Students Enjoy Their New Educational Environments

Three new schools in the Chicago area opened their doors for the 2010/2011 school year. Students and teachers excitedly explored their new environments at North Shore Academy in Highland Park, Illinois; Laremont School in Gages Lake, Illinois; and Richard D. Crosby Elementary in Harvard, Illinois.

The students and staff at North Shore Academy in conjunction with the member districts expressed their excitement and gratitude for the design of the school shortly after the dedication by presenting RuckPate with a plaque that stated "In recognition for the Extraordinary Vision that Translated Dreaming and Creative Thinking into Exemplary Service for Students." We felt honored to be involved in the design of the North Shore Academy, a school that encompasses a continuum of highly structured, individualized therapeutic programs which meets the educational and emotional needs of its 6th through 12th grade students. After working directly with the special needs students and the dedicated staff, we are rewarded by their reaction to their new learning environment and pleased that it successfully inspires them to overcome the challenges that North Shore Academy is designed to address.

The new Laremont School replaces an outdated and inadequate facility with a state of the art building designed for students with severe cognitive and physical disabilities from pre-school through twenty-one years of age. Filled with natural light, the design of the facility was rooted in the simplicity of nature and the growth of each student in daily activities and in their progression throughout the school. A design priority was visual and tactile references. The building incorporates materials, colors, and images centered on the theme of nature that aids impaired students in navigating the building while providing an inspiring and playful environment. A covered bus loading area accommodating up to twenty buses improves the lives of the nearly 75% of the students who are confined to wheelchairs.

Finally, the new Richard D. Crosby Elementary School in Harvard opened to "great acclaim and admiration" announced Dr. Lauri Tobias, Superintendent at Harvard CUSD 50. Students, parents, teachers and administrators explored the new school with excitement during the official dedication. With school now underway the students of the new 1,000 student early childhood through third grade school are enjoying their separate grade level neighborhoods which include dedicated Discovery Centers for art, science and group activities requiring a flexible, agile space. Instructional staff and administrators are energized by the nurturing school-within-a-school concept that enhances curriculum delivery and team-based learning.