Unity stressed as Mundelein reconfigures schools

On Sunday, Mechanics Grove School in Mundelein held what on the surface appeared to be a standard open house.

What made this one stand out, though, was the fact that it was the first open house for the combined Lincoln and Mechanics Grove schools.

Mechanics Grove Principal Dr. Kathleen Miller said instead of having two second- through fifth-grade centers, the community will have one third-through-fifth grade center.

Lincoln School was closed in May, and everything traveled to Mechanics Grove July 18.

“We’re really going to create an exemplary school for the Mundelein community,” she said.

The change was necessitated by declining enrollment in District 75.

To underscore the theme of unity, the open house featured the unveiling of two murals designed to promote unity between the two schools.

The “Paint Your Mark” mosaic mural consists of 755 squares. Students from Lincoln and Mechanics Grove painted the squares together in May.

“We wanted the kids to embrace their talents and their personalities and express them visually on the wall,” said parent Jodi Dorfler, whose vision guided the mural project.

Dorfler said one of the goals was to make the Lincoln children feel welcome, which would be easier if their artwork was already on the walls.

Parent Christina Weiss admired the murals during Sunday’s open house.

“I think it was awesome to have all the kids from both schools make it together,” she said.

Weiss added that children who know each other through extracurricular activities and sports will now get to go to school together.

A benefit of bringing the two schools together is to reacquaint children who had been separated after attending first grade at Washington School.

Weiss’ son attended Lincoln last year as a second grader and it was his first year there. That meant that he had only been separated from his classmates at Washington for one year, so the impact is not as great as it might have been.

“What’s so great about it now is that all the kids will go from each school together. The won’t get split up and back together in the junior high,” Weiss said.

“That’s what I try to point out to them (her children). ‘You’re back with all the friends that you lost when you went to second grade,”’ said parent Tammy Thier.

Another highlight of Sunday’s open house was a performance by vibraphonist Ken Hall, the father of music teacher Jennifer Hall.