Alexis Reyna is enjoying the elbow room available to her in Palos Heights School District 128.
Science labs were expanded and updated as part of a $10 million renovation and expansion project. Construction on the district’s four schools was largely completed in 2002-03, but finishing touches, such as new desks for every pupil and other furnishings, were added this year.
The new science labs at Independence Junior High School include a 32-inch screen that displays lessons from the teacher’s computer, said Supt. Ted Struck.
But Alexis, 13, of Palos Heights, is most impressed by the size of the new lab. “There’s more room to spread out and write down your data,” she said.
Other improvements at the junior high include new band rooms for group and individual instruction, a media center and an art room with plentiful natural light.
By the end of the year, pupils and teachers at Independence will receive their own laptop computers. In a partnership with Apple Computers, the district is purchasing about 250 laptops at a greatly reduced price, about $850 per computer, said Mark Hupp, director of technology.
Exciting as technology may be, however, it will not take the place of a strong lesson plan.
“It doesn’t drive the curriculum,” Hupp said. “It’s a tool.”
Hupp said the district would keep a close watch on how pupils are using the computers and whether they seem to improve work.
“It will be interesting to see the quality of work” when the laptops are used, Hupp said. “I think we’ll see good things happen.”
The district has three elementary schools, Indian Hill, Navajo and Chippewa. The district offers four classrooms of each grade, which is expected to expand to six as the district grows. The average class size is 20 pupils, which should be maintained, Struck said, through the additional classrooms.
The other elementary school districts that serve Palos Hills, Palos Heights and Palos Park also are looking at ways to make their older buildings fit today’s needs or preparing for that in the near future.
Supt. Rosemarie Carroll of Palos District 118 said her district is in the process of planning a renovation and expansion of its four schools, which average 51 years old. The district recently learned it will receive a $3 million state grant for the project, which is expected to cost at least $9 million. The district has not decided where it will find the rest of the money.
“Right now, we’re debating that,” Carroll said. “The options are to borrow money, to do a tax levy or to go to a referendum.”
She said the decision would be made by December. The construction grant they are receiving from the state is only for building and adding classrooms. Although the plans are not final, she said, the district is considering adding such facilities as media centers, additional gym space and music performance space.
Narrowing the wish list
The district, which serves Palos Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills and parts of Orland Park and Worth, has been meeting with pupils, parents, staff members and the community to get opinions on what should be included in the project.
“We have a big wish list,” Carroll said. “Now we’re starting to narrow it down. It will help us prioritize.”
One thing the district knows for sure, Carroll said, is that the project, which is expected to begin in the summer, will include adding classrooms.
“We have two new subdivisions coming in,” Carroll said. One is expected to have 44 single-family houses and the other 187 condominiums, 78 duplexes and 187 single-family houses. “We know we have to make room for those kids.”
The district, which has about 2,100 pupils, is planning for an additional 600 children, most of whom would attend Palos South and Palos East Schools, Carroll said.
The district also has Palos West and Palos Central, in which the administrative offices are located.
“Every building will get some work,” Carroll said.
New superintendent on hand
Ken Sorrick, superintendent of North Palos School District 117, said expanding or renovating buildings may be part of his district’s future. The district has four elementary schools and one middle school.
“Some of our buildings are over 30 years old. And Conrady, our middle school, is at capacity. We’re adding 30 or 40 students a year there,” he said.
The district’s 2,600 pupils come from Palos Hills and Hickory Hills. Conrady has an enrollment of about 900. Quin is for children ages 3 to 5, Dorn for early primary grades and Glen Oaks and Oak Ridge for Grades 2 to 5.
This is Sorrick’s first year as superintendent, and he and his board have yet to discuss expansion or how to fund it. Sorrick, who was principal at Bolingbrook High School, spent his first months getting to know the pupils, staff members, parents and community leaders.
He has been working with these groups to set goals for the district. “We’re putting a picture together of where we’re heading,” he said.
Although the district has been doing well academically, Sorrick said, there is always room for improvement. He wants to improve academic performance; increase the satisfaction of pupils, staff members, parents and teachers; and improve the district’s fiscal management.
“I have a vision to make North Palos a benchmark school district, one of the best in the state of Illinois,” he said.
Financial challenge
Sorrick said one of the reasons he took the job at District 117 “is because I believe in challenges.”
One of those challenges is a $4.5 million deficit in the education fund for 2003-04. Although there are no plans to cut programs or staff, Sorrick would like to see the district on better financial footing.
“We have no problem running the school district,” he said. “But we want to be tight on the budget. We need to examine every dime that goes out of the district. We have some real financial challenges ahead of us.”
Struck, who oversaw the construction project at District 128, knows all about challenges. After the renovation and expansion project was completed last year, he said, the district received two complaints from parents who said their pupils had gotten sick and questioned whether the illnesses could be related to the new buildings.
The district was in contact with the Illinois Department of Health to consider the issue and found no evidence of that, he said.
“There was no indication that it was building-related,” said Struck, adding that the district also took measures to ensure safety at the buildings. These included sampling for carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, replacing anti-viral and anti-mold filters and cleaning floors and carpets.
“There was nothing that indicated that there was a viral infestation,” he said. “We were being proactive.”
The district also is trying to keep more precise records on pupils who report to the school nurse. Rather than simply counting the number of pupils who go to the nurse because they feel ill, the district will count the number of contacts that nurses or aides have with each pupil.
