Former D210 Employee Pleads Not Guilty to Trespassing Charge

Pretrial hearings begin March 16 for Michael J. Angel.

A former Lincoln-Way High School District 210 employee pleaded not guilty to criminal trespassing on school grounds. Michael J. Angel, 43, was accused last month of walking on Lincoln-Way East High School with a youth baseball organization, in violation of an agreement he signed with administrators in February 2009 stating he was not allowed back on district property without the consent of the superintendent. He was arrested last spring for a similar offense and pleaded guilty, but then failed to show to followup court hearings. Public records show that a "Michael J. Angel" was employed at D210 as an accounting teacher until 2009, but district staff have repeatedly declined to discuss Angel's employment background. In court, Angel told …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

UPDATE: Molinare to Join Lincoln-Way Board, Must Quit Summit Hill Board

Dee Molinare was picked from a field of 10 candidates on Saturday to replace board member Dave Izzo.

Summit Hill 161 board member Dee Molinare said she will always look back fondly on her time as a school board member. "I have enjoyed my board service in 161 and I feel it's a progression, I can serve a wider audience," Molinare said by phone Saturday night. Molinare was picked to join the Lincoln-Way 210 high school board, meaning she must resign the elementary school board, 210 board President Arvid Johnson said. Molinare said she will put in her official resignation Thursday. "There is nothing that I set forth to change (in 210). We already have an excellent district in 210," Molinare said. "I hope to maintain the level of excellence we have achieved and hopefully improve upon that." The 210 board picked Tinley Park resident Molinare …

•  11 Comments
• Photos (1)

StatShot

StatShot: Which L-Way Feeder's Teachers Have the Highest Average Experience?

Five years of data show which of the five Lincoln-Way feeder districts has the highest average teacher experience.

This week's StatShot looks at the average years of teacher experience from the five Lincoln-Way 210 feeder districts. Layoffs drive the average teacher experience higher, as schools lay off non-tenured teachers with fewer years of experience first. Similarly, retirements lower the average teacher experience. All information is from the 2011 Illinois State Board of Education District Report Cards.

• Photos (5)

StatShot

StatShot: Does L-Way Spend As Much to Teach Each Student As It Used To?

Representing the numbers that represent your lives.

Short answer: No. It spends more. Last week's StatShot looked at the per-pupil instructional spend of each of the five Lincoln-Way 210 feeder districts. That's the amount just to teach each student. The full per-pupil cost of running a school district is a different number, one that is not shown here. Here's how Lincoln-Way's per-pupil instructional spending has increased each of the last five years for which data is available. Each report contains the amount from the year before, so the information from the 2008-09 school year was in the 2010 District Report Card. The 2010 report was the first to include Lincoln-Way West. The 2009 report was the first to include Lincoln-Way North.

• Photos (1)

Daily PatchCast: Political Donation Questions, ComEd Rate Hikes and Lacrosse

A daily video recap of the Southland's top stories

County Holding Public Hearing on New District Boundaries Tonight ComEd Allowed to Raise Rates District 206 Board Member: 'I Stand Behind My Superintendent' Baby Steps During L-Way Lacrosse's Varsity Debut

•  1 Comment
• Videos (1)

Joseph Conway

5:14 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Something I've been saying for the past couple of years...Bremen High School District should embrace lacrosse as a school-sanctioned sport or risk being left behind by other districts. Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport not only here in the south suburbs but throughout the Midwest. The Lincoln Way school district understands this and as a result is providing more of it's students not only the …   more ›

Lincoln-Way North Students Make 'Superstar' Discovery

Three science students at Lincoln-Way North help astronomers identify a special star.

Three  Lincoln-Way North High School seniors will have an unusual achievement to put on their college applications: the students, led by teacher Peggy Piper, helped astronomers identify a variable star, a rare type of star with regular changes in brightness. Justin Christensen, Rebecca Rosignolo and Joey Romero, all 17-year-old seniors at North, identified the star while participating in a program called NASA/Infrared Processing and Analysis Center Teacher Archive Research Program, or NITARP. They presented their findings in January at the American Astronomical Society winter meeting in Seattle. The students’ discovery came as a surprise to all involved. “When I got back, everyone would ask me, ‘What’d you do, discover a star?'” …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (4)

District 210 Preparing to Make Budget Cuts for Next School Year

Lincoln-Way High School District 210 is expected to make as much as $2.5 million in cuts to teachers, administrators and other costs.

Lincoln-Way High School District 210 is preparing to cut as much as $2.5 million from its budget next year, Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie said. Wyllie said the district has not received any categorical payments from Illinois this fiscal year and is owed roughly $2.5 million by the state. The proposed reductions were approved by the district's Board of Education at its Jan. 27 meeting. Reductions include: Wyllie said final decisions have not yet been made on which personnel will be eliminated, pending final enrollment numbers for next year. The district has already cut four administrative positions, 50 teaching positions, 13 support staff positions, two maintenance positions and 11 coaching positions over the past two years, according to a…

•  8 Comments
• Photos (1)

Concerned Taxpayer

7:41 pm on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Yeah, wouldn't it be nice if the state paid what it was supposed to towards education instead of diverting those funds elsewhere?   more ›

Moment of Silence Returns to New Lenox Schools

A court ruling means the return of the daily moment of reflection in Illinois public schools.

Starting this week, New Lenox schools are bringing back a state-mandated moment of silence each morning. The 15-second moment of silence, intended to allow students and teachers a time for quiet reflection or, if they choose, to pray, is back after a two-year hiatus after a federal judge lifted an injunction barring enforcement of the law. Four years ago, Illinois legislators passed a law requiring schools to offer the moment of silence each morning. The law took effect in October 2007 after both the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives voted to override a veto by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Rob Sherman, a parent, talk show host and athiest activist, challenged the law on the grounds that it mandates prayer in public schools. In …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Michael Sewall

10:18 am on Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Hi Nicole, Just to clarify, this was something the state of Illinois passed, not the local school board. Therefore, the school board didn't have this on its agenda recently; instead, administration and principals were notified of it going back into effect and acted accordingly. I'm not commenting on whether it's right to have the moment of silence in schools, but just wanted to clarify that it's …   more ›

10 in '10: Stories That Mattered, Part 1

Ron Schaper dies, state budget impacts schools

Although we're just celebrating the two-month anniversary of the launch of New Lenox Patch, there's been lots of news to cover in that short time. Whether it's government decisions, new developments or — wait for it — the economy, there's a lot to talk about in New Lenox. So I'll do my best to recap some of the big news items from the past few months and, to the best of my ability, throughout the year. Here's part one, featuring five stories (the rest will publish Friday): In 2010 our village lost not just the founder of New Lenox Mustangs Football, but a true legend in the area. Ron "Papa" Schaper died Feb. 14 at age 73 after coaching the Mustangs for 45 years. The village renamed a portion of Joliet Highway after Schaper, and still …

• Photos (1)

Local Elections: Who's Filed So Far

Applicants have until 5 p.m. Monday to declare their candidacy.

UPDATE: The filing period is now closed for candidates, and we will continue to update this space as we hear from election officials with names of candidates who have filed. Once we have the names of all candidates, we will post a new article and link from here. New Lenox School District 122: William Strons, Maureen Broderick, Philip Adair, Nick Di Sandro, Kevin Barry and Susan Gillooley filed. Broderick and Gillooley are incumbents, and board President Kathy Markus did not file for re-election. Earlier: Candidates for the Village Board, local school boards and other governing bodies in New Lenox began filing petitions this week for the April 5 election. Nominating papers will be accepted until 5 p.m. Monday and must be turned in to each …

• Photos (1)