Carl Sandburg eighth-grader Angel Carrillo called his teacher, Elizabeth Gomez, “the most caring teacher I’ve ever had.” And sixth-grader Brandon Bulka said his teacher, Matt Fink, helped him change “from a nervous sixth grader into a much more confident person.”
The two students wrote winning entries in an essay contest about teachers, sponsored by Illinois State Senator Darby Hills.
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No one at Carl Sandburg Middle School was surprised upon hearing that Music Teacher Moulee Gupta is being honored with the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award for 2026.
“Moulee really has the Midas touch. Everything she puts her mind into turns out wonderful,” said CSMS Principal Andrew Vondran. “She always makes so much out of what she is given.”
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After more than two decades in education, Lisa Shirley still finds herself inspired by the same thing: watching students grow.
“I think what I love the most is seeing who they are when they come in as sixth graders,” she said, “and who they become by the time they leave as eighth graders.”
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Sitting upright at a desk, leaning back in a chair or sprawling out on the floor, the students made themselves as comfortable as possible as they spent a day reading - and judging - written entries in the Young Authors Program at Carl Sandburg Middle School.
About 57 students from sixth, seventh and eighth grade entered a written piece. Another 24 students volunteered to serve as judges, reading and critiquing the entries using a rubric based on category.
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The Mundelein District 120 School Board on March 10 approved hiring Dr. Art Vallicelli as the new Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools, effective July 1.
Vallicelli, currently the principal of Woodstock High School, will provide district-level leadership in curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning for grades 6-12.
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Jamie DiCarlo, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for Mundelein School Districts 75 and 120, received a regional leadership award on February 26 for her work in special education.
The Special Education Leadership Award was presented by the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE) during the group’s Winter Conference in Champaign.
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