Dennis Schools Structural Issues

Dennis Lab/Mosaic Campus and former French Academy/Kaleidoscope Campus were inspected on May 30th, 2023, the last day of school. Both buildings were closed the following day due to structural concerns.

Dennis Students are attending at Garfield Learning Acadmey with the addition of Modular classrooms. Garfield Learning Academy Students were moved to a wing at Stephen Decatur.

3-Year Modular Lease (H&R) - On November 14th 2023, DPS61 School Board approved a 3-year lease of the modular units for Dennis Students. Klingner and Associates will provide district-wide building analysis. A firm will need to be hired as a facilitator.

Late Start, Late Finish (H&R) - Sue Scherer proposed Illinois House Bill 4136 to allow Dennis students to end the school year on time. The bill is unlikely to pass, so Dennis will attend until June 14, 2024. The rest of DPS attends through May 23rd.

Misleading Statements

Since news broke, DPS 61 has made several misleading and false statements, has avoided reporters questions, has not addressed concerns about transparency, and has not taken accountability for the delay in scheduling an inspection. Further, there are past repairs of the affected areas not disclosed by the district.

See DPS Misled You and Avoided Questions

New plan

Dennis Students will attend school at the Garfield Learning Academy with the addition of 16 modular classrooms. Garfield students, about 60 kids, ranging from K-12 will be moved to a separate wing at Stephen Decatur Middle School, containing 11 classrooms and amenities.

See The New Dennis/Garfield Plan: Concerns remain

OSHA Complaint

DPS was working to move items out of Dennis classrooms, but an OSHA complaint was filed and the District was forced to halt this process on July 13th, 2023.

An August 1 article suggests buildings are again accessible: "Moving vans were parked at Mosaic and district personnel were loading them with boxes they carried out of the building. There were several vehicles at Kaleidoscope, as well."

See H&R - OSHA complaint closes all access to Dennis School buildings or WAND - DPS prohibits all access to Dennis Lab School after OSHA files complaint

Ensuring Building Safety

Health/Life Safety surveys are required every ten years, which involve a structural analysis and detailed inspections. Annual HLS Surveys are also required, but these do not involve structural inspections. Both Dennis & French were inspected in 2013 and due for an inspection in 2023.

See How is DPS61 building safety ensured?

Transparency Concerns

Since this story broke on May 31st, there have been concerns about the timeline and about transparency. I have made multiple attempts to ask questions about transparency, with little success.

See June 13th Interviews About Transparency.

See Questions for Dr. Clark. I received a reply to some of my questions on July 24th, but as of July 26th, they have not been published yet.

ISBE Communications

The Illinois State Board of Education is "disheartened" by statements made by District Officials suggesting that "ISBE has not provided your district with clear direction".

See State board hasn't ignored Decatur's questions about Dennis, letter states

Dennis Start Date

Dennis Lab School will start on September 5th, 2023. The rest of the District will start on August 14th. Dennis will attend late, with a tentative end date of June 14th.

For additional details, see WAND or Herald & Review

Long Term Plan | Repairs

Per the August 8th, 2023 Board meeting, the District will get repair estimates on the two Dennis Buildings while also taking steps to inspect buildings across the District. After inspections are complete, the District plans to begin community involvement for developing a district-wide plan for the future.

For more information, see Decatur Public Schools to seek estimates on repairing Dennis buildings

Additional Information

Future of Dennis Labs: The District's official page on Dennis updates.

Frequently Asked Questions: The District's official FAQ Page.

Catalogue of Sources: A regularly updated catalogue of all of our sources.

Below is a timeline of reporting which is regularly updated. Beyond the timelines are all of our articles and sources on Dennis.

Notice: Most reporting up until September 13th was added to this topic page. Additional reporting since then has not been added to the timeline below.