Diego Lopez settled into a comfortable chair to do his homework on a laptop computer at the newly opened Lenzi Learning Center in Hodgkins.
“It’s not like school,” the 6th-grader said. “It’s like a house where you can be more comfortable while working.”
Lopez was joined by several friends who also quietly worked in the same room furnished with squishy, black chairs lining the walls. They said they plan to return to the center that opened this week in a small two-bedroom apartment in the Lenzi Apartments in an impoverished area of Hodgkins.
The learning center is operated by La Grange Elementary District 105, which is leasing the apartment. It received grants from local corporations to equip the center with furniture, computers and other resources to aid learning for students in the largely Spanish-speaking and immigrant neighborhood.
“We’re giving them their own place in their neighborhood,” said Superintendent Glenn Schlichting.
“They just feel safe and they’re enjoying doing their homework,” said Marci Ortiz, an English as a Second Language coordinator for the district, who will oversee the center that will be open after school Monday and Wednesday afternoons.
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A tutor also will be on-site to help the kids with their homework.
“It’s very good for studying,” said Delfina Martinez as she helped her son, Emanuel Martinez, 7, log on to a computer.
“I want to do my math homework and read,” her son said.
Schlichting said younger children must be accompanied by a parent at the center.
“The expectation is that they will work with their child, guiding them and helping them do their homework,” he said. “That’s what we miss when we provide after school tutoring in the schools. We miss that parent connection.”
There are about 100 students who live in the apartment complex and others who live nearby are within easy walking distance of the center, Schlichting said. The students attend Hodgkins Elementary School and Gurrie Middle School.
“The Lenzi apartment complex has a high concentration of some of our neediest families,” Schlichting said.
Ortiz said the center can accommodate up to 24 people at a time.
The budget for the first two months at the center is $17,500, which includes a two-month lease, furniture designed for study/homework, about 25 computers and iPads, staff and Internet access. The funds were supplied by corporate sponsors Vulcan Materials and Republic Bank.
Schlichting said the village of Hodgkins helped the district work with the apartment community to lease the apartment.
If the pilot program is a success, Schlichting said it may continue beyond a couple of months.
“If we get good attendance we have some thoughts on expanding it and may do a summer transition program,” he said.
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