North Palos District 117 addresses enrollment increases
May 31, 2012 1:10PM
Updated: July 6, 2012 8:41AM
Stories of teachers teaching in bathrooms and broom closets were enough to get the North Palos District 117 board of education to tour Conrady Junior High School and see for themselves the space crunch at the nearly 50-year-old school.
But Conrady isn’t the only school in the district experiencing growing pangs.
Over the last several years, the board has approved plans for building additions at Glen Oaks and Sorrick schools, and recently agreed to go out to bid for an addition that would provide six new classrooms and a media center while allowing the district to recapture two additional classrooms and address a security issue with the front office.
Oak Ridge, the second- through fifth-grade school in Palos Hills, has experienced an increase of more than 100 students in the last two years.
Conrady has reached that number, too, but it has taken the junior high school five years to get there.
With enrollment increasing, the district is considering its options — both short- and long-term — to help house the additional students.
The board agreed to put four mobile classrooms at Conrady this summer in an effort to mitigate crowding there. Those classrooms will be ready when students return in August.
In an attempt to gauge public opinion and engage the community on capacity issues at Conrady, the board formed three committees: Steering Committee; Citizens Advisory Committee and a 21st Century Learning Committee.
The committees include administrators, teachers, staff, board members, parents and community members.
Committees have been meeting and will make recommendations to the board about possible long-term solutions for Conrady.
Provided to the SouthtownStar
