The idea of armed police officers walking through grade-school corridors didn't sit well with many educators in the 1980s. Police officers weren't too keen on the idea, either. But both sides agreed to try it, and in 1986, the first Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs began in Illinois.

B.J. Ward is trying to light a reading fire under the boys who attend the Bolingbrook elementary school by launching a program called Boys Reading Club.

When a 9-year-old student claimed he had a gun at school Thursday, the threat set in motion a police investigation and some panic from at least one parent when a letter was sent home from Oak View Elementary School.

When Tom Foreman graduated from Taft Grade School in 1956. Taft's centennial, celebrated Monday night in the school's spacious auditorium, and intended to raise funds for new after-school activities, was an opportunity for the returning Plainfield resident to revisit memories more than 50 years old.

The Joliet Central Friends of Rachel Club is busy spreading the message of kindness. The club and nine AVAC students visited Feed My Starving Children in Aurora and packaged 96 boxes of food. The food boxes will provide 20,736 meals to children in Haiti and Tanzania. The Friends of Rachel club also donated money to the nonprofit group.

It's been many years since Mark Dorencz was in high school, so he's admittedly unfamiliar with current teenage slang. But Dorencz understands "BFF" means "best friends forever," and he and other state troopers spent a chilly Thursday morning in the parking lot of Lincoln-Way North High School to make sure young drivers remembered theirs.

A chain reaction has been resonating through Minooka High School since October; but its beginnings can be traced back to 1999 following the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colo.

Crest Hill residents will be able to voice opinions regarding the overcrowding issues at Lockport High School.

The Lincoln-Way Central High School will celebrate the 40th annual Madrigal Dinner this year.

School officials in Plainfield will have to get creative if they're to chip away at the $16 million deficit in the district's operating fund.

Instead of just waiting for "New Moon" to appear on the big screen, Joliet West students in the Twilighters Club did the next best thing: They wrote their own crazy scenes to their favorite vampire love story. "New Moon" is the second book from Stephanie Meyer in the "Twilight" saga about Bella, a human in love with a vampire who leaves her.

Lincoln-Way West High School will present its inaugural Madrigal Dinner on Dec. 3-5 in the school auditorium. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will begin at 6 p.m.

Celebrate Veterans Day with Grammy-nominated national recording artist Maureen Christine and vocalist/entertainer Bradford Newquist at a special performance at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Lincoln-Way North High School, 19900 S. Harlem Ave.

Plainfield School Board will now hold its talks on how to cut $16 million from the budget in front of the public at Thursday's special meeting.

The Criminal and Social Justice Symposium at the University of St. Francis will feature stakeholders from across of the criminal and social justice spectrum.

Community college enrollment is skyrocketing statewide as more and more unemployed people head back to class and younger people forego going off to four-year institutions to save money. The Illinois Community College Board announced last week that fall full-time equivalency enrollment hit an all-time record.

City and school officials have yet to hammer out an agreement that could make Silver Cross Field football ready by next fall.

Each spring, students in Katie Nelson 's kindergarten class at St. Patrick School get a firsthand look at the creation of life when the class hatches baby chicks. But until this year, the students have never seen what happens to the chicks they care for once they leave their classroom.

Joliet Central High School will present the musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 and 3 p.m. Nov. 15 in the auditorium of the school, 201 E. Jefferson St., Joliet.

The new elementary school being constructed on Cedar Road in Homer Glen does not have a name yet, but district officials have narrowed down a list of possibilities.

After serving 39 years as principal at St. Jude Catholic School in Joliet, Sister Rita Mandella is far from retirement.

After years of exhaustive planning for a tax increase request, Mokena School District filed the referendum question last week for the February ballot.

On Thursday, the two emergency dispatchers invited 20 special education students from Joliet Central High School to the city's telecommunications center to give them a better understanding of 911.

The National Center for Women and Information Technology is offering its annual award for young women with a strong interest and ability in technology, according to Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, Will County regional superintendent of schools.

