Parents, teachers, students and local officials expressed an array of emotions Monday morning at Lowrie Elementary School on Elgin’s southwest side.
The 138-year-old school is slated to close after this school year, so Monday marked its “last first day.”
While some might have felt wistful, Principal Natalie Poli remained upbeat.
“We will be celebrating this year,” Poli told families as she greeted them near the front doors while Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” — Poli’s favorite song — played in the background.
“We have so much that has been done in this building, and you will be part of it,” Poli said.
Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain told the crowd that the school dated back to 1887 and was as old as Garfield Elementary, which he attended – but, he quipped, not when it first opened.
Garfield, which first opened as the May Street School in 1889, closed for good after the 2022-23 school year.
With voters approving a $179 million bond proposal in spring 2023, School District U-46, the state’s second largest public school district, has been working on plans and projects to replace or renovate some of its older schools.
So Monday was also the last first day at Washington Elementary School in Elgin, which was built in 1893, and Hanover Countryside Elementary School in Streamwood, which was built in 1954.
Additionally, Monday was the last first day for Illinois Park Center for Early Learning in Elgin, which currently operates as a preschool. It will reopen next school year as an elementary school.
Hawk Hollow Middle School in Bartlett, which was an elementary building before undergoing additions and renovations over the past 18 months, welcomed seventh grade students Monday for the first day of school.
Starting with the 2026-27 school year, Hawk Hollow will have students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade as the district transitions sixth graders out of elementary schools and into its middle schools.
Lowrie and the district’s 37 other elementary schools also started the school year with school days extended 20 minutes longer than the six-hour school days they had. Poli said the additional time will provide students with access to special classes including art, music, PE, science, health and digital literacy and allow teachers more time to collaborate.
Poli said she anticipated enrollment at Lowrie this fall will be between 370 and 400 students. For the 2026-27 school year, depending on the streets where they live, students will be heading to various U-46 elementary and middle schools.
Staff will be able to apply at other schools, Poli said, and it is still to be determined where she will be working a year from now.
“This is a very unique experience. It’s emotional and exciting. Our theme for the school year is ‘Lights. Camera. Legacy.’ We all get to be part of the final scene here at Lowrie,” Poli said.
Language resource teacher Kristen Maleski said the closing also could be seen as a way for those affected by it to find themselves not just as part of Lowrie but of the district and the broader community.
Parents Michelle and Donald Gibson said they had mixed feelings about the closing. They live within walking distance of Lowrie and, with 3-year-old daughter Audrey in tow, they brought son Joseph, 5, to his first day of kindergarten. Their son has been assigned to Harriet Gifford Elementary for the 2026-27 school year, which is about 10 minutes away, they said.
The Gibsons said they wished U-46 would have done a better job communicating its plans to their neighborhood.
“We feel forgotten about,” Michelle Gibson said.
Still, the Gibsons said their experience with Lowrie staff had been awesome so far.
Nidia Vieyra said she was sad and excited for the first day of school. Quite a few members of her extended family had attended Lowrie. Her daughter, Sophia, 7, was starting second grade Monday and was looking forward to being in class with her friends.
“This is a neighborhood school and a part of the community. It’s an engaged, happy place,” Vieyra said. “As it’s an older building it’s understandable that they’ll be closing it. Children should benefit from the district’s plans. Sophia will probably be going to Huff the following school year. Either way, she loves to be back at school.”
For his part, during his brief speech, Kaptain reminded students not to bully, to report something they think is not right to parents and staff, and to develop a good habit.
“Read, read, read and read more. If you do that, Lowrie will be part of you for the rest of your life,” Kaptain said.
