Classes resume for District 300 students Tuesday
More than 21,000 students returned to classrooms Tuesday for the first day of classes across 28 schools in Community Unit District 300.
New programs, principals and staff members are among the highlights this year at the Algonquin-based district.
New principals this year are Pamela Carlos at Golfview Elementary School in Carpentersville, Niki Burkey at Lincoln Praire Elementary School in Lake in the Hills, Angela Reincke at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School and Tom Ruzinok at Westfield Community School in Algonquin.
The district also is hiring more social workers, substitute teachers, expanding trauma-informed teaching and providing additional supports to struggling English language learners.
Its DREAM Academy - for Dedicated Reinforcement, Engagement And Motivation - will expand this year into middle school. Last year, the academy provided additional supports to roughly 100 students in first through fifth grades at Perry Elementary School in Carpentersville struggling with emotional traumas and behavioral issues.
This year, sixth-graders at Carpentersville Middle School will be enrolled in the program, which will expand by one grade level in subsequent years.
Officials also are starting a new AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Excel program for English language learners in sixth and seventh grades at Carpentersville Middle School.