Fourth-graders might not have realized they were participating in an important pilot program designed to test the waters of what the Forest Preserve District of Will County hopes will be a new environmental education program for students.

Joliet Junior College is hosting a fundraiser for the Senior Services Center of Will County on Nov. 6.

Plainfield School District social workers will present a seminar for parents of middle and high school students to learn how to deal with stress in the household.

Coal City High School is the class of Grundy County. The high school was the only one in the county to make adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind program.

FRANKFORT -- Tickets to the annual Lincoln-Way East High School Madrigal Dinner will go on sale to the public Nov. 14.

If it takes a village to raise a child, it may just take a school to raise a village. Desirable, high-achieving schools can drive property values through the roof. Forget location. Often, they're looking for one thing: school report cards.

By the time Travis Herrick graduates from Plainfield North High School in June, he'll already have an associate's degree under his belt. Before he even started high school, he took a trigonometry course at Joliet Junior College after he graduated from Heritage Grove Middle School.

Lincoln-Way High School District is not a stranger to the Sun-Times top 100 list. However, this year saw their new school, Lincoln-Way North High School, to added to the list.

William Geasa, dean and athletic director at Minooka Junior High, tendered his resignation at the Minooka Grade School Board meeting Wednesday night. Geasa will leave the district at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.

Minooka Grade School District is taking all possible precautions to minimize the spread of H1N1 and other flu viruses in its schools, Superintendent Al Gegenheimer said.

Following several months of examination, including a workshop to work out details, the Valley View School Board adopted new policies regarding the use of district facilities by outside organizations.

Taft School will hold a centennial celebration Nov. 16, and the school's foundation group continues to raise funds for an after-school program in the district.

A. Vito Martinez Middle School has joined a small group of schools statewide in promising to continue ongoing efforts to go green by signing the Illinois Sustainable Schools Compact.

Joliet Catholic Academy's October Rotary Student of the Month is Kelsey DiPietro .

The Joliet Township Youth Experiencing Success in School (YESS) program was recognized as a Dimon Award recipient at a school administrator breakfast this month.

Troy School Board approved new facility use fees. The administration recommended new fees after the district conducted a thorough review of area districts' facility use fees and guidelines.

Four years ago, Emil and Joleen Wisch tied the knot and were looking forward to their honeymoon at a beautiful Mexican resort not too far from Cancun. However, a hurricane ruined their plans, and the newlyweds never got a chance to enjoy their vacation.

A. Vito Martinez Middle School in Romeoville has joined a small group of schools statewide in promising to continue ongoing efforts to "go green" by signing the Illinois Sustainable Schools Compact.

Joliet Township High School board took the next step forward in its master plan for expanding the green space between Joliet Central campus and Silver Cross Field by buying the missing piece.

Lincoln-Way Community High School District stands to save $1.3 million by restructuring bonds issued in 1998 and 2006.

New Lenox Elementary School District officials may reduce student fees next year. This year, fees were $160 for early childhood and kindergarten students, $165 for first- and second-graders and $170 for third- through eighth-graders.

The performance of the schools and students in Troy School District was reviewed by way of the 2009 State Report Card.

Plainfield School District sophomores, juniors and seniors and parents are invited to learn more about college and career planning at a Career Literacy Seminar hosted by the Plainfield South High School Student Services Department.

Joliet Township High School Board has settled two contracts with its unions -- office staff and paraprofessionals -- for about $1.7 million apiece.

Laura J. Obzera, a former Valley View School District employee, who admitted she had sexual contact with a teenage boy, was sentenced Wednesday to 48 months of probation. Obzera, 50, of 876 Bonnie Brae Lane in Bolingbrook must register as a sex offender for life.

JOLIET -- The Joliet Township High School Foundation will award $12,228 at the Foundation Grant Award Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in the District Administrative Board Room, 300 Caterpillar Drive.