The thinking by school administrators in Roselle is that since taxpayers provide the funds that run the schools, why not open up the schools to them.
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As a result, a community education program will begin early next year in Lake Park High School District 108, and officials already are searching for instructors.
The program will offer adults the opportunity to take all kinds of non-credit classes, from foreign languages to guitar to basket weaving.
Such community education programs are not new, but they are not offered by every school district. But districts are being encouraged to provide these and other offerings as part of a U.S. Department of Education program to turn schools into centers of learning for an entire community, not just its children.
Districts that did have such programs previously now find they are popular.
In nearby Villa Park School District 88, the community education program has been going on since the 1960s, officials said. The district mails 70,000 brochures each year to residents in the district and in surrounding towns.
“We get calls from all over, as far away as Bolingbrook, Oak Brook, Streamwood,” Elaine Peterson, program director, said. Classes range from art and languages to computers and crafts. Last year, about 1,200 people signed up, she said.
In District 108 in Roselle, the plan is to offer similar kinds of classes.
“The goal is to bring more members of the community into our schools and make the facilities more community based,” said Terry Ryan, director of continuing education. “We are a public entity and we need to open ourselves to the public as best we can.”
Ryan wants to have about 20 classes ready to go by February. Tuition and fees have yet to be set, but officials say tuition will be affordable. In Villa Park, for example, fees range from $15 for a one-day workshop to $150 for a 10-week computer class.
The Lake Park program is scheduled to begin early in February and run through mid-April, with classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
The idea is an outgrowth of the district’s highly successful one-day program called Parents University, in which parents can attend a variety of classes on topics such as mentoring, self-esteem and managing money.
In the meantime, Ryan is looking for instructors with ideas for classes. Salaries are negotiable, she said, depending on experience and education. Instructors need not be certified public school teachers. Applications, including a proposal for the course, should be submitted by Nov. 10.
For more information, call Ryan at 630-295-5401 or send her an e-mail at [email protected].
A gift for the gifted: State Rep. Mary Lou Cowlishaw (R-Naperville) is chairing a legislative task force that seeks funding for gifted education programs in Illinois.
The new Gifted Education Task Force will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday in Naperville City Hall to discuss the matter.
“Gifted education is vital to ensure our brightest students have the resources they need to take them as far as they can go,” Cowlishaw said. “This spring, the Illinois General Assembly faces a major undertaking–rewriting the school funding formula. It is imperative that enough attention is given to gifted programs throughout the state.”
Anyone interested in testifying before the committee should call 630-375-3043.
Award winner: The Wheaton North Falcon Marching Band took second place in the Class AA band competition last weekend. Seventeen marching bands from across the state competed Saturday night at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
The band, under the leadership of first-year director Dennis Mulder, was edged out for first place by Thornton Fractional South High School.
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The education column is scheduled to appear Wednesdays during the school year in TribWest. If you have ideas for the column, please submit them by e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected] or by fax to 630-368-4266.