Mount Prospect School District 57
Encyclopedia
Mount Prospect Public School District 57 is a community public school district
that serves over 2,000 pre-kindergarten
through eighth grade
students in Mount Prospect, Illinois
, United States
, covering an area of 4.3 square miles (11.1 km²).
officer in Mount Prospect started a school district
for the town to attract residents. At the time, students in the village attended five different schools in nearby Elk Grove, Maine
, and Wheeling
townships. William Wille, Mount Prospect's craftsman, donated a plot and sold 3 plots of land for $200 to William Busse. Built by William Wille, the one-roomed Central School opened in 1896 with 7 students attending from the ages of 6 to 14. Because Mount Prospect didn't have a central meeting place or village hall
at the time, Central School also became Mount Prospect's social hall, meeting place, and eventual public library
. By 1917, enrollment had increased to over 30 students.
In 192], a new four-roomed Central Standard School opened across the street for $25,000 to alleviate overcrowding at the one-room schoolhouse. The original one-room schoolhouse still operated, however, as the district's first kindergarten
. In 1937, a $30,000 addition of four more classrooms and a gym
nasium were added onto the Central Standard School, and the district sold the original one-room schoolhouse to nearby St Paul's Episcopalian Church for $500.
Between then and 1948, five more additions were put onto the Central Standard School. By this time, about 410 students from kindergarten to Grade 8 attended the school. The year before, 1947, the district opened Lincoln School. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Fairview, Lions Park, Gregory, Sunset, and Busse Schools had opened to alleviate overcrowding. Lincoln received an addition that triped the size of the school in 1956. In 1958, Lincoln received an addition of a boys' and girls' gymnasium, and Grade 7 and Grade 8 students were being taught there. Peak district attendance was around 4,500 kindergarten-Grade 8 students in 1960. By the late 1960s, the schools built in the early 1950s and early 1960s were kindergarten-sixth grade, and Lincoln and Central only taught 7th and 8th grades.
In 1970, Central Junior High School shut down due to dropping attendance, and junior high-schoolers that would have gone there went to Lincoln School, which had recently doubled in size. The Central Junior High School building was demolished in 1975, and the Mount Prospect Public Library was built in its place. Dropping attendances also closed Gregory, Sunset, and Busse Schools by the mid 1980s. Gregory School was sold to Christian Life College and Church; Sunset Park School was sold became many things, including a church, before being sold to the Mount Prospect Park District after over six years of price negotiations and demolished in the mid 1980s; In 1987 the District sold Busse School to the Park District, and was used as a community centre until its' demolition in 1994.
In the mid-1990s, the original Lions Park and Fairview Schools were demolished and replaced, and Westbrook School was sold with a 10-year lease. However, massive overcrowding was taking place in the district by the mid-2000s, and when the lease was up on Westbrook School, the district converted it into a school for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Grade 1 was brought over to Westbrook in 2009.
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
that serves over 2,000 pre-kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...
through eighth grade
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
students in Mount Prospect, Illinois
Mount Prospect, Illinois
Mount Prospect is a village in Elk Grove and Wheeling Townships in Cook County, Illinois, about northwest of downtown Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the village had a total population of 54,167.-Geography:...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, covering an area of 4.3 square miles (11.1 km²).
History
In the early 1890s, William Busse, a townshipTownship (United States)
A township in the United States is a small geographic area. Townships range in size from 6 to 54 square miles , with being the norm.The term is used in three ways....
officer in Mount Prospect started a school district
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
for the town to attract residents. At the time, students in the village attended five different schools in nearby Elk Grove, Maine
Maine Township, Cook County, Illinois
Maine Township is one of thirty townships in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 135,623 at the 2000 census. The township was founded in 1850....
, and Wheeling
Wheeling Township, Cook County, Illinois
Wheeling Township is one of thirty townships in Cook County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 155,834. It is the northeasternmost and most populated of the six northwest Cook County townships that form the panhandle.-Geography:...
townships. William Wille, Mount Prospect's craftsman, donated a plot and sold 3 plots of land for $200 to William Busse. Built by William Wille, the one-roomed Central School opened in 1896 with 7 students attending from the ages of 6 to 14. Because Mount Prospect didn't have a central meeting place or village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
at the time, Central School also became Mount Prospect's social hall, meeting place, and eventual public library
Mount Prospect Public Library
The Mount Prospect Public Library is a public library located in Mount Prospect, Illinois, USA.-Kids:-Teens:-Adult:-History:1930 – The first Library was established by the Mount Prospect Woman's Club...
. By 1917, enrollment had increased to over 30 students.
In 192], a new four-roomed Central Standard School opened across the street for $25,000 to alleviate overcrowding at the one-room schoolhouse. The original one-room schoolhouse still operated, however, as the district's first kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. In 1937, a $30,000 addition of four more classrooms and a gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium were added onto the Central Standard School, and the district sold the original one-room schoolhouse to nearby St Paul's Episcopalian Church for $500.
Between then and 1948, five more additions were put onto the Central Standard School. By this time, about 410 students from kindergarten to Grade 8 attended the school. The year before, 1947, the district opened Lincoln School. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Fairview, Lions Park, Gregory, Sunset, and Busse Schools had opened to alleviate overcrowding. Lincoln received an addition that triped the size of the school in 1956. In 1958, Lincoln received an addition of a boys' and girls' gymnasium, and Grade 7 and Grade 8 students were being taught there. Peak district attendance was around 4,500 kindergarten-Grade 8 students in 1960. By the late 1960s, the schools built in the early 1950s and early 1960s were kindergarten-sixth grade, and Lincoln and Central only taught 7th and 8th grades.
In 1970, Central Junior High School shut down due to dropping attendance, and junior high-schoolers that would have gone there went to Lincoln School, which had recently doubled in size. The Central Junior High School building was demolished in 1975, and the Mount Prospect Public Library was built in its place. Dropping attendances also closed Gregory, Sunset, and Busse Schools by the mid 1980s. Gregory School was sold to Christian Life College and Church; Sunset Park School was sold became many things, including a church, before being sold to the Mount Prospect Park District after over six years of price negotiations and demolished in the mid 1980s; In 1987 the District sold Busse School to the Park District, and was used as a community centre until its' demolition in 1994.
In the mid-1990s, the original Lions Park and Fairview Schools were demolished and replaced, and Westbrook School was sold with a 10-year lease. However, massive overcrowding was taking place in the district by the mid-2000s, and when the lease was up on Westbrook School, the district converted it into a school for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Grade 1 was brought over to Westbrook in 2009.