District 57 students explore Mount Prospect's history

Second-graders from Fairview and Lions Park explored the Mount Prospect Historical Society's Central School in May, learning what it was like to be a student in the 1900s.

It was the first time that District 57 students were able to end their annual local history unit by spending time in the school, which recently opened to the public.

The field trip also included stops at other historical sites throughout town and was the culmination of the second-graders' Mount Prospect history curriculum, which recently was revamped in time for the town's Centennial celebration.

District 57 second-grade teachers Michele Logar and Julie Vowinkel realized a couple years ago that their local history unit had become out of date and could use a refresh, so they decided to devote a summer to delving into the community's past.

Logar, a Fairview teacher, and Vowinkel, who retired from Lions Park in 2015, became historians for a couple months, working in partnership with the historical society to create a new District 57 curriculum that was rolled out last year in time for the centennial.

For many years, second-graders from Fairview and Lions Park have been studying Mount Prospect history each spring. The new curriculum is much more detailed, and the annual history field trip has been expanded. Logar says the students love it.

"They can't wait to get started each day. Nothing I've taught in all my years has generated this level of excitement," she says.

When Logar and Vowinkel designed the new lessons, they decided to make better use of Central School as soon as it opened to the public. That finally happened this year, which means students who took the field trip in May could sit in the desks, write on slates and be transported back in time.

The field trip also includes stops at St. John Lutheran Church and Cemetery, where the Rev. Jeff Gavin gives a tour, and Capannari Ice Cream, formerly the Moehling General Store, where owner Katie Dix explains the significance of one of the oldest buildings in Mount Prospect.

Logar says many community members and the historical society have helped make the history unit meaningful to students.

Logar and Vowinkel say the effort to revamp the curriculum grew as they uncovered new information and came up with creative ways to engage students.

The curriculum goes back to the beginning and covers the Potawatomi Indians, who used to live in the area, then explores the founding families. New materials include a street name activity, a section on women in Mount Prospect and tech components, such as the state's digital archives.

Logar says the curriculum is the perfect way to get young students interested in history.

"There's no better way to start than with the history in your own town," she says.

"Over the years, thousands of District 57 second-graders have learned about the history of their town. It's great that Michele and Julie have built on that with an expanded curriculum just as we're celebrating Mount Prospect's 100th birthday," says Dr. Susan Woodrow, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

District 57 serves approximately 2,200 prekindergarten through eighth-grade students in the community of Mount Prospect, preparing them to learn and succeed in a changing world.

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