Schools add silence time without a peep

With the Student Prayer Act tied up in the courts, schools in the northern Fox Valley already have implemented the state-mandated moment of silence, often incorporating the moment into existing school traditions.

Community Unit District 300 Superintendent Ken Arndt has told teachers to add at least 10 seconds to their day to comply with the state mandate.

In Huntley Unit District 158, Superintendent John Burkey has instructed principals to add 15 seconds of silence each morning after the Pledge of Allegiance.

But each school uses the moment of silence differently, with some seizing on the mandate as an opportunity to get kids more focused or relaxed.

At any given day at Lakewood Elementary School in Carpentersville, students start their day with Aretha Franklin, Simon and Garfunkel or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Lakewood starts its day with a song "to give kids a chance to think about something important, hopefully something outside of themselves," Principal Tim Loversky said.

Teachers at Lakewood have added 10 to 15 seconds of silence after the morning song.

"Several teachers have commented to me that between the song and the moment of silence, it helps kids focus for the day," Loversky said.

At Perry Elementary School, students MELT to start their day. MELT is an acronym for a brain research-based relaxation technique that allows students to reflect.

Perry Principal Craig Zieleniewski said that while he doesn't agree with the intent of the Student Prayer Act, the MELT routine is a great way for the school to meet the requirement.

"We did for a different purpose, not for a religious purpose but for relaxation," Zieleniewski said.

At the high schools, a 10-second moment of silence has been added after the Pledge of Allegiance.

"For us, it's been a rather seamless transition," Hampshire High School Principal Chuck Bumbales said.

Teachers at Dundee-Crown High School already do activities to start each block to engage students with the subject at hand.

"I think it's OK," Dundee-Crown Principal Lynn McCarthy said. "I think it may have lost some its meaning, because we typically did moment of silences when we lost a student."