor would it be educationally challenging. In order to attract a diverse population, you would have to spend some real energy and money to make this attractive. Parents would be attracted by a school that had minimal or no disruptive students; smaller class sizes, a curriculum that truly addresses a diverse population. I hope you can do that. The greater the parent involvement at this school, the more possibilities for success. You've got a lot of P.R. to do!
  
• No to Heurikon Corp. site because of traffic and land use. No to building sites. Parcels G&F are marshlands. Parcel J is a park and should not be used. No to Lincoln and Leopold (not a good mix of students).
  
• Siting process will take too long. Go temp for one year. Heurikon is a disaster. Pick a site that looks like you intend to stay.
  
• How will a magnet school accommodate the student population at Cherokee Middle School?

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