The buzz around Glen Oaks School in Hickory Hills these days is about the new $3.5 million, six-classroom addition that provides teachers more room for individualized instruction in the areas of reading, language and special education.

There's even a room with sound-deadening walls and floors for band practice.

Gone are the days where two and, sometimes, three teachers would share a classroom and work with kids who were learning the same lessons but at different levels. That disruption is now gone.

The six large classrooms can be transformed into 12 smaller classes with the use of partitions that allow teachers to work with even smaller groups of students if necessary. Bathrooms were also added to the new addition.

It's all part of North Palos School District 117's plan to become a benchmark district. Recently, the district hired several additional reading specialists to help those students who need help the most and to make sure every student in the district reads at or above his or her grade level.

The $3.5 million construction project also includes an ADA-required elevator and the renovation of the entire second-grade wing. Classrooms there were given new tile floors and ceilings and a hallway was added to link the wing to the new addition.

More than 500 parents and community members came out recently for the Open House at Glen Oaks. Principal Gaylyn Grimm welcomed the guests to the school and gave a brief overview of some of the things students would be doing this year.

But probably the biggest hit among the students was what's outside the school on the east side of the building: New, state-of-the-art playground equipment that should provide kids with hours and hours of fun and physical fitness.