Park District Plans to Install Turf Field at Monroe Middle School

Park District, District 200 boards to vote on agreement to allow construction of turf fields behind Monroe Middle School.

The District 200 Board of Education on Wednesday will vote on an agreement with the Wheaton Park District to allow construction of synthetic turf fields behind Monroe Middle School.  Per the intergovernmental agreement, the park district would take on a 25-year lease of the property behind the school and build up to two turf fields.  Park District Executive Director Mike Benard said the district will start with one field and may decide to install another in the future. The park district currently uses school district property behind Monroe for football—primarily the Wheaton Rams program, and softball. The new fields would be designed for soccer, lacrosse and football use, according to a District 200 staff memo.  Before construction, the …

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District 200 Hires New Principal for Monroe Middle School in Wheaton

District 200 board appoints Bryan Buck the new principal of Monroe Middle School in Wheaton.

The Wheaton Warrenville Community Unit School District 200 Board of Education appointed a new principal of Monroe Middle School Wednesday night, after Jason Stipp announced he will be taking the principal position at Waubonsie Valley High School in Naperville. Bryan Buck will begin as Monroe's new principal July 1, leaving the Oswego School District, where he was principal of Karl Plank Junior High School since 2006, according to a District 200 press release. From 2001 to 2006, Buck was Principal at Fox Chase Elementary School and an Assistant Principal from 1999 to 2001. Prior to his administrative positions, Buck was a sixth grade social studies, language arts, math, and science teacher.   Buck received his bachelor’s degree from …

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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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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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Performers use Song, True Stories and Flash Mob to Spread Anti-Bullying Message

Young performance group sends anti-bullying message to Monroe Middle School students.

Students and staff at Monroe Middle School on Monday laughed and cried during an anti-bullying assembly that touched on issues that can result from bullying, including depression and suicide, teen drinking and driving, abusive relationships and discrimination. MWAH! (Messages Which are Hopeful!), a group of young performance artists that aims to send a message of anti-bullying to their peers at schools statewide, opened the assembly with a story about Quincee Barnes Miller, a Batavia teen who committed suicide in October 2010, at age 15—six months after her boyfriend, Dylan Wagner, had taken his life. They then invited Miller's mother, Blythe, to the stage. Blythe Miller told the audience there were many reasons her daughter committed …

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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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District 200 Moving Forward with Middle School Redistricting Plan

Proposal expected to alleviate overcrowding at Franklin Middle School. Parents of affected students appeal to board to find a different solution.

Despite strong opposition by some students and parents, District 200 officials are moving forward with a plan to relocate 89 Franklin Middle School students to Monroe Middle School due to overcrowding. The board unanimously consented Wednesday night to send notices to families who would be impacted by the proposed change, which could begin in the fall. Franklin Middle School currently has 780 students, however it has a 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. With enrollment projections at Franklin predicted to reach 822 students by 2014, Harris said the district needed to find a solution …

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Medal of Honor Finds Final Home at Monroe Middle School

Family of school namesake say medal belongs there. They hope it inspires the students.

James Howard Monroe’s Medal of Honor found its final resting place at Monroe Middle School, named for the soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War. Over 1,000 students and residents turned out Friday to pay tribute to a Wheaton son who fell in battle over 40 years ago. Michelle Gattas, Monroe’s niece and most recent holder of the medal, said she hoped the medal’s permanent display at the school will serve to inspire the students and the community of Wheaton. “We hope you discover your own path to courage by standing up for what you believe in,” Gattas told those assembled to pay tribute to her fallen uncle before blowing a kiss to Heaven – a fitting action to start the holiday where this nation pays tribute to its …

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Jim Hankes

3:55 am on Sunday, May 29, 2011

Melanie, Alex is saying the photos of the band weren't very good. Band=good, photos=bad.   more ›

Family of Local War Hero Donates Medal of Honor to Monroe Middle School

Monroe Middle School will host a Medal of Honor Dedication Ceremony to honor their namesake, James Howard Monroe and the receipt of his Medal of Honor this Friday, May 27.

On Friday, May 27, Monroe Middle School will host a Medal of Honor Dedication Ceremony to honor their namesake, James Howard Monroe and the receipt of his Medal of Honor.  This past winter, Michelle Gattas, the niece of James Howard Monroe, donated Jimmy’s Medal of Honor and corresponding certificate to the school. For the past few months, the school has been working with local groups to secure funding and construction to build a “Wall of Honor” in the school. On May 27, the school will formally honor James Howard Monroe and his family's gift. James Howard Monroe, also known as “Jimmy,” was a Wheaton resident who graduated from Wheaton Central High School in 1962. While studying political science at Washington & Lee University in Lexington…

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