Grandma and Grandpa Go to High School

For the first time, seniors got to take their grandparents to school Friday. 

It made for an eye-opening experience for both the grandparents and the grandkids. Phyllis Harbach, grandma of DGN senior Morgan, said she was "completely mystified" by Morgan's algebra class. 

Harbach said when she was a high-schooler, her brother was fighting in World War II. Some of her friends were German Jews who were able to emigrate to the United States before the Holocaust. 

Phyllis Harbach graduated from high school in 1943 in Pennslyvania. "I got through without math," Harbach said. "I took math in junior college." 

Also mystifying: "How do you get from one class to another in five minutes?" Harbach said. "At my high school we had three floors and an annex. We went across the street for gym. It took more time." 

Morgan Harbach said having her grandma in class was out-of-the-ordinary. 

"I have two worlds, my family and school, and they rarely intersect," she said. 

Fun fact: Morgan works at the Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove. Her mother and Phyllis were also ushers at movie theaters. 

First-year Principal Scott Kasik brought "Grandparent Day" to DGN. He oversaw the same event at Barrington and Deerfield High Schools. 

"I saw what a positive thing it was at the previous schools," Kasik said. "There's a unique relationship that high school kids have with their grandparents that is very tender and positive." 

Only the senior students were allowed to bring their grandparents. It helps keep the numbers in control, Kasik said, and provides a privilege for the older students. 

Thirty-eight students brought 49 grandparents to school, Kasik said. One grandma got to see eight of her grandchildren, all Downers Grove North students. 

Bringing Grandparents Day was a natural fit for North, Kasik said. 

"Parents tell me how they were students themselves and their parents went to North," Kasik said. "The school's roots in the community have been so deep." 

Kasik said grandparents usually comment on technology, the atmosphere and sometimes the school's dress code. The students also have fun introducing their grandparents to their friends. 

Marilyn and Frank Petkewicz visited with their granddaughter Rachel. They said they were amazed to sit in Rachel's computer class as well as see the SMART Board in her earth science classroom. Marilyn graduated from Morton High School in 1958. Frank graduated from Tilden Tech in Chicago in 1957.

"All we had was chalk," Marilyn Petkewicz said. 

Marilyn and Frank Petkewicz said their grandson is a junior at Downers Grove North. 

"We're looking forward to next year," she said.