District 300 seeks to create remediation site, community center

Community Unit District 300 officials are considering using a Carpentersville child care center as an alternative site for students facing out-of-school suspensions, and potentially as a center for adult continuing education and community resources.

District architects are working with the Kane County Regional Office of Education to figure out whether the Tom Thumb Community Child Care Center meets Illinois school code requirements for housing students.

“We're anxiously awaiting the ability to determine what we can use it for,” District 300 Superintendent Fred Heid said. “Illinois has strict code requirements when it relates to having students in a building. Right now, it's very much an open-concept classroom with partitions. School code is different (for schools) than what's required of private prekindergarten providers. It's a matter of adequacy of space.”

The Algonquin-based school district took ownership of the building, at 116 Carpenter Blvd., earlier this month in a land swap with Children's Home and Aid. The private child care provider is building a larger, 27,000-square-foot facility at 229 Lake Marian Road in Carpentersville, which previously was owned by District 300.

With roughly double the capacity, Children's Home and Aid's new center will accommodate 230 children — previously 110 students. The provider will move out of the Tom Thumb building July 27.

An alternative to an out-of-school suspension center is not a new concept in District 300.

Years ago, the district converted space in an older school into a suspension site serving no more than 50 students at the time. That program was eliminated as the district started to see a decline in the numbers of in-school and out-of-school suspensions.

If such a center is established again, officials would like to keep capacity to 20 students for now, with room to grow the program.

“It is really intended to create an opportunity to do some counseling and intervention with students,” Heid said. “We alleviate the burden on parents in having to provide supervision for their child. The student doesn't fall behind academically. A lot of it is how do we turn an incident into an opportunity to train them or give them the skills for conflict avoidance in the future.”

Parents would be responsible for transporting students to the center.

“We would have teachers there so the student doesn't lose out,” Heid said. “You are removing the student from the school campus. We give them an opportunity to receive tutoring, support, some intervention, counseling ... we will have counselors there (who) will work with them on problem solving, conflict resolution and anger management.”

“While initially it would only serve our students who are suspended, ultimately it can become a recruitment center for dropouts,” Heid added.

If the building doesn't meet school code, District 300 could use the space as community resource center for housing social service agencies — such as the Centro de Informacion of Elgin and the Northern Illinois Food Bank — and possibly offer adult continuing education classes there.

“Essentially, what it would become is a true community center,” Heid said. “During the day, it would function to provide those supports and in the evening we would offer some adult education opportunities — English and Spanish classes or blended learning.”

A few years ago, District 300 offered parent university classes at various school sites. That program was discontinued when grant funding ran out.

“I'm a huge proponent of parent university,” said Heid, adding parents could be trained in job skills and possibly complete their GED through the center.

“There is the possibility of a grant-funded clinic type organization that would be interested in some office space there to provide medical services to some of our families as well,” he added.

A portion of the building also could be turned into a maker space where students create robotics projects and have field trips.

The cost of rehabbing the building could run the district anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000, which could be supported by any agencies leasing space or an anticipated increase in general state aid revenues.

“We would either tap into reserves or we would look at existing programs,” Heid said. “There are grants that are available, too, that would help us offset some of the costs that are specific to alternative (disciplinary) solutions. We do have a capital budget every year that has some money in it to do these types of projects.”

The District 300 school board must vet and approve any of these options.

“In the next 30 days, we will know where we will stand with that building,” Heid said.