‘I’m beyond excited’: New U-46 middle school in Bartlett ready to welcome students

Eighteen months after breaking ground on a $53 million expansion and renovation, Elgin Area School District U-46 officials celebrated the opening of Hawk Hollow Middle School on Wednesday.

The new middle school in Bartlett is preparing to welcome its first class of students on Aug. 11.

Hawk Hollow was an elementary school for 25 years until it was closed after the 2022-23 school year. The original 57,000-square-foot building was upgraded and expanded by an additional 92,000 square feet.

U-46 school board President Melissa Owens said the building project represents a significant transformation, not just for Hawk Hollow but also for the school district’s approach to grades six through eight.

“As the district planned the move to a true middle school model, we knew this transition would require some big changes,” Owens said. “With Hawk Hollow and the updates coming to all of our middle schools, we’re building smaller but stronger learning communities through the concept of middle school teaming.”

The school, which will have a capacity of 750 students, will start the 2025-26 school year with just seventh graders. It will have students in grades six through eight the following year.

Highlights include nine general classrooms per grade, dedicated science labs, flexible classrooms, staff planning areas, a new cafetorium with a full-service kitchen, dual gyms, performing arts spaces and rooms for culinary arts, band, choir and music.

“As we look ahead, we’re not just opening buildings, we’re opening new possibilities for how we educate U-46’s middle school students,” Owens said.

Lisa Olsem, formerly of Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, will be the school’s first principal.

“It’s an incredible honor,” she said. “Everybody has been so supportive, this community is incredible, and I’m beyond excited to interact with kids and have them in the building.”