Forest Glen Elementary School celebrates being under one roof

GLEN ELLYN – Forest Glen Elementary School fifth-grader William Szumny didn't like having to leave the warmth and comfort of his school to trudge outside on a snowy day to go to a portable classroom.

Now, he no longer has to. This fall, Forest Glen students settled into four new classrooms at the school as part of District 41's effort to replace portables at its elementary schools with new state-of-the-art classrooms.

"I like the way it looks," William said of his brightly lit classroom. "And it's really not that crowded."

Churchill Elementary School also received four new classrooms this fall, and four additional classrooms are under construction and set to open next year. After that happens, all portables at the district's elementary schools will be gone.

However, 10 portable classrooms will remain at Hadley Junior High School. The Glen Ellyn School District 41 Community Facility Task Force is currently studying the district's space needs and will make a presentation to the Board of Education in January 2016 on its recommendations.

Fellow fifth-grader Ella Hartsell also is happy to be out of the portable classrooms.

"It didn't really feel like a classroom to me," she said. "I like how there are high ceilings in the new classrooms."

The portable classrooms had been at the school for more than a decade, Forest Glen Principal Mary Hornacek said. She joined in her students' enthusiasm for the new classrooms.

"It's about safety and security," Hornacek said. "We are all under one roof. Less instructional time is lost because they are in the building to begin with."

The portable classrooms, which lacked bathrooms or drinking fountains, were installed at a time when Forest Glen was seeing a surge in enrollment. With 608 students currently, Hornacek said the school's enrollment is "pretty stable."

This is the fourth addition at the school, which was originally built in 1949. The new classrooms are equipped with the latest in technology, including interactive Smart Boards. In addition, walls that divide the classrooms can be removed to provide more space if needed.

"We can transform the space into a group setting," Hornacek said.

Earlier this month, students, teachers and staff celebrated "We Are One" day at the school, sporting "We Are One" T-shirts provided by the Forest Glen PTA.

"We wanted to make sure everybody felt they were part of the Forest Glen family," PTA co-President Sarah Tuscher said.

As part of the day, they gathered outside the school to sing the school's song. Afterwards, they yelled in unison, "We Are One!"

"I was speechless," Hornacek said. "It was very emotional."

Fellow Forest Glen PTA co-President Melissa DeMarco is happy the school now truly is under one roof.

"Everyone is trying to rally around the spirit of being together," she said.

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See more online

Go to videos.mysuburbanlife.com/mysuburbanlife for a look at one of the new classrooms at Forest Glen Elementary School.