D161 Website Gets a Facelift

The school board reviewed recent improvements to the district website at a meeting Wednesday.

The Summit Hill School District 161 Board of Education discussed recent updates to the district website at a meeting Wednesday at Indian Trail Elementary School. “I love the new website,” said Board Member Stacey Borgens. “It’s so much easier to maneuver.” The website was updated as part of the district’s communication plan and has a cleaner design and a more efficient navigation flow than the previous site. It also allows visitors to view videos. The update was executed through Distant Horizon, a web development firm that has a pre-existing contract with the district. Also at Wednesday’s meeting, students at Indian Trail Elementary gave several presentations before the board. The students demonstrated various elements of the new Common …

• Photos (1)

Frankfort School District 157-C Adopts 2012 Tax Levy

The levy, including bonds and abatements, totals approximately $29.35 million.

The Frankfort School District 157-C Board of Education unanimously voted to adopt the district’s 2012 operating tax levy of $24.75 million on Monday evening at a district board meeting. In total, the 2012 levy will be approximately $29.35 million, which is about $10,000 less than the 2011 levy. The levy approved on Monday does not include the district bond amount because district refinancing for 2012 is not yet complete. The bonds are anticipated to come to about $4.8 million, and will include a $200,000 district abatement. “I feel very good,” said Curt Saindon, assistant superintendent for finance operations for the district. “We haven’t had to make major cuts that affect class size, that affect instruction.” Frankfort School District …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

LOCAL VOICES: School District 157-C Implementing Common Core State Standards

Three recent District 157-C informational “Coffees” highlighting the Common Core State Standards Initiative that is being implemented were well attended.

Summit Hill Board Approves $32.2M Levy Estimate

The approval will raise the district's estimated tax rate to approximately 3.7 percent.

The Summit Hill School District 161 Board of Education approved the 2012 tax levy estimate resolution at a special board meeting on Nov. 19. This is the same estimate that the board voted down on Nov. 14. The approximately $32.2 million levy estimate requests a $1.55 million increase compared to last year’s finalized levy. The resolution raises the estimated tax rate to just above 3.7 percent. This translates to a $69 tax increase for the owner of a $200,000 house. Board Members Denise Wildeveld, Sean William Doyle, Stacey Borgens and Board President Mary Kenny voted in favor of the levy estimate. Board Member George Perros, Secretary Denise Lenz and Vice President Joy Murphy voted against the levy. Prior to the vote, community members …

•  12 Comments
• Photos (1)

District 210 Receives Annual Report Card

The district did not meet statewide standards in 2011-12, but Lincoln-Way Schools were still high-ranking among area districts.

Lincoln-Way School District 210 recently received its annual Illinois District Report Card. According to the report, the district is not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress statewide standards. However, neither is any other high school district in the state, according to Sun-Times Media. Adequate Yearly Progress is determined by student scores on the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE), participation rates on state assessments and graduation rates. During the 2011-12 academic year, the number of Lincoln-Way students meeting or exceeding state standards dropped, from 72.1 percent in 2010-11 to 68.8 percent in 2011-12. The state average during both years was approximately 51 percent. The state standard is 85 percent. In math, for which…

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Will County Resident

11:07 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Donny, go look at the requirements for the class of 2008. The requirements were 3 years of English, 2 years of math, and 2 years of science. 4 years of English, 3 years of math, and 3 years of science were all increased after I graduated. I was also able to bypass "Reading Seminar" because I took Honors English my freshman year. I do not believe you can do that anymore to get out of the reading …   more ›

Summit Hill Board Approves School Improvement Plans

The plans are designed to help the district transition to new statewide curricular standards.

The Summit Hill District 161 Board of Education unanimously approved proposed School Improvement Plans presented by administrators at Wednesday night’s board meeting. The proposals were designed to align with the district’s three-year New Common Core Standards implementation plan. Common Core is a set of statewide curricular standards aimed at preparing students for college and the workforce. It constitutes a single set of expectations for all students. All Illinois school districts must fully transition to Common Core by the 2013-2014 school year. “The superintendent and staff have really worked very hard to lay out an implementation plan,” said board member Sean William Doyle. “Any time you have a dramatic change in the learning …

•  22 Comments
• Photos (1)