A look inside: Lincoln Elementary School

Lincoln Elementary School

Address: 200 W. Maple St., Mundelein

Phone: (847) 949-2720

District's name and Web site: Mundelein Elementary District 75, www.d75.lake.k12.il.us

Number of students/grade levels offered: 420 students in second through fifth grades

Number of staff: 40

School mascot: The Lincoln Leopard

When was school built: 1896

Trivia: The Lincoln building was closed for many years but was renovated and reopened by the district in 1996.

Principal: Kathleen Miller

• Started at Lincoln this summer.

• What do you think is an unique aspect of your school? "There is an atmosphere here that all children will be successful, and that smart is how hard you work, not what you are born with. With our belief in finding ways to differentiate instruction, we work very hard to ensure that everyone is successful."

• What are you most proud of? "Our problem-based learning and our science (program). Our children are always actively engaged and the curriculum is woven into themes."

• If all school enrollments were determined by choice, what would you say to potential parents to convince them to choose Lincoln for their children? "At Lincoln, our teachers work very hard to ensure that every child is successful. And we want our parents to be involved in their children's education. There are a lot of opportunities for them. We want them to be involved in our design teams and our action teams."

• If you can get one thing accomplished between now and the end of May in your school, what would it be? "My goal this year is to increase my students' content-area reading skills and knowledge. We're working on doing a lot with non-fiction reading and writing. It's a newer concept of how to engage children so they're highly successful."