Local Students Rally to Wipe Out Cancer

The Cancer Smashers kicked off a fundraising competition Friday with a rally at Eisenhower Junior High.

One dollar at a time, the kids in District 61 and District 66 are hoping to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Positive energy filled Eisenhower Junior High’s gym Friday as the students kicked off a weeklong fundraiser for the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University. Students from Lace Elementary and EJH will compete against the kids at Prairieview Elementary and Lakeview Junior High to see which district can raise the most funds. They’ll raise the money by selling paper fists for $1 — fists that represent their goal of knocking out cancer. The fundraiser is the brainchild of Beth Tischler, who chairs Cancer Smashers, a youth offshoot of the H Foundation, a local group that raises money for cancer research. “I …

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Cancer Smashers Prep for Fundraising Contest

Lace Elementary School students learned Wednesday about the cancer research fundraiser, which will take place the last week in January.

If sheer enthusiasm could cure cancer, the disease would have a mighty foe in the students at Lace Elementary School.  The third- through fifth-graders at Lace filled the school gym with cheers Wednesday as Cancer Smashers chair Beth Tischler rallied them in support of an upcoming fundraiser. Tischler asked every student who knows someone who has been diagnosed with cancer to raise his hand. The gym filled with tiny, raised palms.  She called to the front of the room members of Cancer Smashers, a group of local schoolchildren dedicated to supporting cancer research.  “These people in front of you have decided they’re tired of cancer,” she said. During the last week in January, with the help of Cancer Smashers, Lace will join forces with …

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District 61 To Discuss Televising Board Meetings

Officials would have to determine the cost of televising meetings, including what equipment might be needed.

A request for Darien School District 61 to televise meetings will be discussed by board members next month. “It came up from a resident who had seen that the (Darien) City Council does that and he was inquiring, ‘Has the board ever considered this?’,” Bob Carlo, superintendent of District 61, said Thursday. “And the board really hasn’t had a discussion about it.” During Tuesday’s board meeting, some members said they would like to pursue the topic. “I’d be interested in putting that on a future agenda,” said board member Claudia Manley. Carlo said officials would have to determine the cost of televising meetings, including what equipment might be needed, and if someone would have to be there to run the equipment. “We can get volunteers (to…

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District 61 Recommends 4.99 Percent Levy

Officials only expect to receive about a 1.76 percent increase.

Next month, District 61 School Board members will likely adopt a 4.99 percent property tax levy for 2011. However, school officials are quick to note the DuPage County Clerk will likely only approve a 1.76 percent increase over last year's levy. “Just because we’re asking for 4.99 percent doesn’t mean we’re going to get it,” said Bob Carlo, superintendent of District 61. A levy is a request taxing bodies, such as school districts, make for their portion of residents' property tax bills. The request is based on estimates of new construction in the district.    District Business Manager Megan Stoltz said because the increase falls under the 5 percent threshold, the district won't need to post a Truth in Taxation public hearing notice in a …

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District 61 Fails to Make Adequate Yearly Progress

Administrators shared frustrations about the metric during Tuesdays school board meeting.

Lace Elementary School students in certain subgroups saw improvement in their reading and math scores during 2011, boosting groups that failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress in 2010 into the target range. But despite those improvements, Lace again failed to make AYP because different subgroups fell below the standards this year. District 61 as a whole failed to make AYP for 2011, said Superintendent Bob Carlo when he presented the state report cards during Tuesday’s school board meeting. The district includes Lace, Eisenhower Junior High and Mark DeLay Elementary schools. AYP is based on testing that takes place in grades three through eight at Lace and Eisenhower. Eighty percent of the districts in Illinois failed to meet AYP in 2011, …

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10 Years Later

Snapshot: Lace Elementary School Pays Tribute to 9/11

District 61 teaches students respect for those who serve the U.S.

Only the very oldest students at Lace Elementary School this year — the fifth-graders and a handful of fourth-graders — had been born on Sept. 11, 2001. But the students paid tribute Friday to the lives that were lost and the lives that were forever changed that day by each placing an American flag, nearly 600 in all, by the school sign on Cass Avenue. “With kids this age, you want to honor the day, but you want to make it age appropriate,” Lace Principal Marty Casey said. “This way, they get to do something meaningful. It frames it in the correct terms so they can go home and have a conversation with their families.” Teaching respect for those who serve the U.S. — in the military and as firefighters and police officers — has been a …

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Back to School By the Numbers

All the back to school clothing, apples for lunches and teacher salaries add up. With students heading back to school, we've compiled some interesting facts.

Wednesday is the first day of school for students in District 61 and District 86. Their counterparts in District 63 start Aug. 29. With students heading back for another year of reading, writing and arithmetic, we thought it would be interesting to look at some back to school facts. Shopping for back to school clothes, buying apples for lunch and enrolling students in school are things people do, but also numbers the government tallies. While the U.S. Census Bureau is known for gathering information every 10 years from households across the United States, they are also fact finders, gathering data and numbers about a variety of topics, including back to school. $7.4 billion: The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August …

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New Members Officially Join District 61 Board

Two incumbents, two rookies sworn in Tuesday.

The Darien School District 61 Board on Tuesday swore in four members—two new and two incumbents—who were elected during the April 5 consolidated election. The board then held an election of its own, voting officers into two-year terms. Deborah Gaspari and Janine Kiwiet filled the vacancies left by longtime board members Katherine Fujiura and Matt Mostowik, neither of whom sought re-election. Gaspari received 22.64 percent of the votes in the election, while Kiwiet received 22.08 percent.  Robert Rzeszutko, with 20.77 percent of the vote, and Mare E. Chiaro, with 20.65 percent of the vote, retained their seats on the board. Rzeszutko was elected board president after member Mike Overmann nominated him as the sole candidate for the office. “…

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Election Results: School Districts 61, 63, 66, 86 and 99 Updated 11:22 p.m.

All election night, Patch will provide up-to-the-minute results from Tuesday's vote.

All election night, Patch will provide live updates on the results of the Darien School District 61, Cass District 63, Center Cass District 66, Hinsdale Towship High School District 86 and Community High School District 99 races. All results come from the DuPage County Election Commission and are unofficial until certified by election officials. Make sure to check our election blog for extended coverage throughout the night.

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Election 2011: District 61 Candidates on their Roles

Candidates offer their perspectives on key Darien School District 61 issues.

The school board is legally responsible to the taxpayers and state for school district operations. The board’s role is to develop goals and policies that reflect our community needs and values, be financial stewards to the taxpayers, monitor district academic performance and ensure progress through curriculum, work cooperatively with board members and local government entities, and employ a superintendent. The superintendent reports to the board and carries out the day-to-day operations. The superintendent is entrusted to operate effectively and efficiently in a manner consistent with the goals and policies of the board, holding all employees accountable, and to foster responsive leadership. The board is responsible for holding the …

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