Elgin family fights to stay in school

In 2004, Angelo and Jenifer Pope found their dream home on a quiet, tree-lined Elgin street.

What sealed the deal for the pair was the brand-new school -- Lincoln Elementary in Hoffman Estates -- their three daughters would be attending.

For the next three years, all seemed perfect.

"My kids had wonderful teachers. They made wonderful friends," Jenifer Pope said. "It's exactly the kind of educational experience you hope for."

Enter a registration snafu.

In March 2007, the Popes, who both work full time, called Elgin Area School District U-46's transportation department to see if they could put the girls on a bus route.

"I was told we had been at the wrong school for three years," Jenifer Pope said. "I was disturbed by the whole thing -- this was the first time anyone had said anything to me."

Not the district, which Pope said she called several times in 2004 to double-check that Lincoln was the correct school.

Not Lincoln Elementary staff members, who accepted the girls' registration paperwork each year without question.

Pope has spent the past 14 months battling the district to keep her girls at the school where she believes they belong.

U-46 attorney Pat Broncato said he first learned of the mistake in spring 2007. For the 2007-08 school year, Pope's daughters were allowed to stay at Lincoln because her oldest, Giana, was in sixth grade. It is the district's policy to allow sixth-grade students to complete their elementary education at the school they began, Broncato said.

This fall, Angalina, 6, and Mikayla, 8, must move to Coleman Elementary in Elgin.

"Every year there are families that go to the wrong school to register but for some reason or another end up at the wrong school," Broncato said.

Hiawatha Drive, where the Popes live, is split down the middle. Children from odd-numbered homes go to Coleman. Even numbers attend Lincoln.

Broncato says he understands how a mistake was made. "We've got 41,000 students," he said. "Still, in this case, a mistake was made."

Jenifer Pope says she intends to fight the district all summer if she has to.

"They're clearly making black-and-white decisions," Jenifer Pope said. "My kids are distraught, I'm distraught … and they seem to just be saying 'tough.' "

Because her home is less than 1.5 miles from Coleman, Mikayla and Angalina must walk to school, crossing two busy streets -- Congdon Avenue and Route 25.

According to the state report card, 76.9 percent of Coleman students met or exceeded state standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. At Lincoln, 83.3 percent of students met or exceeded state standards.