It's First Friday: Stop by To See District 47 Artwork, Enjoy Live Music

Stop by the Dole Mansion and Lakeside Legacy Arts Park today from 5 to 8 p.m. to see artwork made by District 47 and Creative Artistry School of Fine Arts students.

Today is First Friday at Lakeside Legacy Foundation at the Historic Dole Mansion in Crystal Lake. The public is welcome to attend this free, family-friendly event from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Dole, 401 Country Club Rd., Crystal Lake. Tonight's event will feature art works made by District 47 students and students from Creative Artistry School of Fine Arts. The McHenry County Youth Orchestra and District 47 students will provide the live music for tonight's gathering. There'll also be face painting and coloring activities. “May's First Friday is a highlight of our gallery calendar,” said Siobhan Cottone, Lakeside’s executive director. “The walls come alive with the talents of emerging artists. At Lakeside we strive to inspire and encourage …

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District 47 Boundary Change Approved; Some Students to Switch Schools Next Year

About 50 students will be affected by the change, according to the Northwest Herald.

About 38 children living in the Lake in the Hills "Presidential" neighborhood will switch elementary schools next year under boundary changes approved Monday night by the District 47 School Board, according to the Northwest Herald. The students currently attend Canterbury Elementary School, 875 Canterbury Dr., Crystal Lake, which is overcrowded, the story said. Next year they will attend Indian Prairie School, which is located at 651 Village Road on the south side of Crystal Lake and is much closer to Presidential neighborhood - an older part of LITH with streets named after U.S. presidents. The neighborhood is located northeast of Randall and Miller roads near the LITH Fen. Another 11 students living in an apartment complex off Virginia …

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School Closings Pile Up

District 155, 158, 300 and 47 have all cancelled school today.

Area children will have a snow day today.  Area school districts decided Tuesday morning to cancel school as a winter storm is expected to slam northern Illinois today.  The following districts or schools have cancelled school for Tuesday, March 5: The Emergency Closing Center website has more information on area closings.  Check back to Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch for more weather-related news and closings throughout the day. Like Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch on Facebook - Sign up for Breaking News Alerts and our Newsletter 

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District 47 Has No Plans to Close Schools in Near Future

Despite declining enrollment, District 47 leaders said closing a school will not occur this year.

Crystal Lake School District 47 will not close any of its buildings in the near future, the Northwest Herald reports. The district's Demographic Committee met earlier this week to review enrollment numbers, which have begun falling. Serving approximately 4,863 students this year, the district expects enrollment to drop by 347 students in 2015-2016, the Herald reports. 

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Smile, You're On Patch: Share Your First Day of School Photos

School starts today, Monday, Aug. 27 for high school students in District 155, and tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 28 for children in K-8 in District 47.

    Today is the first day of school for the approximately 7,000 students in Community High School District 155. Tomorrow, the slightly more than 9,000 children in Community Consolidated School District 47 begin the new school year. Their outfits may be new and clean (not sure for the high schoolers!), the hair is perfect and their smiles are big — a perfect photo opp for many parents.  Share your photos with the community and make your child feel extra special by posting his/ her picture on Patch. Feel free to include your child's name, grade and school with the picture, if you'd like. Here are some easy ways you can submit your photos:  We look forward to sharing your photos on Patch.

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Happy Spring Break Week to Area Students!

Spring break runs March 26 through March 30, 2012 for District 300, District 155, District 47 and District 158 schools.

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Editor's Corner

District 47: We Want Your First-Day Back Photos

We know there are a lot of parents out there who took photos of their kids on the first day of school — you can post them on Patch!

It's the first day of school for most District 47 students today.  The outfits are new and clean, pencils sharpened and lunches packed. And in those first-day back photos — the kids are smiling those really BIG smiles that give the impression that they just can't wait to get back to school. We know there are plenty of Lake in the Hills parents out there who snapped some shots of their kids before they loaded them onto buses or dropped them off. We would love to see those pictures and post them on Lake in the Hills Patch.  You can email your child's photo, name, grade and school and any "good luck" message you would like to give your child in the new school year to amie.schaenzer@patch.com. You also can post directly to this article by …

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District 47 Addresses Declining Enrollment

A recent report predicts the 8,000-students school district will have 1,000 fewer students in a decade.

A drop in enrollment within District 47 could come as a welcome change for the upcoming school year, said school board President Jeff Mason. Specifically, he said, the decline could free up some space and open up more classrooms for teachers that have been sharing rooms.  A recent study found the 8,000-student district is expected to lose 1,000 students in the next decade. In total, 981 Lake in the Hills kids attend District 47 schools. District 47 Superintendent Donn Mendoza will present information on enrollment changes during tonight’s District 47 meeting at 6 p.m. at the CORE Center, 300 Commerce Drive in Crystal Lake. “Such a decline in enrollment really gives us more options. We could look at such things as offering full-day …

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Amie Schaenzer

10:56 am on Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Hi Lacie, it sounds like you are not alone in wanting full-day kindergarten within District 47! It was one of the topics a number of parents expressed interest in as part of the parent survey discussed at last night's District 47 meeting.   more ›

District 47 Gets Afternoon Activity Buses

This year, Crystal Lake District 47 will provide late-afternoon bus service on select weekdays so more students can participate in after-school activities, sports and supervised study time.

Crystal Lake School District 47 wants to see more middle school students participating in school-sponsored activities, sports, clubs and study time. For that reason, the district has announced plans to provide late-afternoon activity bus transportation on select weekdays for the 2011-12 school year. District officials said on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, each of its three middle schools will provide three activity buses, which will depart the schools at 4:15 p.m. The schools include Lundahl, Hannah Beardsley and Richard Bernotas middle schools. Most Lake in the Hills students attend Lundahl and Bernotas. The activity buses will drop off students at selected stops throughout the community, which won’t necessarily be the same bus stops …

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babs

8:43 am on Thursday, August 18, 2011

*Beardsley   more ›

School Board Extends Superintendent's Contract

The District 47 School Board Monday night approved a new five-year contract for Superintendent Donn Mendoza.

The District 47 School Board voted Monday night to extend the contract for Superintendent Donn Mendoza for another five years. The vote Monday was meant to address Mendoza’s three-year contract, which will expire in the next year. The board voted 5-1 in favor of renewing his contract until June 30, 2016, came during Monday’s meeting at District 47's C.O.R.E. Center, 300 Commerce Drive, Crystal Lake.  Mendoza was hired two years ago as the superintendent for District 47. The sole vote against the contract came from board member Ruth Scifo. She told the board that while she thinks Mendoza is doing an excellent job, she did not agree with the length of the contract and thought it should have been shorter. “He only has two years under his belt…

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