Lincoln School in St. Charles finds new life as an education space – for teachers

Students, teachers and administrators in St. Charles Unit District 303 are enthusiastic about a newly remodeled space inside the oldest school building in the district.

Abraham Lincoln School in St. Charles underwent renovations this summer to transition to housing the Transition Program and collaborative space for educators after a 95-year run as an elementary school.

After the end of the 2023-24 school year, renovations began to convert the building to house the Transition Program, a special education program supporting students ages 18 to 22 in developing skills for employment and independent living.

The work included ADA and safety improvements, updating floors, bathrooms, finishings and remodeling classrooms throughout the first level of the school for the Transition Program’s needs. The school’s gymnasium also underwent a complete remodel to become a collaborative workspace for educators and house school board meetings.

Executive Director of Facilities Amanda Stuber said the new and improved gymnasium provides a flexible work area with enough space for administrators and educators to use it however they need. The space has room for up to about 130 people at a time.

One benefit of the gymnasium’s remodel is the space can be used by Professional Learning Communities, which are collaborative groups of educators and administrators.

Superintendent Paul Gordon said the district has never had a dedicated space where all PLCs could work at the same time.

The PLCs previously used different district facilities like the Haines Center and the auditorium at St. Charles East High School when students weren’t using them.

“This is just a dedicated space for learning, for collaboration and for educators to come together,” Gordon said. “It just gives us flexibility.”

The Transition Program was the first to occupy the new space, moving in before the start of the school year.

Head of the Transition Program Anne Federici Dragosh said the space is perfect for their needs.

“Oh my gosh, this is such a gift,” Dragosh said. “It is the most perfect space for us because we were kind of bursting at the seams... Now we have these nice, purposeful learning spaces that are really conducive to learning.”

Dragosh said the environment is more suitable, and the new layout fits their needs well, especially for students with disabilities.

“We have all the space we need right now,” Dragosh said.

The former library at the school was remodeled to become the Transition Program’s “Day Room,” which includes a full-size kitchen and the Creative Threads headquarters, a screen printing workshop where students design and make custom clothing.

The Day Room is large enough for all the Transition Program students to congregate and learn at the same time.

Gordon said in addition to the space being designed for the Transition Program’s needs, the new location is closer to downtown, which is perfect for students who often work at local businesses during the week to develop life skills and independence.

The new location is across the street from the library, which houses the Daily Bean, a coffee shop run by Transition Program students.

“The facility itself is really serving the needs of our students in many different capacities,” Gordon said.

The renovation also included demolishing one of the school’s playgrounds to construct a parking lot and transforming the former kindergarten room into a new office space for educators.

The school’s second-floor classrooms and basement underwent safety improvements but were not part of the remodel and remain vacant. Stuber said there are no defined plans for those spaces yet, but it’s nice to have some extra room to grow.

“We’re very pleased with the transition center over at Lincoln,” Gordon said. “It’s a great space for students and for our staff.”