News

MUNDELEIN, Ill. – Katie O’Brien has been named the new principal for Lincoln Early Learning Center beginning July 1, 2023. Lincoln Early Learning Center serves preschool and early childhood students from Hawthorn School District 73, Mundelein School District 75, and Fremont School District 79.

“Katie’s strong instructional leadership background, coupled with her commitment to building positive relationships, made her the ideal candidate,” said Fremont School District 79 Superintendent of Schools Dr. Trisha Kocanda who headed the search process. “She cares deeply about young learners and supporting staff and families. We are excited to welcome her to our Lincoln community.” 

O’Brien joins Lincoln after most recently serving as a Teacher on Special Assignment at District 46 in Grayslake. In that role, she has led staff development and the mentoring of new staff members. She previously served as an instructional coach and reading specialist at District 46. O’Brien was a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at Lake Bluff School District 65 after starting her professional career as a first-grade and second-grade teacher at Woodland School District 50.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Loras College before earning master’s degrees in educational leadership and literacy education from Northeastern Illinois University.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as the principal of Lincoln Early Learning Center,” O’Brien said. “I look forward to leading alongside the staff  as they set the foundation for our youngest students to become lifelong learners. I’m excited to meet more of the staff and families in the upcoming months to build a collaborative culture together.”

In order to qualify for our Intervention Preschool program, your child must attend a Preschool Screening held by Fremont School District 79. If you are interested in setting up an appointment for your child for screening, please contact Deb Steagall at 847-566-0169.

During the screening process, the student will be screened in the areas of Fine and Gross Motor Development, Speech and Language Development, General Academic Concepts, along with Social and Emotional Development. Parents/Guardians will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their child and will meet with a staff member to review the information provided in the questionnaire. 

Preschool Screening Dates for 2023-2024:

• November 10
• January 26
• February 23

All of our preschool programs are held at Lincoln Early Learning Center located at 200 W. Maple Ave in Mundelein. All programs are 2 1/2 hours in length. The morning sessions are from 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. The afternoon sessions are from 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. All programs are for students between the ages of 3 - 5. All programs are play-based programs where skills in all areas are enhanced and mastered through play. All programs utilize the Creative Curriculum Program which is based on the Illinois Early Learning Development Standards. 

Early Childhood Program - This program is designed for students that qualify for an Individual Educational Program (IEP) due to a delay in speech, fine and gross motor, cognitive, social-emotional skills, etc. The process begins with a screening and then additional testing may be done from there to further get to know the student’s needs. The classroom has a maximum of ten students with one teacher and one paraprofessional.

Preschool Intervention Program - This program begins with the screening process also. All factors are considered when making decisions if students qualify for the Preschool Intervention Program.  Factors include but are not limited to: a second language spoken in the home, difficult family situations, low income, not attending preschool, etc. The classroom has a maximum of twenty students with one teacher and one paraprofessional.

Tuition-Based Preschool Program - Students may also attend preschool by paying tuition. The preschool program is open to children between the ages of 3-5 years. Students must be three by September 1 of that school year. It is open to all children that will attend Fremont Kindergarten in the future. This program is a fee-based program. It is $3,500 for the school year without transportation. With transportation, the cost is $3,750 per school year. The fee is broken down into ten monthly payments of $350 or $375. The classroom has a maximum of twenty students with one teacher and one paraprofessional.

Fremont School District 79 is encouraging parents to preregister for the tuition-based preschool program for the 2023-2024 School Year.

Please fill out Tuition-Based Preschool Program 2023-24 to show your interest in enrolling your child in this program for Fall 2023. The cost is $3,500 per year without transportation and $3,750 with transportation.

FSD79's tuition-based program runs 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a week, and follows the 2023-2024 Fremont school calendar. Certified staff prepares students for the Fremont kindergarten program.

If you have questions, please contact Katie O'Brien at kobrien@fsd79.org or at 847-949-2720.