Letter to the Editor: $17K Donated for D-62 Students

A fundraiser to support the School District 62 Foundation was held at Café la Cave in Des Plaines on Feb. 22.

The following letter to the editor was submitted by Mindy Ward, spokesperson for Community Consolidated School District 62. On February 22, the School District 62 Foundation Board hosted the Reach to Teach Benefit Dinner at Café la Cave in Des Plaines.  On behalf of the children in the District 62 schools, the Foundation Board members would like to thank all of the community members, businesses, local officials, teachers, and parents who supported this fundraising effort.  The more than 200 supporters who attended enjoyed a lovely dinner, a silent auction, and raffles.  Many thanks to all who attended and to our major donors — Café la Cave, Jeanine LaCerba of Gigi’s Blossoms and Baskets, R. C. Wahl Jewelers of Des Plaines, Franczek Radelet…

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School District 63 Getting Cameras On Buses

They were planned even before the accident in which a driver suffering from a medical malady lost control and hit six cars in an unusual accident.

Cameras will be mounted inside school buses next year on East Maine School District 63 routes. Students in parts of Niles, Des Plaines, Morton Grove, Glenview and Park Ridge attend the district's schools and ride the buses. At its Feb. 6 board meeting, the district renewed its contract for next school year with school bus company Septran, Inc. The contract is for $1,006,000, plus the increase of $20,120, or 2.0 percent. A letter from Septran president Robert Hach to the district notes the company plans to install cameras in all school buses transporting District 63 students as of the 2013-14 school year. A GPS tracking system will also be installed so that the locations of buses can be monitored.  Earlier: Out of control bus hits six cars …

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D-62's Westerhold Awarded Illinois Superintendent of the Year

Dr. Jane Beyer Westerhold, superintendent of Community Consolidated School District 62, was given special recognition by the Illinois Association of School Administrators.

The following information was submitted by Mindy Ward, director of community relations for school district 62. It is an announcement from the Illinois Association of School Administrators regarding the naming of Superintendent Dr. Jane Beyer Westerhold as Superintendet of the Year: Dr. Jane L. Beyer Westerhold, superintendent of Des Plaines Community Consolidated School District 62, has been selected the 2013 Illinois Superintendent of the Year by the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA).  The award was presented Sunday (Nov. 18) during the Joint Annual Conference in Chicago co-sponsored by the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB), the Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO) and the IASA. “I am …

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D-62 Seeks Input from Parents, Residents, Businesses

Surveys completed online and sent by mail, covering five key areas, will be completed through Oct. 15.

District 62 is seeking input from parents, community members and businesses in a survey which will help inform new goals for the district, according to a statement from the administration on Friday. The survey, which will be mailed the first week of October, may be completed online or by mail, will cover five areas the board of education is considering in setting new goals: programs and services, communications, technology, facilities and overall satisfaction. Dr. Jane L. Westerhold, superintendent, said parents will be asked for additional feedback throughout the survey. “The reason for offering a survey is the need for inclusiveness,” Westerhold said, “We want to ask our stakeholders to give feedback on how the district is doing and plan…

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Cardinal Francis George Visits St. Zachary’s in Des Plaines

The archbishop of Chicago celebrated mass for the parish’s 50th anniversary.

Meet Apollo School's New Principal

Amy Prester, currently a principal in Bensenville, will begin with Dist. 63 on July 1.

Apollo School, 10100 Dee Road in Des Plaines, will have a new principal next school year. Patch spoke with Amy Prester, currently the principal at Tioga Elementary School in Bensenville, about her background and plans for her new role. Patch: What is your background in education? What positions have you held, and when? Prester: I have worked in education for 12 years. I started teaching third and fourth graders in the inner city of Milwaukee then taught 7th and 8th grade math on the south side of Chicago. I then worked for 4 years in the district office for Bensenville District 2 as a curriculum coordinator. For the past 5 years I have worked as Principal of Tioga School in Bensenville. Patch: Why did you decide to apply for the principal …

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Six Cases of Whooping Cough Reported in District 62

First cases reported in years.

In a previous story on whooping cough, we reported that Des Plaines was in the area of the state that has experienced the largest increase in reported cases of the disease, which is also known as pertussis. There have been six cases of whooping cough reported in Community Consolidated School District 62 so far this year, said Mindy Ward, director of community relations for the district. Ward said there were no cases reported in the 2010-2011 school year, and couldn’t recall a case being reported the year before that. In an email to Patch Ward wrote that the County Health Department notifies the district when a case is diagnosed, and the district sends a letter prepared by the health department to families at schools with reported cases. “…

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District 207 Students’ Class Rank Eliminated after Board’s Back-and-Forth

Board stopped ranking last year, then reinstituted it.

For the second time in less than a year District 207’s board of education voted, 5-2, to eliminate class ranks for students at its meeting on Monday, TribLocal reported. For the story, visit TribLocal’s website. District 207 has been considering eliminating class ranks for more than a year, following some suburban districts that have already made the change, including New Trier High School District 203, Stevenson High School District 125 and Glenbrook High School District 225. Earlier: Gas leak at Gemini Junior High School. In May Patch reported Barbara Dill-Varga, assistant superintendent for curriculum, said cutting class rank from student transcripts would reduce the emphasis on very small differences in grade point averages. It would …

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Art Exhibit First of Seven to Feature Illinois and Chicago Artists in 2012

Only two more weeks to check out the current exhibition, which includes prints from world-renowned artists.

The public has two more weeks to enjoy a free art exhibition of fine prints at Oakton Community College. Artists from around the world, including several from Chicago, are represented in the group, and will be displayed until Jan. 20 at Oakton’s Koehnline Museum of Art, 1600 E. Golf Road. Gems from the Koehnline includes works from Chicago artists Alexander Sandor Raymond Katz, who was an illustrator, muralist and painter, Milton Horn, sculptor, Nathaniel Steinberg, painter, illustrator and etcher, and Frances Foy, who painted in oil and watercolor. Earlier: Five tips for students considering arts careers. Other artists include Scottish painter and printmaker William Strang, Czech painter and printmaker Tavik Frantisek Simon, Russion …

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