GES celebrates 20th anniversary and prepares for upcoming building projects

The teachers and staff have much to celebrate as the school year nears at Great Expectations School (GES). 

Not only did the school celebrate its 20th anniversary on Aug. 18, but it is looking forward to welcoming back students and starting a new building project. 

On Aug. 18, 2003, GES opened its doors, becoming the first charter school in Cook County. The first few years proved to be interesting as teachers, volunteers, and staff navigated operating a charter school without a permanent building, frequently holding classes in the curling rink arena at the Community Center.

Now, 20 years later, GES is an established school in Cook County and has experienced continued support and growth.

Rachel Lehman, the school director at GES, said on August 14, the school received the green light from the Department of Labor and Industry to begin constructing a new building. Lehman said the school is currently applying for building permits and anticipates seeing “a lot of movement on-site” in a few short weeks. 

The new building will allow the school to eliminate the temporary structures that house numerous classrooms and provide a permanent secure location for the teachers and students. In addition, Lehman said, “We want to be able to have a lunch room where we can all sit, and we don’t want to be crowded or have to go into the attic for storage.”

While the school is adding a new building, Lehman said they are not expanding the student population. She said the school would have 158 students if every seat were filled. “We don’t want to get much bigger.” 

In addition to starting construction on a new building, GES is excited to share some changes to the lunch program. Recently, GES was approved for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), a federally assisted program providing children with low-cost or free lunches. 

“All of our students will be eligible to have free breakfast and lunch every day,” Lehman said. 

As the school year creeps closer, Lehman said GES still has enrollment availability in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-grade classes. 

Anne Mundell, the kindergarten teacher at GES, said kindergarten is a special time to enter school. “We spend a lot of time on social development and learning how to learn together and gaining confidence and new friendships, and especially on solving problems.”

“I love teaching kindergarten because there’s so much excitement for learning and curiosity,” Mundell added. “I really can build on that and foster that in the types of learning that we do or the subjects that we choose to learn about.”

A few of the other teachers at GES shared similar thoughts.

“When the kids walk in, everything makes sense,” Kathryn Nelson-Pedersen, the 7th and 8th-grade teacher, said. “It’s so grounding.” 

“I love the connections that we get to make with the students and also among the staff,” Suzy Schweig, the 3rd and 4th-grade teacher, said. “They’re wonderful to work with.”

WTIP’s youth volunteer Ezme Mundell and WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins sat down with Rachel Lehman, the school director at GES; Anne Mundell, the kindergarten teacher; Kathryn Nelson-Pedersen, the 7th and 8th-grade teacher, and Suzy Schweig, the 3rd and 4th-grade teacher to learn about the early days of GES, the current building projects, and much more. Audio from the interview is below. 

Ezme Mundell who attends GES conducted the interview and shared her thoughts below.

“I love GES because it is a warm, welcoming place that I feel at home. Also what makes the school special is the teachers there. They are fun, supportive, and creative,” she said. “I enjoyed interviewing some teachers and staff today because I wanted other people’s opinions about the school and just some more history. I also really like the fun of getting to interview my mom!” 

Kalli Hawkins August 21, 2023