A first on the first day of school: No mobile classrooms in District 300

For several years, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night could stop teachers in Community Unit District 300 from trudging out to their mobile classrooms every day.

This year, teachers and students will not have to brave the elements between classes and meetings. Renovations funded by a 2006 property tax increase added space to east-side schools that can now house all classes in the same building.

"It is a very welcome and needed change," Superintendent Ken Arndt said Monday, the first day of school in District 300. "Nobody can remember when was the last time when we did not have mobiles."

Trish Whitecotton, principal of Golfview Elementary School in Carpentersville, said aside from being an eyesore and an inconvenience for teachers, mobiles created safety concerns, as students had to be escorted to the trailers.

"It's fantastic," said Whitecotton, whose school was renovated last year. "The teachers don't have to worry about the rain or the weather. It's easier for teachers to work as a team."

The expansion of the Carpentersville schools was the last major construction project funded through the 2006 tax increase.

"After this year, there is no more funds available for major renovation projects," Arndt said. "We're definitely done."

With further construction on hold, District 300 educators will focus on helping students meet state standards at the district's high schools.

Carole Cooper, director of accountability and assessment, drove home the issue at a board meeting this month, saying, "We're not too pleased with our ACT scores. For the first time ever, we're below the state average in every single ACT target."

In hopes of reversing this trend, the high schools will continue to model their curriculum after state college-readiness standards and introduce new testing technology from the Minnesota-based Scantron company.

"I think it's going to allow (teachers) to have rapid, meaningful decisions," Dundee-Crown High School Associate Principal Terry Mootz said of the Scantron technology. "You can process 500 students' worth of information in a matter of seconds."

Several elementary schools in the district are starting a full-day kindergarten program this year. The first half of the day will be traditional kindergarten; during the second half, teachers will focus on literacy, math, enrichment activities and one-on-one instruction.

"It'll be watched and dissected and carefully construed to make sure it's going well," said Hampshire Elementary School Principal Jim Aalfs, whose building has launched a two-year pilot of full-day kindergarten. "Hopefully we can expand this for the district in years to come."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=316599">First day of school </a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=317827">District 300 to use new test at high school <span class="date">[08/31/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>