New Lace School Principal Hired

Erin Dwyer was officially hired by the District 61 school board Tuesday night.

The Darien Public School District #61 school board Tuesday night hired Erin Dwyer to be Lace Elementary School's principal beginning on July 1, according to a release from the district's administration. Dwyer, who is currently serving her first year as the principal at Westchester Intermediate School in Westchester, has worked in education for 10 years, beginning as a second-grade teacher at Fairview School in Darien.  She also taught at Forest Park School District 91, where she eventually became an assistant principal at Field Stevenson School. She served as an acting principal at Field Stevenson, as well. "Ms. Dwyer has been described as the type of person who 'exercises great judgment in any context and situation,'" the District 61 …

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D61 Incumbent Withdraws Re-election Bid

Darien District 61 school board member Claudia Manley withdrew her petition for re-election, but will remain on the ballot in District 86.

Darien school board member Claudia Manley has withdrawn her petition for re-election in the April election. According to District 61 official Mary Lang, Manley filed the papers with the district office. She has been a board members since 2009, and currently serves as the board representative for the Illinois Association of School Boards and the Legislative Education Network of DuPage County. Read more: See who's running for all of the local races in Darien.   However, Manley remains on the ballot for the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board of Education race.  Earlier this year, Darien resident Jennifer Babbington withdrew her petition for the District 86 board and said she would instead support the trio of Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and…

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Darien District 61 Educational Foundation awards record amount in teacher grants

The foundation has awarded four teacher grants for the new school year totaling more than $7,900

10 Stories about Kids Who Made a Difference this Year

As the school year winds to a close, revisit these stories about students who are working to make Darien—and the world beyond—a better place.

8-Year-Old Boy's Letter Sparks Bike Safety Day at Concord Hunter Long knows that he and Hunter Himes, injured in a late February accident, share more than a name: They also share strength. EJH Student's Film on Diversity Moves on to State PTA Contest Eighth-grader Mike Roberge wrote, edited and produced the minute-and-a-half long animated clip. The Bold, Bald Students of Cass Junior High (PHOTOS) Students, teachers, firefighters and police officers shaved their heads Friday, raising more than $17,000 for pediatric cancer research. Downers Grove South Raises $65,000 for St. Baldrick's Sixty-five shavees and student group fundraisers contributed to the total. Students Raise More than $22K for Cancer Research The Cancer Smashers event raised …

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Illinois Lawmakers at Odds with Madigan over Proposed Pension Shift

A plan to shift the cost of teacher pensions from the state to local school districts became the most hotly debated topic in Springfield on Tuesday.

Update: Madigan Drops Plan to Shift Pension Costs to School Districts *** With the clock ticking on the current legislative session in Springfield, Illinois lawmakers are scrambling to find a solution to the state's massive shortfall in the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). The most hotly debated topic in the Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday was a plan to gradually shift pension liabilities from the state to local school districts, universities and colleges. The proposal is part of Senate Bill 1673, a pension bill backed by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago). An Illinois House committee voted 6-3 to send the proposal to the House before Thursday's adjournment deadline, NBC Chicago reports. House Republican Leader Tom Cross of …

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City Mulls Several Crossing Guard Staffing Options

Members of the Police Committee said Thursday it was premature to make a recommendation.

What began as a conversation about whether to contract an outside firm for crossing guards morphed into a Police Committee discussion Thursday about other options for handling the role. City Administrator Bryon Vana said that at Monday’s City Council meeting he will float the idea of asking District 61 assume responsibility for crossing guard employment as one possible alternative. The city employs three part-time crossing guards at two intersections near District 61 schools, costing the city a shade fewer than $24,000 annually. The Darien Police Department this week proposed contracting Andy Frain Services to hire, train and supervise crossing guards—not to save money but to help staff the positions more efficiently. When a crossing guard…

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Divided District 61 Board Names New Special Services Director

Two board members opposed the hiring process used to appoint Carol Schultz, who comes to the district from Chicago State University.

Carol Schultz agreed Wednesday morning to join Darien School District 61 as director of special services, after the Board of Education approved her appointment Tuesday night amid two dissenting opinions. The board voted 4-2, with Deborah Gaspari and Claudia Manley voting against the selection. Board member Janine Kiwiet was absent. Gaspari said her vote was not against Schultz but rather against the process that the district used during the job search. She said she felt the hiring process was too centralized within the district’s administration and the board hadn’t been involved enough. Manley said she also felt that the board, as well as the community, should be more involved in administrative hiring. “That’s not the charge I’ve been …

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Lauren Williamson

5:08 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012

Hi Eva, From what I understand, the board got copies of the finalists' resumes after asking for them. Carlo made the final decision on the top candidate. The board then voted by a measure of 4-2 to accept Carlo's decision. The board gets more involved in the hiring process for the superintendent only, which is general practice in Illinois. This article from the Illinois Association of School …   more ›

Students Raise More than $22K for Cancer Research

The Cancer Smashers event raised funds to benefit the Robert H. Lurie Center at Northwestern University.

They’re called the Cancer Smashers. It’s no wonder, then, that their winter fundraiser was such a smashing success. Students in District 61 and District 66 raised $22,676.96 over the course of the past week to help fund cancer research at Northwestern University’s Robert H. Lurie Center.  “I’m extremely proud of all the students from both districts that they came together to raise this much money in one week,” said Eisenhower Junior High Principal Mike Fitzgerald. “I think it’s amazing.”  EJH and Lace School raised a combined total of $14,000, while Prairieview Elementary and Lakeview Junior High took in just more than $8,600. All of the money raised will go directly to the Lurie Center, organizer Beth Tischler said. The Cancer Smashers …

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District 61 Survey: Most Local Boards Don't Broadcast Meetings

The district conducted the survey as part of its ongoing discussion about whether to televise school board meetings.

Darien School District 61 would be in the minority if it decided to televise its board meetings, according to a survey the district conducted among area school boards. Superintendent Bob Carlo presented the survey at Tuesday’s board meeting as a continuation of a discussion started in November about potentially televising meetings.  Three out of 14 local school boards that District 61 surveyed film their board meetings and share them on a website. Three more record audio. None televise their meetings. Neighboring Cass District 63 used to broadcast its meetings on local cable access but stopped in 2008 because of low viewership.  Maercker School District 60, which serves parts of Westmont, Willowbrook, Clarendon Hills, Darien and Hinsdale, …

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District 61 Sets 2012-13 School Calendar

The district considered starting school the last week in August but decided to stick with a schedule similar to previous years.

Although District 61 considered shifting its start date to the last week in August for the 2012-13 school year, the board decided Tuesday to keep the first day of school in the third week of the month. Classes will officially begin for all District 61 students on Aug. 23, which will put the last day of school on May 30, 2013. If the district uses all five of its snow days, the last day of school would be June 6. The district considered moving the start date until the last week in August for several reasons, including the potential of cooler temperatures. Board President Bob Rzeszutko said he didn’t think weather should be a driving factor in the decision. “The difference between starting the week of the 20th or the week of the 27th in …

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