Palos East Elementary Student Illustrators Recognized by School Board

Six Palos East Elementary School students were recognized for having their artwork chosen for publication in a new nature book.

First grade students from teacher Dawn Bronson’s 2024-25 class recently learned that their artwork would be published in the new book Natural Connections 3: A Web Endlessly Woven by naturalist Emily Stone.

Bronson said her family has vacationed in the northern Wisconsin town of Hayward for many years where she met author Emily Stone who is the director of education and a naturalist at the Cable Natural History Museum. This is Stone’s third book and the second to feature artwork by Bronson’s students. During the 2017-2018 school year, her first-grade class also contributed artwork for an earlier volume.

The Palos 118 Board of Education recognized Bronson and her students, who are now in the 2^nd grade, at their May board meeting. The student illustrators include John Callaghan, Clara Hernandez, Ophelia King, Dylan Mays, Reed Schultz, and Kahlani Upchurch.

Bronson said that students expressed their interests on topics they wanted to research before deciding on what to illustrate for the book. Their research included reading a first-grade summary of an article written by Ms. Stone, reviewing interesting facts found through online research, and even listening to the sounds of bird calls. They then completed a written report and an illustration for consideration for the new book.

Mrs. Bronson, who will retire in June after 20 years with District 118, said that she was proud of her students’ accomplishments.

“The entire class worked so hard and were very focused on this research project,” she said.

Dr. Anthony Scarsella, Palos 118 Superintendent of Schools, praised Mrs. Bronson’s leadership in the classroom, and for going above and beyond to provide engaging lessons.

“This accomplishment reflects not only the individual talents of her students, but also the engaging, high-quality instruction and inspiration provided by Dawn in her classroom. Her leadership and her students’ achievements are a wonderful example of the meaningful learning experiences taking place across our district,” said Dr. Scarsella.

Photo: Front Row (L-R): Palos East student illustrators Dylan Mays, Clara Hernandez, John Callaghan, and Reed Schultz were recently recognized by the Palos 118 Board of Education after their illustrations were selected for inclusion in a new nature book. (Not pictured: Ophelia King, Kahlani Upchurch) | Back Row (L-R): Palos 118 Board President Pam Paris, Palos East First Grade Teacher Dawn Bronson, Palos 118 Superintendent Dr. Anthony Scarsella.(Photo Credit: Palos 118)