Bond will give Polson’s elementary students space to flourish

Did you know that students of Linderman Elementary have not had a full-size school library since the old gym’s roof collapsed in 2018? Did you know that Cherry Valley Elementary has no designated music space and that Cherry Valley’s speech therapist, occupational therapist, and physical therapist services occur in busy hallways?

I’m Katrina Venters, PHS English teacher and mom of two, and this week we’ll consider how the school bond aims to add spaces to our elementary schools that children in our district really need.

According to the American Association of School Librarians, “Over 21 state studies confirm that school librarians and school libraries support students in academic achievement, lifelong learning, 21st century skills, and reading,” and access to libraries boosts students’ reading scores.

Currently, Linderman’s library resides in a single classroom that holds about one-third of its total inventory, crowding out the ability to hold classes there effectively. When I asked my fourth grader what he thinks about the Linderman library, he said, “I wish it was like the Cherry Valley library.” Why? “Because it’s so small that it can’t even hold all the books.”

Many parents would agree. Christina Rush, a parent of three young children, explains that “libraries are a good experience for bringing books home” and says “the library is important” to her oldest daughter, who currently attends Cherry Valley. The school bond that will appear on ballots in April would create an actual library at Linderman and a better one at Cherry Valley.

Both elementary schools offer students excellent services – from a Gifted and Talented program to a Native Cultural Studies program, in addition to the many types of therapies students can benefit from. But none of them have sufficient space. At Cherry Valley, these teachers work off of carts and travel from room to room.

Although Rush’s daughter “really enjoys having teachers come to her [class]room,” Rush adds that “it's always good to have more space,” and making room for music classes and other essentials is one of the bond’s goals.

Currently, Cherry Valley’s pre-kindergarten services – Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and Special Education Pre-School, which serve upwards of 60 students – reside in undersized classrooms. At the moment, TK is funded through state grants, though many expect that the state will soon require this service. Adding adequate space for this program will have a lasting influence on our students’ literacy.

At both schools, when classrooms overflow their capacity, students have to move out into the hallways, especially for small group work and sometimes even testing. Imagine that you’re a third grader who can’t read well. Your reading group has to work in the hallway, and while you’re trying to read, other students walk by your group. Will you focus on your reading lesson? Or will you worry about what the other kids think about your reading?

Put yourself in the shoes of a sick kindergartner. At both schools, when there’s more than one sick student, all of them must wait together, mixing germs, because the nurse’s office is so small. If you just need to go see the counselor at either school, you have to walk the gamut of sick kids because the counselor’s office is behind the nurse’s office.

Our children deserve privacy when they are sick or need help, and our schools’ limited space prohibits that.