5 Reasons Why Art Education Still Matters in the Classroom

With work from the annual art showcase by Community Consolidated School District 146 on display throughout April, Patch asked a middle school art teacher why students still needed art in the curriculum.

As school budgets are being trimmed because districts are unable to rely on the same state funding it had in the past, curriculum areas such as art have become endangered species. These classes and programs are usually the first on the proverbial chopping block, because they're considered luxuries in comparison to the essential core classes based around math and English. LOCAL VOICES: Keep Up With D146 News With the District's Blog on Patch But districts, such as Community Consolidated School District 146, still find ways to expose students to art and allow them to flex their own creative muscles. In the classroom, teachers, such as Central Middle School's Cindy DePinto-Dawud, shows students how to build a concept and see the project …

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Memorial School Penalized Despite Overall Test Scores Making the Grade

The Tinley Park elementary school must allow students to transfer to within District 146 after a subgroup's reading scores didn't meet federally mandated standards. Officials will address this issue at a community meeting Wednesday.

Officials at Memorial Elementary School recently found out that the school faces federal sanctions, which include allowing parents to transfer their child to another school in the district, because it did not reach its Annual Yearly Progress goals for 2012 as part of the federal No Child Left Behind program. Parents were informed about the sanctions and what it could mean to students in a packet sent out late last week. Memorial and Community Consolidated School District 146 administrators also will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, to answer questions and concerns. "This isn't an indictment of Memorial's quality of education," said D146 Supt. Jeff Stawick. "Anyone in the community who thinks that needs more information." The …

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Memorial School Staffers Hold Food Drive

Staff members at the Tinley Park elementary school sponsored a charity drive that helped the Greater Chicago Food Depository, raising $399.54 worth of food.