The District 58 Board of Education held a Regular Meeting on Monday, May 12 at the Downers Grove Civic Center.

Hillcrest’s principal, Student Council and PTA presented a school report to the Board.

Key points include:

• Student Council members shared how they build school community and promote respectful, responsible and safe behaviors. They also shared some of the service projects and spirit days they organize, as well as other outreach activities. For example, they recently partnered with the Downers Grove Garden Club for an Earth Day celebration that included a tree donation.
• PTA Co-Presidents Kelly Fallon-Wilson and Katie Wojciechowski talked about the strong sense of community that the Hillcrest PTA fosters. For example, this year the Hillcrest PTA organized casual coffee gatherings with newer Hillcrest parents/guardians, which helped build relationships. They also highlighted some of the ways they enhance the Hillcrest learning environment.
• Principal Michelle Rzepka thanked the Board for supporting facility updates in District 58 schools. Hillcrest was part of Phase I construction last summer and has been renovated nicely.
• Mrs. Rzepka highlighted Hillcrest’s three goals for this year, which involve English-language arts curriculum implementation, Zones of Regulation social-emotional learning curriculum implementation, and the consistent use of math platforms, Dreambox and IXL.
• Mrs. Rzepka shared Hillcrest assessment results. When compared to school districts nationwide, Hillcrest students are at the 85th percentile for achievement and 63rd percentile for growth in math, and at the 83rd percentile for achievement and 64th percentile for growth in reading. 

Assistant Superintendents Liz Ehrhart, Justin Sisul and Jessica Stewart led a presentation on Strategic Plan Goal 4: Building for Success, which focuses on District 58’s transition for sixth grade from the elementary school to the middle school. The transition is still on schedule, and District 58 expects sixth grade to move to the middle schools starting with the 2026-27 school year.

Key points include:

• District 58 and contractor Bulley & Andrews took several current middle school students on tours of the construction zones last week; students enjoyed touring the spaces and learning more about construction and engineering.
• District 58 formed several committees to prepare for the successful transition of sixth graders from the elementary school to the middle school. 
• The Steering Committee is developing the three-grade-level middle school model. They have reviewed research, completed a middle school model assessment, and sought staff input. They also created a dashboard of middle school transition information for staff.
• The Scheduling and Staffing Subcommittee helped develop a grade 6-8 middle school schedule using staff input and schedule models from nearby grade 6-8 schools, along with considering transportation needs and contractual restrictions. For the 2026-27 year, the subcommittee recommended a middle school schedule with nine class periods and slight adjustments to the school day’s start and end times, as well as early bird and advisory times. The committee is also preparing to support staff who will be transitioning to the middle school with professional learning, while focusing on staffing equity across schools.
• The Student Services Subcommittee has focused its work on building purposeful specialized programs, supports and inclusion opportunities for students with special needs. Their work also involves the logistics regarding IEP and 504 transitions. Next school year, the middle schools will complete middle school IEP and 504 transitions for two grade levels, which is double the workload they typically would complete in a year. 
• The District restructured its special service administrative assignments to have a dedicated middle school special programs coordinator to help families bridge the transition.
• The Transition Subcommittee comprises fifth and sixth grade staff, as well as middle school staff, working collaboratively to create a positive transition experience for 2026-27 sixth and seventh graders, who will both be entering middle school for the first time.
• Work will continue over the summer and next school year. There will be more opportunities for feedback, and staff moving to the middle school will receive professional development. At the elementary schools, principals will form groups to determine space prioritization for the spaces that will become available after sixth grade leaves the elementary schools. District 58 will communicate updates to the community.
• Board members provided a variety of comments, questions and ideas for the committees to consider as they continue their work.

Huffman Keel is District 58’s referendum construction owner’s representative. Jordan Schulz, a partner with Huffman Keel, gave the Board a referendum construction update.

