Crossings: Village School
Village School
Address: 880 Nippersink Road, Round Lake
Phone: (847) 270-9470
Web site: www.rlas-116.org/vikings
District's name and Web site: Round Lake Area School District 116, www.rlas-116.org
Number of students/grade levels offered: 494 in grades 1 through 6
Number of staff: 60
School mascot: Vikings
When was school built: 1971
An interesting tidbit: Right next door is a new playground owned by the park district that students get to use.
Principal: Elizabeth Sullivan
• She has been at the school since 2002.
• What is your favorite memory from Village School? "The favorite memory is when we started the art lessons here, about three years ago, and paid for by the school PTO. Since then, we started doing an art mural, and this year it seems to be the best one because the students have had three years of art instruction. The murals are wonderful and we are really proud to have them."
• What do you think is an unique aspect of your school? "Village School is the only school that has no doors and only partial walls. Teachers have said the one thing they wish they had were doors, but I like it this way. I like it because we can move unobtrusively between the classrooms."
• What are you most proud of? "We have come a long way as a school since I've been here. We have received a lot of small grants that teachers apply for, and that translates to a lot of materials for students to use. Our test scores are good, but we are always trying to make them better. Also, we have very little turnover because when teachers come here, they don't like to leave, and that's really good for the students. But the thing I'm really happy about is that we have an excellent library here at Village. We have new computers, new books and a wonderful library aide that keeps learning on track."
• If all school enrollments were determined by choice, what would you say to potential parents to convince them to choose Village for their children? "We have a dynamite staff - starting from the custodians all the way to the teachers and administrators. They are all wonderful, caring and hard working. And each one is passionate in what they do and keep their focus primarily on student learning. We are also a wonderful small school and do the smaller activities that larger schools cannot do. We take pride in having not lost the personal touch."
• If you can get one thing accomplished between now and the end of May in your school, what would it be? "We are a very active school, and between now and the end of the school year we have a lot of activities for students and parents. If we can get through all of those things, we'll be looking very good."