Written by Suzanne Baker, The Courier News. August 7, 2014

http://couriernews.suntimes.com/2014/08/07/oak-ridge-school-show-permanent-home/

Oak Ridge School to show off permanent home

CARPENTERSVILLE — Two months after a demolition crew tore apart the mobile classrooms that once housed Community Unit School District 300’s alternative school, district officials will proudly show off the permanent home for Oak Ridge School.

A community ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house is planned from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Monday at Oak Ridge School, 300 Cleveland Ave.

The ceremony ends a process that started more tha

n a year ago when District 300 put the 7.2-acre site of Oak Ridge School on Lake Marian Road up for sale. The property eventually was sold for $750,000 to the Children’s Home and Aid, which is building a preschool on the site.

District officials were eager to move the more than 70 students from sixth through 12th grade from the cramped mobile classrooms. Although the mobile classrooms were intended to last 10 years, the district has used them for 17 years.

Oak Ridge serves students whose special education needs cannot be met at their home schools. Students who commit an expellable offense also can be referred or transferred to the school’s Safe Schools program.

Moving Oak Ridge to its new home adjacent to Carpentersville Middle School will allow the district to reach more students. Because of size limitations, the mobile classrooms could serve a maximum of 78 students. The new space will allow up to 130 students.

At the same time the district was looking for new space for Oak Ridge, the District 300 leadership was eyeing places to house the central office staff under one roof.

In February, the School Board approved moving forward with plans to construct a new office building for administrators and move Oak Ridge School to 300 Cleveland Ave., where the district offices were located at that time.

Over spring break 2014, administrators moved into temporary office space at Hampshire High School, where they will stay until the building just south of Jacobs High School in Algonquin is finished sometime in December.

Work began immediately tearing apart the 300 Cleveland Ave. office space to turn it back into classrooms.

In addition to room for more students, the new school building gives students access to hot lunches, creates more space for group activities, and gives students the opportunity to participate in active physical education daily.

The results of those efforts can be seen during the open house planned on Monday.