The varied reporting at the sunrise of a new school year
“Sunrise, sunset / Swiftly flow the days / Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers / blossoming even as we gaze” — Sheldon Harnick lyrics
The tone and atmosphere of Jerry Bock’s score for the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof” suggests a theme perhaps more fitting for end-of-year graduations than new school-year beginnings. But there is a singular value in remembering the “sunrise” element of the song as well as the poignant “sunset.”
These late-summer days have not yet swiftly flown and are here to be appreciated and cherished for the promise they carry as a new academic season gets under way. One of our missions is to capture the spirit of this time in all its many facets.
That will be a goal from now until next June. Yet, it is interesting to see the many ways in which the hopes, goals and expectations for our schools emerge.
There are, of course, the pictures. Tuesday’s Daily Herald front page carried a large, tender image of a third-grader’s interaction with a school staff member as she and her classmates filed into their Washington Elementary School in Elgin on Monday. With it, ran a smaller image from high school football practice in Fox Lake.
Madhu Krishnamurthy and Eric Peterson’s story described more sunsets and sunrises. Washington, built in 1891, is one of three Elgin elementary schools closing at the end of this year. Palatine High School was marking the start of its 150th school year — albeit in a different building than the one-room Wood Street School where it all began.
In addition to the print pictures, a variety of other images captured the mood of the two schools’ first days and can be see in an online gallery at dailyherald.com/galleries. We will have opportunities for many similar repeats at suburban schools in the coming weeks.
It is important to note, though, that there is more to the start of a school year than anxious or excited smiles and sports practices, and this variety, too, has been evident in the past week. On Saturday, Steve Zalusky described the completion of a courtyard garden at Carmel High School in Mundelein. On Wednesday, Mick Zawislak reported an emergency school board decision that will make school buses available for Lake Zurich Community Unit District 95 students who receive specialized transportation services. On Monday, Alice Fabbre described new policies affecting cellphone use at schools across the suburbs.
And on Wednesday, Krishnamurthy detailed a complex and comprehensive set of new benchmarks being approved by the state Board of Education to measure and report the performance of elementary, middle and high school students statewide.
School coverage has always been a priority for the Daily Herald. We know it is a priority for families in the suburbs. And it is worth remembering that the reporting is not limited to capturing the often excited, sometimes apprehensive faces on the first day of classes. It doesn’t mean just reporting the results of school athletic events or chronicling the achievements of standout students in athletics, arts or academics. It is certainly more than transcribing what happens at officious school board meetings.
It is all these things and more, and we look forward to keeping tabs on school happenings in all their variety.
Palatine High School Principal Tony Medina had his school’s notable anniversary in mind as he spoke about preparations for the coming year. “Today was just the start,” he said. “We hope the excitement is maintained the entire school year.”
We could say the same about our school coverage as we prepare for the swiftly flowing days of the coming year.
• Jim Slusher, jslusher@dailyherald.com, is managing editor for opinion at the Daily Herald. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jim.slusher1 and on X at @JimSlusher. His book “Conversations, community and the role of the local newspaper” is available at eckhartzpress.com.