The expectation that every North Star student will go to college permeates the school culture, from the morning meetings that affirm the school’s core values of responsibility, caring, courage, and respect, to individual classrooms, each of which takes the name of a college or university. 

Students start learning the scientific method early. A chief learning tool is the school's vegetable garden.

A comprehensive Bilingual/ ESL Program of instruction in Spanish, using the same curriculum used in classes taught in English, removes language and achievement barriers for non-native English speaking students. Spanish-speaking students in lower grades receive most of their instruction in Spanish, transitioning to English over time.

Elgin uses a tangible reward system—“Owl” tags—to recognize students, strengthen teacher-student relationships, and deepen student engagement. Former principal Sammy Jackson explains, “We used to lose a lot of middle schoolers because this is the point where they are mature one day, immature the next. We want to make learning fun, want to make participation cool, so they want to come to school every single day.”

Hands-on exploration of math, science, and technology concepts deepen student learning and thinking at this STEM high school.

Strong interpersonal relationships between students and teachers propel students to success at a STEM high school.

Alice Coachman Elementary is fortunate in having a strong group of individual, community-based, and corporate volunteers who see their involvement in “our neighborhood school” as a civic duty. They live in the same community as the students and parents and feel strongly that “strong schools make strong communities.”

Alice Coachman Elementary School experiences low teacher turnover, attributed to the many opportunities for teacher leadership.

Recognizing the key value of parent involvement, Alice Coachman makes it easy for parents to support and extend their children's school learning.

Students recite the Coachman Elementary School mission daily during student-led morning announcements, and faculty and staff are hired based on their commitment to this mission.