Library, firefighters, mayor issue reading challenge to city

ELGIN — Sure, they look like firefighter helmets. But this summer, those familiar red plastic hats are reading hats. That’s what Elgin Fire Chief John Fahy told the third- and fourth-graders from St. Joseph Catholic School on Wednesday afternoon at Gail Borden Public Library. “When …

Elgin students recognized for Spanish performance

ELGIN — A number of world language students from Elgin High School will receive national recognition this weekend for their performance on the 2013 National Spanish Examinations.

Eight Elgin High School students have earned gold medals — Premia de Oro — for scoring at or …

School districts in proposed virtual charter to get own appeals hearings

CHICAGO — A state commission overseeing the appeals process for a proposed virtual charter school that was denied by 18 western suburban Chicago districts voted Wednesday to give each of those districts their own public hearing, after district representatives said consolidating their hearings would be …

U.S. education secretary takes ‘tough’ questions in U46

STREAMWOOD — U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan squeezed through a passing period in the hallway at Streamwood High School, head and shoulders above the students scrambling to class.

Duncan stopped into a Project Lead the Way Principles of Engineering class, where he learned about …

U46 recognizes the top 2 percent of grads

ELGIN — Ask the top 2 percent of high school seniors graduating this month from School District U46 what the secret to their success in school is, and the answer is the same: There is no secret.

“Always do your homework. It helps you study …

D300 hears bid for local charter online expansion

ALGONQUIN — The proposal that Northern Kane Educational Corp. CEO Larry Fuhrer presented Monday night to District 300 school board members was different from “other experiences you have had lately,” he said. In fact, school board member Chris Stanton said, it was “light years above …

Jacobs, D300, looking to boost fine arts

Jacobs High School senior Sadie Tulley has long been a dabbler in the arts. As a profession, she’d like to take the skills she’s obtained to make advertisements as a career. She enjoys using art as a means of expressing herself. “It’s one of the …

Local educators among those honored in Kane annual awards

Anette Bliss said she was thrilled when she was announced as the winner of the Kane County Educator of the Year award. She also was a little panicked, she said. The Central High School German teacher and foreign language department chair, who was born in …

Longtime Ellis School teachers to be honored

A reception open to the public is planned to honor longtime U46 teachers Steve Childs, Phyllis Dunlap-Huerta, Carlos Salgado and Jerry Turnquist from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at Ellis Middle School, 225 S. Liberty St.

Salgado has spent 19 years in the …

Local superior entries named for Regional History Fair

DeKALB — Northern Illinois University announced the 52nd Annual Northern Illinois Regional History Fair superior entries for 2013. The Northern Regional History Fair is an educational opportunity for students to share their research with each other and the community. The regional history fair is sponsored …

Parents oppose plan to eliminate special ed class size limits

ELGIN — When Mary Jo Shepherd of Schaumburg first read about the Illinois State Board of Education’s proposals to end class size restrictions for both special education classrooms and general education classrooms that serve students with disabilities, she wondered which of her five children they …

D300 Supt. Bregy sees progress in Springfield on online charter bill

Community Unit School District 300 Superintendent Michael Bregy was back at the Illinois State Capitol Tuesday — this time, without the red apparel that first gained the legislatively active district notoriety as it protested the extension of the economic development area around Sears corporate headquarters …

Background checks for parents on field trips

ELGIN — Parents who volunteer to supervise field trips in School District U46 will have to get a criminal background check first in the coming 2013-14 school year. That comes as the U46 Board of Education approved a change last month to its volunteer policy. …

10 new administrators in U46

ELGIN — School District U46 Wednesday announced 10 new administrators for the coming 2013-14 school year. Those administrators include nine new principals, six of them home-grown from the Aspiring Administrator Internship program U46 launched this school year, according to the district. “We are so pleased …

First car show clicks at Hampshire High School

HAMPSHIRE — Forty-eight vehicles lined the Hampshire High School parking lot on Tuesday for the school’s first car show. Event sponsors included Operation Click, NAPA Auto Parts, Brothers Graphics, Snap-on Tools, Anderson Trophy Co. and Hampshire Auto Parts. “This all began with Operation Click as …