U-46 revises start times for elementary/middle schools, adjusts school calendar

Elgin Area School District U-46 families will see changes to school start times in elementary and middle schools, transportation routes, and the 2026-27 school year calendar.

The school board Monday night discussed changes that are tied to the district’s boundary transition, which includes moving sixth graders into middle schools instead of staying in elementary buildings starting this fall, as well as resources to help ensure employees and families are prepared for these adjustments.

To improve on-time bus arrivals and reduce delays, the school day for all elementary schools will start at the same time, and middle schools will experience a five-minute adjustment. For the 2026-27 school year, the schedule for elementary schools will be 7:55 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and for middle schools 9:05 a.m. to 3:41 p.m. High schools’ schedule will remain unchanged, from 7:40 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.

The district’s Transportation Department is analyzing bus routes based on updated attendance boundaries and enrollment data. Families who qualify for bus service will be able to access detailed route information in Infinite Campus by Aug. 24, Kyle VonSchnase, U-46 deputy superintendent of operations, wrote in a message.

Officials will provide a transportation readiness update in April.

The first day of school for kindergarten through 12th grades will be Aug. 27 to accommodate construction throughout the district. For preschool, the first day of classes is Sept. 3. The last day of school for prekindergarten through 12th grade, provided no emergency days are used, is June 9, 2027. To view the full calendar, visit u-46.org/calendar.

U-46 — the state’s second-largest district — now has 38 elementary schools after closing two buildings over the last couple of years. The district will close Washington and Lowrie elementary schools, both in Elgin, and Hanover Countryside Elementary School in Streamwood at the end of this academic year and consolidate buildings.

Work on several projects is ongoing, including building a new elementary school in Elgin, conversion of Illinois Park School in Elgin from an early childhood center to a full elementary building, and major renovations and additions at Glenbrook Elementary in Streamwood and Century Oaks Elementary in Elgin.

The district in February began work on a new 2,250-seat stadium at Larkin High School in Elgin — the first in its 63-year history. The $11.8 million complex will feature a modern stadium with a turf field for football, soccer and other sports, as well as a high-performance track.

And Tuesday, construction crews broke ground on Glenbrook Elementary’s renovations, involving gutting the existing instructional area of the building, constructing new classrooms, adding a courtyard and creating a six-room wing for preschool.

Glenbrook students will report to Hanover Countryside Elementary School in Streamwood for the 2026-27 school year. That building is scheduled to close after this school year and no longer will house its existing students.

To transition sixth-graders out of elementary buildings and into middle schools, U-46 renovated the 58,000-square-foot Hawk Hallow Elementary School in Bartlett. That project included building a 92,000-square-foot addition completed last summer.

Formerly an elementary school for 25 years, the improved Hawk Hollow welcomed its first seventh grade class this year. It will have students in grades six through eight next school year.

The new middle school under construction in Elgin will open near Hilltop Elementary in 2027. The district also is renovating Kimball Middle School in Elgin and Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin. Both projects are scheduled to be finished by August.

Early registration for next school year is now open and begins districtwide April 1. Visit u-46.org/registration or call (847) 888-5000 ext. 5715 (English) or ext. 5016 (Spanish).

With changing attendance boundaries, all schools will host a back-to-school bash before the start of the school year. Elementary and middle schools will host a welcome event this spring, while incoming kindergartners will be invited to playdates at each elementary school this summer, officials said.