Grayslake Dist. 46 looking to boost foreign language classes, technology

Ideas on how to boost student achievement - including foreign language instruction and upgraded technology - have been floated at Grayslake Elementary District 46, but officials will need to decide what's affordable.

Six of the proposals outlined by Superintendent Ellen Correll are estimated to cost $2.7 million in the first year, if pursued for the 2015-16 academic season.

District 46 board President Steven Strack said at a meeting this month that education funding decisions made by state lawmakers may dictate what gets done.

"If we're looking at the possibility of losing over $1 million in revenue soon, then it's hard to recover from that," Strack said. "We need to keep looking into these (proposals) and understand what it'll cost when we are able to do them."

Correll and school board members want District 46 to be in the upper echelon of Lake County schools. Elementary-age students nowadays need to be college- and career-ready while able to compete in a global economy, they say, and should be emotionally and socially prepared.

Correll said it would be desirable for the district to have foreign language instruction, gifted and talented classes, upgraded technology, Project Lead the Way and Encore programs, and central air conditioning at Woodview and Meadowview schools in Grayslake, which serve kindergarten through fourth grade. Project Lead The Way develops science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum, while Encore is an enrichment-based initiative that lets pupils pursue their interests.

Correll said the district should also consider free, full-day kindergarten, which could cost an extra $593,174 if launched in 2016-17.

"There is a sense of urgency," she said. "We're not going to be able to stop the world until we're ready to go."

Installing air conditioning at Woodview and Meadowview is projected to cost $1.5 million, and adding foreign language instruction would cost $353,500 for 2015-16. At least seven new teachers would be needed for a foreign language program, according to Correll.

Project Lead the Way is pegged at a startup cost of $337,725, in part because three additional teachers would be needed at Frederick School in Grayslake, Park School Campus in Round Lake and Grayslake Middle School. District 46 documents show Encore would cost $205,000, technology upgrades $155,472, and the gifted and talented classes $105,000 in the first year.