Academy names scholarship for 2 longtime teachers

In gratitude to two renowned Fox Valley educators who helped shape the lives of hundreds of students in the northwest suburbs, Elgin Academy recently announced the Ruth Tofanelli/Barbara Lachel Scholarship Fund to provide need-based financial assistance to eligible students who want to attend the academy.

Ruth Tofanelli, along with Jim Williams, was co-founder of Summit School for Learning-Disabled Children in 1968. In 1980, she added an elementary gifted program, which eventually became Summit Academy in Elgin, and in 1981 she opened a preschool at the academy modeled after Shinichi Suzuki's early childhood educational program in Japan. By 2006, the school had grown to three campuses serving more than 500 students.

Barbara Lachel's 30-year career as an educator begin with her service as a kindergarten teacher, and she eventually rose to the position of principal at Summit Academy. When Summit Academy was consolidated with Elgin Academy in 2006, the West Dundee resident remained as director of Elgin Academy's River Road Campus until her death from cancer in 2007.

The Ruth Tofanelli/Barbara Lachel Scholarship Fund has received grants of approximately $17,000 from several donors, including the former parents' organization at Summit Academy, Parents for Summit. Earnings from the endowment will be used to support need-based financial aid for eligible students who formerly attended Summit Academy and are now part of Elgin Academy. When all former Summit Academy students have graduated, the earnings will support other eligible students at Elgin Academy. Additional contributions to the scholarship fund are being solicited.

"The legacy of Ruth Tofanelli and Barb Lachel is well known throughout the education community in the Fox Valley," said John Cooper, head of school at Elgin Academy. "This scholarship fund quite appropriately recognizes the love for children and dedication to accelerated learning exhibited by these two remarkable women."

Elgin Academy, chartered in 1839, serves students in the northwest and western suburbs of Chicago and is one of the area's largest private college-preparatory schools. Located on an 18-acre campus in Elgin's historic downtown district, the academy will add a new Media Science and Fine Arts Center in fall 2008 to serve as the school's "campus hub."

Elgin Academy offers a liberal arts, accelerated, college-preparatory curriculum that is integrated and enhanced with a variety of co-curricular programs. The academy continuously aims to educate the whole person -- academically, emotionally and socially. Small classes are essential to facilitating individualized instruction in which teachers are able to give close attention to each student's personal development. For information, visit www.elginacademy.org.