Our mission is to graduate responsible and self-confident students who are prepared for the challenges of high school and beyond through a personalized education which provides a sound academic foundation and promotes the student's social, emotional and physical development in a safe, supportive environment.

Powers Lehman Wassberg Administrative Center (708.389.1900)

11900 S Kostner Avenue, Alsip, IL 60803

We are located in the Chicago south suburbs with boundaries roughly being Pulaski Ave. on the east, Central Ave. on the west, 107th St. on the north, and 127th St. on the south. Our district comprises most of the Village of Alsip and a corner of Oak Lawn.

We are an elementary district with four schools, three of them grades pre-kindergarten through 6th grade and the fourth being our junior high with grades 7 and 8. Our District 126 family has 1600 of the best kids and 200 of the best educators one could possibly hope to find. We have been, and always will be, the place "Where Children Come First".

Core classroom programs produce successful learners and supplemental programs provide a breadth of experience for all children.

Our schools are great places to teach and to learn and to develop.

Children attending District 126 schools enjoy the benefit of clean, attractive, and safe learning environments. There is a regular program of facility maintenance, repair, and upgrade. In the past decade, some of the projects have been a major renovation of our oldest school; building a state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and network; re-roofing; asbestos removal and re-flooring; lighting retrofits and other energy conservation measures; and tuck pointing and masonry restoration. All buildings meet or exceed all health and safety codes.

Strategic Planners undertook a close examination of learning space capacity and utilization in 2006. A key finding was that if the District was to continue to provide an up-to-date, high quality educational program, it would be necessary to provide additional classrooms. With utilization of existing facilities at close to 100%, there simply was no space to have programs like a full-day kindergarten, computer labs, fine arts rooms, preschool classes, special education classes in neighborhood schools and classes for students learning English.

And so, in May 2008, the Board of Education issued building bonds totaling $8 million to finance the construction of additions at each of our four schools. A prior bond issue was paid off in 2007, meaning that the tax rate remained the same; there was no need to increase tax rates to repay the debt. Timing could not have been better; rates were at 40 year lows when the sale closed. Furthermore, with contractors desperately looking for work in a worsening economy, construction contracts were bid and awarded at extremely favorable terms.

Ground was broken at Stony Creek School, the most crowded school, in September 2008 with completion in August 2009. A 12 room wing at Stony Creek was renovated as well, replacing expensive, environmentally unfriendly electric heat with a natural gas system. Work began at Hazelgreen, Lane and Prairie Junior High in May 2009 with February 2010 completion dates. In addition, an access road was constructed in the summer of 2008 connecting Kostner and Kolin avenues to improve traffic safety by bringing students away from the streets and onto the campus for parent and bus pick up and drop off. Another project is to build an elevator for the two-story wing at Prairie, providing handicapped access to the second floor.

The financial environment of District 126, like others, is constantly changing. Under the good stewardship of an experienced and dedicated Board of Education, the District has learned how to work smarter, harder, and leaner and yet maintain and/or expand programs and services to children.

The challenge will become even greater in the years immediately ahead. The cumulative impact of tax caps is taking its toll. State support for public education in Illinois ranks 48^th lowest among the states and the economic downturn will have an even greater impact. Increases in expenditures inevitably outpace increases in revenues. An increasingly complex society demands more from schools, and we must find a way to meet all the needs of all the children. With the continued support of our community, District 126 will rise to the challenges of the future.

In 1859, a one-room schoolhouse, the first school building of District 126, stood at 115th and Laramie.  This school was replaced in 1916 by a red-brick building named Hazelgreen School.  This "old" Hazelgreen building was built on property donated to the district by the Lane Family.  Today, this former District 126 school is currently the Sportsman Club.

In 1892, a one-room "Old Standard" school stood at 123rd and Cicero.  It was replaced in 1926 by a two-room red brick named Alsip School located at 12225 S. Loveland.  In 1953, Lane School was built just west of the old Alsip School.  The old Alsip School was demolished in 1968.

In addition to these buildings, new schools were rapidly constructed to accommodate the growing population following WWII:

In 1958, the total student population equaled 400.  During each year of the next decade, enrollment in the district increased by +10% or more.  In 1962 and 1963, Stony Creek School needed four mobile classrooms to house students; Lane School utilized one.  By 1971, 2,525 students attended schools in District 126! Additions were built at each of the district's schools:

Eventually the post-war boom in population subsided.  In 1982, enrollment decreased to 1300 total students, and thus, Oak View School was sold to the Oak Lawn Park District in 1982.  District 126 still owns the two acres on 111th Street, south of the old Oak View School.    

Currently the district is five and one-quarter square miles.  It includes four and one-half square miles in Alsip and three-quarters of a square mile of southern Oak Lawn.  The five school sites comprise a total of thirty acres with additional acreage leased from Commonwealth Edison southwest of Prairie Junior High School. 

Several superintendents have presided over District 126.  Vera Ruff was the district's first superintendent from 1948 until 1959.  William Smith headed the district from 1959 until 1990.  William Boucek followed Smith.  He retired in 2000.  Robert Berger is the current superintendent of District 126.  

Over the years, the district's Administrative Center has changed locations several times.  From 1951 through 1972, it was located at Lane School.  In 1972, it relocated to the "old" Hazelgreen School at 5201 W. 115th Street.  Since 1991, the site of the district office has been Prairie Junior High School.