Lake County Gazette

The Bookmarks series recently highlighted a moment at Sherrelwood Elementary where the joy of reading was on display. Librarian Stephanae Gutierrez-McKain captured a video of student Leilani Vu laughing while reading “An Everything Pizza” by Linda J. Knaus.

“She had us all engaged and laughing,” Gutierrez-McKain said. “It was a really fun moment that I am so happy to have captured on video. I love being able to share these moments with students that helps reinforce my love of reading.”

The poem describes an imaginative pizza order that comes with various unexpected items, ending humorously with the omission of cheese.

Sherrelwood Elementary is also taking part in the Pizza Hut Book It Program, which encourages children from Pre-K through sixth grade to read more by offering incentives.

Readers are invited to share their favorite books or recommendations for young readers through the Bookmarks platform.

Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 serves Lake County and includes schools such as Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School, Carman-Buckner Elementary School, Clearview Elementary School, Daniel Webster Middle School, Early Learning Center, Glen Flora Elementary School, Glenwood Elementary School, Greenwood Elementary School, H.R. McCall Elementary School, Hyde Park Elementary School, Jack Benny Middle School, John S. Clark Elementary School, Little Fort Elementary School, Lyon Magnet Elementary School, Miguel Juarez Middle School, North Elementary School, Oakdale Elementary School, Robert E. Abbott Middle School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Washington Elementary School, Waukegan High School and Whittier Elementary School (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

The district’s demographic breakdown is 3.2 percent White students, 13.2 percent Black students, 79.5 percent Hispanic students and 1.3 percent Asian students (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

According to state data from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 employs 1,014 teachers with an average salary of $63,524 before pension contributions; 71.1 percent are women and 28.9 percent are men; no teachers have more than ten absences per school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

In terms of spending per pupil in 2020–the most recent year available–the district spent $23,429 per student for a total expenditure of $359 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).