Elgin High School teacher out of hospital after classroom stabbing

An Elgin High School teacher stabbed multiple times by a male student was discharged from the hospital Sunday, authorities said.

While Carolyn Gilbert, 50, of Bloomingdale, recovers at home, school officials will make counselors available this week for staff and students.

Gilbert suffered multiple but non-life-threatening stab wounds to her upper body, officials said. Police and district officials declined to be more specific about the nature of Gilbert's injuries, citing medical privacy laws.

A woman who identified herself as Gilbert's daughter said on Sunday the family had no comment.

Elgin Teachers Association President Tim Davis says the attack is unprecedented in the district's history.

Questions still remain on how the student got the knife into the school, particularly when students are "wanded" with hand-held metal detectors, Davis said.

Once classes resume on Tuesday, Davis intends to ask district officials to review and update its safety and security plans.

He said he'll also educate himself on the district's policies and suggest that it consider incorporating what other school districts do to protect their students and teachers.

"I think we're going to have to work with the district to find a way to make schools safe for students and teachers and parents," Davis said.

The incident occurred Friday at 11:15 a.m., 15 minutes after the school's 2,100 students were dismissed at the conclusion of semester finals.

Gilbert, a two-year employee with the district, had been alone with the student in her first-floor classroom. Another staff member passing by Gilbert's classroom heard her cries and intervened, officials said.

Gilbert was initially treated at Sherman Hospital in Elgin, but was later transferred to the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, from which she was released Sunday afternoon, a nursing supervisor said.

The 16-year-old student accused in the stabbing was arrested at the school and the knife was recovered, Elgin police Lt. Cecil Smith said.

The student has been charged with aggravated battery with a weapon and aggravated battery to a person known to be a teacher, police said.

He's being held at the Cook County Youth Facility in Chicago and has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, police said.

School officials have also suspended the student from the high school, pending an expulsion hearing, said Tony Sanders, chief communications officer for Elgin Area School District U-46.

Sanders did not know if the student had faced disciplinary action in the past.