The Editor's Corner

Franklin Choir Program: Clarification

Letter from the editor to the community.

Editor's note: It's come to our attention that the quote we included in last week's article about the Franklin Middle School choir program didn't fully reflect the sentiments Assistant Principal Joe Kish expressed in a letter to parents. I got to see the students in action performing for residents at Belmont Village in Carol Stream on March 15. I was moved by their talent, generosity and character, and I was taken with gratitude and respect for the teachers and administrators who have provided the environment, guidance and support to allow these students to realize and appreciate such values. To clarify, we're sharing the full letter to parents here: In Legacy Hallway at Franklin Middle School hangs a picture of Roberto Clemente, the …

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Franklin Middle School Fine Arts Department to Host Inaugural Art Walk

Franklin Middle School art students will showcase their work at the inaugural art walk in downtown Wheaton Friday, May 10.

Weekly News Recap

Flood of 2013, Marathon Bombing Shock: This Week

Patch recaps top news stories from the week of April 14-20.

Here are some of the top news stories from last week: Evacuation Advised for Homes Near Lake 4 Retention Pond in Briarcliffe Wheaton Declares Emergency, Provides List of Streets to Avoid Wheaton Native's Joy of Personal Best at Boston Marathon Turns to Horror, Worry Dispatches from DuPage: Stories of the April 2013 Flood March Home Sales: Wheaton Market Makes Gains; Median Price Rises Wheaton French Market Kicks Off April 20 Despite Weather ‘Wheaton Confessions:' Anonymous Admissions from College’s ‘Bubble’ Don't want to miss this stuff during the week? Sign up for our free daily email newsletter. Then like us on Facebook for a slightly different take. Special-Needs School Moving to Downtown Wheaton Shared Resources, Extra Manpower Among …

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Franklin Middle School Choir Students Hit a High Note For Volunteerism

Two Franklin Middle School choral groups have traveled to local senior living facilities this year to sing to residents in connection with a focus on social emotional learning skills.

Franklin Middle School choir teacher Crystal Forbes teaches her students to sing in other languages, hit difficult notes and read music. She has singers who sound like they’ve been on Broadway for years.   She has also inspired her students to volunteer on their own time, and instilled in them a respect and appreciation for senior citizens. She brings culture, history and societal issues into the classroom and has inspired her students to use their talent and big hearts to give back in the community—a value most people learn much later in life.  This year, two Franklin Middle School female choral groups—Vocal Ensemble and the Lyric Singers—have traveled to area senior living facilities to sing to residents. This week, they’ll sing at …

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Community Remembers 'Mr. G': Beloved Crossing Guard, Jokester, Friend

Students, parents remember beloved crossing guard as a friend—a smiling face with kind words. Visitation services for Anthony Ghilarducci of Wheaton will be Saturday, Feb. 2 at Hultgren Funeral Home.

He only spent about two minutes with the kids each day, but his kindness, his jokes, his generosity and his pockets full of tootsie rolls and bubble gum have left a lasting impression on Wheaton students. For the last decade, Anthony “Tony” Ghilarducci, or, “Mr. G,” stood at the corner of Franklin and Main streets on weekday afternoons to help hundreds students cross the road safely from Franklin and Longfellow schools.  On Friday, Jan. 23, Ghilarducci died in his home at age 73. He was born November 10, 1939 in Chicago. He was the former vice president of floor operations at the Board of Trade in Chicago, where he had worked for over 40 years. He served as a crossing guard for Longfellow Elementary School and Franklin Middle School since …

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District 200 Approves Middle School Redistricting Plan

Plan will shift 89 students to Monroe over three years to address overcrowding at the school.

After months of wrangling the Wheaton Warrenville Community Unit School District 200 Board of Education adopted a redistricting compromise Wednesday to prevent overcapacity at Franklin Middle School that will begin next school year.   The boundary shift, unanimously supported by the board, will phase the redistricting over three years and allow affected Franklin students the choice to attend Monroe Middle School or finish their years at Franklin. A bus route will be provided for the students who stay at Franklin. The route will cost the district $20,000, but Superintendent Brian Harris said district staff thought adding the route was necessary. He added the district will likely eliminate two or three elementary bus routes, which will …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Redistricting Not the Right Solution for District 200

To send a letter to the editor, email Charlotte@patch.com.

Leo Tolstoy once wrote, "All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." I have often wondered what Tolstoy meant by those words, but recent interactions with CUSD 200 administrators have led me to reflect further on Tolstoy’s point, and I think I now understand. In any fitness center both sexes will of course be present and no two faces will look alike – but beneath the skin, healthy bodies are far more alike than they are different. Diseased bodies can look remarkably different, and all the more so when you look beneath the skin. As it is with flesh, Tolstoy is trying to say, so it is with families. Happy families, distinctive surface features aside, have many healthy features in common. Unhappy families …

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Brian Wells

4:03 pm on Saturday, March 3, 2012

Hi P, Yeah, Jeff Sand corrected me on that already. I knew that Lowell had been re-integrated but was mistaken in repeating comments I'd heard others make about the process leading to more students at Franklin. I stand corrected on this point. That said, this topic bears no significance on the thrust of my editorial, excepting the possibility that this Lowell history is partly motivating …   more ›

School Board to Vote on Boundary Changes Next Month

Community Unit School District 200 Board of Education expects to vote on a plan in March that would alleviate overcrowding at Franklin Middle School.

District 200 parents continue to urge the Community Unit School District 200 Board of Education to consider ways to avoid relocating 89 Franklin Middle School students to alleviate overcrowding. After hearing dozens of parents express concern over the redistricting proposal and its impact on the emotional well-being of their children Wednesday, Board of Education members asked district staff to make sure the plan they vote on in March is the best fix for the overcrowding issue. Franklin Middle School currently has 780 students, 78 students over its capacity of 702. District Superintendent Brian Harris said school officials have had to turn storerooms and the auditorium into makeshift classrooms to accommodate the large student population. …

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District 200 to Discuss Revision to Proposed Boundary Changes

District 200 staff will present options for implementing the boundary changes over one, two and three years.

Staff of Community Unit School District 200 will recommend a revision to its proposed boundary changes for Franklin Middle School to allow students to elect to stay at Franklin without District 200 transportation. Last month, District 200 staff recommended the boundary change to reduce overcrowding at Franklin, where enrollment rates continue to grow. With 780 students, Franklin's student population is 78 over its capacity. District 200 Superintendent Dr. Brian Harris told the Board of Education at a January meeting school officials have had to turn storerooms and the auditorium into makeshift classrooms to accomodate students. The proposed change would affect 89 Franklin students, Erica Loiacono, District 200 spokeswoman, said. The …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: District 200 Boundary Change a "Temporary Bandage"

Parent of Washington Elementary student concerned changing boundaries for middle school students is not a viable long-term solution for District 200.

Dear editor, CUSD 200 proposed at Wednesday’s School Board Meeting moving middle school boundaries to ease over-crowding at Franklin Middle School. On the surface this seems like a small issue, but dig a little deeper and you’ll discover it creates serious issues for the segregated children while it fails to achieve its stated goal.  Currently all CUSD 200 students (with the exception of those residing in Autumn Ridge) follow a standard and clear matriculation pattern: each specific elementary school feeds into a specific middle school, which then feeds into a specific high school. The school communities of children and families established in elementary schools are transplanted and grown into middle school communities which are then …

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