Oswego superintendent says "generalized invitation" to remedial program parents said targeted minority students "fell short"
The superintendent of Oswego School District 308 has sent a follow up letter to parents after the district sent an offer of remedial summer help to all minority students.
Some parents in Oswego contacted CBS News Chicago about the letter, saying the district invited all non-white students to participate in the remedial summer program regardless of how they're actually doing in school.
Fil Torres received the invitation for his daughter, who he said is in advanced classes at Hunt Club Elementary School and had recently been told they didn't need a parent-teacher conference because his children are on track.
A partial internal document the CBS News Chicago Investigators received via a source showed "eligible" and "at risk" students for the program include "anyone with a race other than white."
Several days later, the superintendent sent a follow up email with a section subtitled "Where We Fell Short." It went on to read, "a generalized invitation process fell short of our values. We take the impact on families seriously, and we own that."
Full letter from District 308
Dear SD 308 Families,
We are writing to provide our community with more information about the process of inviting students to the Summer Connections program.
Before we explain more about the program, we want to make clear that our district is fortunate to have a richly diverse community; it's one of our greatest assets. Our mission calls for us to empower, support, and motivate all students to thrive along their unique educational journey. That means every child in SD 308 is seen as a whole person, not a category, not a demographic, not a box on a government form. Our students are shaped by their cultures, their families, and their own remarkable stories. That is the foundation we build on.
About the Program
Summer Connections is a free, optional supplemental program for students in kindergarten through 7th grade focused on reading, math, and social-emotional skill-building. It is not a remedial or enrichment program and does not offer any academic credit. It is funded through federal Title I dollars and designed to reach students from low-income families and students across a variety of subgroups that the U.S. Department of Education defines as "educationally disadvantaged" — a broad category that includes students who are English learners, students from minority backgrounds, students with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, and migrant students.
Three of our schools, Long Beach, Boulder Hill, and Plank, qualify as Title I buildings based on student demographics, so every student there received an invitation automatically. At all other schools, staff identified individual students they believed would benefit. Additionally, students across the district who met one or more of the demographics outlined in our Title I grant were invited.
An invitation to Summer Connections was not a statement about a child's accomplishments or abilities; it was an opportunity we wanted to share with as many students as possible. Nearly 1,000 students registered within days, quickly filling the program.
Where We Fell Short
An internal document summarizing the federal eligibility criteria used language that stripped away all context and reduced the federal definition to words that do not reflect how we see our students or how we talk about them. The goal of reaching students with the greatest documented need was the right one, as our student performance data shows that opportunity gaps exist within several subgroups. However, the way it was translated from federal grant criteria to a generalized invitation process fell short of our values. We take the impact on families seriously, and we own that.
Moving Forward
We are committed to making this a catalyst, not just a closed incident. We have strengthened our internal processes, will revisit our training in equity and language, and ensure that the criteria for programs like Summer Connections are clearly communicated to our community.
We also recognize that we do not come to this moment without history. Racism has caused real, documented harm in this country, in schools, in institutions, and in the everyday experiences of families. That history is why words matter, especially when the intentions behind them are good. This is why the way we invited students into a summer program cannot be separated from the broader context in which our families receive it. It lands differently, because it has to.
That history is also exactly why our district adopted Board Policy 2:24 on Equity and Rightful Presence, not as a statement to point to when things go well, but as a foundation to stand on when they don't. Equity policy exists so that when we fall short, we don't retreat. We use it to lead change.
We're In This Together
The strongest school communities are built when families and schools choose to turn toward each other, especially when something goes wrong. We want to be the people you call first, and we commit to being worthy of that. Our principals and district leadership are here, genuinely and not as a formality. Please reach out to your school directly. That kind of conversation is exactly how we get better together.
Our district is grounded in six values: collaboration, courtesy, dignity, empathy, humanization, and integrity. This moment calls us to live those values, not just state them. The families who brought their concerns to us did something that matters, and we are grateful for it. SD 308 is stronger when we face hard things together.
We are proud of this community. We are clear about the work ahead.
Sincerely,
Dr. Andalib Khelghati
Superintendent of Schools