The briefs

Schaumburg choir to sing at Epcot

The Schaumburg High School Concert Choir will head to Disney World's Epcot Center on Dec. 29 in Orlando, Fla. to sing in the resort's 300-voice Candlelight Processional holiday pageant.

Joined by a 50-piece orchestra, and featuring narration by actress Marlee Matlin, the choir will perform 15 songs for about 4,000 visitors.

The choir will also perform in the Magic Music Days Program, and record part of the vocal score for Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame." The performance will be dubbed over footage from the animated film and recorded on DVD.

District 54 schools see improvement

Nine schools in Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 have received Academic Improvement Awards from the Illinois State Board of Education in recognition of significant gains made on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test from 2004 to 2006.

Aldrin, Dirksen, Enders-Salk, MacArthur and Muir elementary schools and Addams, Eisenhower, Frost and Mead junior high schools were among the 1,031 schools chosen for showing substantial gains on the state test given to third- through eighth-grade students each March.

Schools receiving the honor showed an upward trend in state test results and made significant improvement by showing at least a 7.5 point improvement in reading and math scores between 2005 and 2006 or at least 15 point improvement between 2004 and 2006.

Register online for adult classes

Adults wanting to take classes in Palatine-Schaumburg High School Distritct 211's continuing education program can begin registering online on Jan. 14 at www.d211.org by clicking on "continuing education." Most classes start the week of Feb. 11. For more information call Charles Chamberlain, director of student extended educational services and continuing education at (847) 755-6720.