Last night, the Board of Education accepted the resignation of Lincoln Principal Dr. Don Angelaccio, who will be leaving at the end of the school year to become the new assistant superintendent of schools for Prospect Heights District 23. This is a great opportunity for Don, but we are sad to see him go, as we will miss his heart, humor, leadership and innovation. Read more here..

Julie Jezuit, a Spanish teacher at Lincoln Middle School, recently was honored as a leader in the field of foreign language teaching. She received the Award for Distinguished Service to Foreign Language Learning from the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ICTFL). The award honors Illinois educators whose exemplary teaching has provided inspiration to large numbers of foreign language students and teachers.

Lincoln is proud that Ms. Jezuit is part of its team. She takes advantage of many opportunities to further her own learning and experience, and that is apparent in the creative way that she teaches her students. She helps foster a love of foreign language that stays with many of her students when they leave Lincoln.

Ms. Jezuit, who has taught Spanish in Illinois for more than 10 years, was recognized at ICTFL's Fall Conference on Oct. 21 in Tinley Park. She has instructed three levels of Spanish at Lincoln, integrating technology into the curriculum. She has attended an Advanced Placement institute to ensure that her students will be prepared for high school Spanish classes.

Ms. Jezuit received a Master's Degree from St. Louis University, spending several summers at the Madrid campus. She has traveled extensively throughout Spain, Mexico and Costa Rica, and she works to incorporate different cultures into her classroom.

Ms. Jezuit has been a leader in ICTFL, facilitating educational sessions for other foreign language teachers and serving as president of the organization in 2009. She currently is a region representative and chair of National Foreign Language Week, creating workshops and opportunities for teachers to work together and learn from each other. She also is involved in other organizations that promote foreign language learning, and she mentors college students for Elmhurst College's Center for Professional Excellence.

As you know, there has been much discussion over the past year about the possibility of asking the community to support a referendum to increase our school district revenue. Last night, the Board of Education decided to wait until April 2013 to seek voter approval for a referendum, a course of action that was recommended last month by District 57 Administration. We strongly feel that this is the right decision for our schools and for the taxpayers at this time.

Read more....

District 57 was honored for being ranked among the top 5 percent for academic performance in the state.

District 57 has learned that it has received a 2011 SchoolSearch™ Bright A+™ Award of Excellence, which is given to school districts that have the highest academic performance in the state. District 57 is one of only 59 Illinois school districts to receive the honor (out of 868 districts).

SchoolSearch™ looks at student academic performance and awards the districts that are among the top 5 percent, based on data from the 2010 Illinois School Report Card. This includes analyzing reading and math scores on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).

"It is a big honor to be included among a small group of Illinois districts that meets the rigorous criteria of the Bright A+ Award," says Dr. Elaine Aumiller, superintendent of schools. "In District 57, we are proud of the many opportunities we provide for students to learn and grow, as well as the hard work of our students and staff. It all comes together and enables our students to achieve great things."

SchoolSearch™ is an educational research and consulting firm that publishes handbooks of school system rankings. The firm works with major companies by providing school information to families that are relocating. According to SchoolSearch™, District 57 will be included in the list of districts that have "outstanding academic environments."

Please see the Trib Local online edition for more information.