Leaders talk about what's happening in Palatine
New initiatives and construction updates were part of a Wednesday community forum that featured presentations made by all local governments serving Palatine.
Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211's associate superintendent for student services, Mark Kovack, treated the gathering of local leaders to a sneak peek at an online resource called a student readiness plan, which will debut soon and offer a plethora of information.
By logging onto the secure website account, parents and students from Fremd and Palatine high schools will see up-to-date grades, with information refreshed every 30 minutes, Kovack said.
"Students and parents alike are always interested in knowing, 'How I'm I doing in my classes?'" Kovack said at the forum sponsored by the Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce.
Kovack said the online resource also will have individual student calendars, academic history, bell schedules and a section for college and career exploration.
In addition to District 211, representatives provided updates on what's happening at Palatine Township, Salt Creek Rural Park District, Harper College, Palatine Public Library District, the village, Palatine Park District and Palatine Township Elementary District 15.
Matthew Barbini, associate superintendent of District 15, said a new initiative involved the distribution of 4,400 laptop computers to students for use in classrooms and at home. The Chromebooks for grades six through eight at the start of the 2017-18 academic season followed a two-year test program.
"It is really exciting," Barbini said. "I was there at many of the schools when those Chromebooks were being issued to kids and it was ear-to-ear smiles. And I've been in classrooms, talked to teachers, etcetera, and kids are really using these tools to develop content, to collaborate, to create."
Park district Executive Director Mike Clark said a $38 million renovation of a health and recreation facility at Harper College is expected to be finished in fall 2018. The park district contributed $9 million from a reserve fund to the project, Clark said.
"We'll basically be the owner and operator of the aquatic center portion of that facility," he said. "And we'll also be a primary provider of programming and services in the remainder of the facility, as well as (offering) much community access to that building."