Key points include:

• Middle school construction is ongoing and progressing well. Current work at Herrick includes new classroom finishes and gym acoustic panel installation. Herrick’s kitchen equipment is arriving this week, and the transformer will be set next week, ahead of schedule. The team is still working with ComEd regarding when they will install the transformer. Current work at O’Neill includes gym/locker room finishes and flooring installation, main entrance work, and the beginning of the science classroom addition casework installation.
• Elementary School Phase I/Summer 2024 (Henry Puffer, Highland, Hillcrest, Whittier) work is wrapping up, with final items expected to be complete in June.
• Final schedule coordination is underway for Elementary School Phase II/Summer 2025 (Fairmount, Indian Trail, Kingsley, Lester) work. Overall, work is on schedule. ComEd-related work is running slightly behind. The team is working with ComEd to ensure all deadlines are met. 
• Design work for Elementary School Phase III/Summer 2026 (Belle Aire, El Sierra, Pierce Downer) is ongoing; bid documents for long lead/early equipment bids will come in later this month; remaining items will be bid out in September 2026.
• The budget was shared; overall the budget is in good shape, with Herrick being slightly over budget, and O’Neill being slightly under budget. The team will make extra efforts to avoid overtime costs and to rein in design scheduling delays and costs. The team is working with trade partners to understand the impact of tariffs. 

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell shared District 58 updates.

Key points include:

• Hillcrest Presentation: Dr. Russell thanked the Hillcrest students, staff and PTA for presenting a great update on their school.
• Last Day of School: The last day of school is Friday, May 23 for grades K-7. It will be a half day. (The last day for eighth grade is Thursday, May 22; it is a full day).
• Staffing: District 58 is happy to recall 21 certified staff members at this meeting; these staff members were part of last month’s reduction-in-force action. As more student registrations have come in, the District has been able to confirm the need for these 21 teachers. The District is continuing to monitor enrollment trends in specific grade levels and schools to determine whether we can confirm additional positions. “Based on the anticipated availability of positions and the specific licenses and endorsements of some of our first year teachers, we do not expect to be able to offer every RIF’ed staff member a recall to a position, but we do hope to recall many of those certified staff at the upcoming Board meetings,” Dr. Russell said.
• Gifted Communication: The District is working on the math acceleration and gifted identification process. Gifted family communications will be sent at the end of this week; math acceleration summer work communication will be sent next week.
• Staff MacBooks: The Technology team is in the process of quickly deploying the staff MacBooks that the Board approved for purchase in April. As a result of this quick turnaround, we hope to sell the surplus devices in the coming weeks.
• SASED Visually Impaired Program: Kingsley School will welcome the SASED Visually Impaired Program this fall. The program serves students who are blind or visually impaired from the 92 member school districts within the DuPage/West Cook Regional Association. This initiative will bring two specialized classrooms to Kingsley School, providing a supportive learning environment for these students. “Our school community is eager to learn more about braille, White Cane Day, and how to effectively partner as a sighted guide and a supportive friend,” Dr. Russell said.
• Education Foundation: The Education Foundation recently hosted its annual Select 58 Awards Night, which honors eighth graders for service, and its Distinguished Service Award ceremony, which recognizes exceptional staff. Both programs went very well, and provided a good opportunity to celebrate our students and staff!
• Eighth Grade Promotion: Eighth grade promotion will take place on Thursday, May 22 at Downers Grove North. O’Neill’s promotion ceremony is at 5 p.m.; Herrick’s ceremony is at 7 p.m. The Board of Education is welcome to attend!

Assistant Superintendent for Business Todd Drafall gave a business report.

Key points include:

• District 58 is asking the Board to approve a proposal for stop-loss insurance. This proposal is less expensive than last year’s price and meets the District’s expectations.
• District 58’s budget is on track. Early May is the low-cash point for District 58. The District will receive its first property tax distributions on May 23, with two more in June. District 58 receives 48% of its funding during the last 45 days of the fiscal year. District 58’s 35% fund balance policy helps ensure that the District continues to have sufficient money, even during these low-cash periods.

Downers Grove Grade School District 58

850 Curtiss Street, Suite 200, Downers Grove, IL 60515

Community Relations Office: 630-719-5805 I mhewitt@dg58.org | www.dg58.org

STAY CONNECTED