Volume 15, Issue 23 | Wednesday, June 7, 2023

About the cover photos: Left: Fairmount students in Alyssa Reinholz’s 4th-grade classroom show off their math murals. Right: Students in Jennifer Conyac’s 5th grade class present their city projects.    



Throughout this publication, you will see the following color-coded dots beside each article. The dots represent which strategic goal the article addresses:


• Focusing on Learning • Connecting the Community • Securing the Future


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District 58 calendar

Monday, June 12

Board of Education meeting

7 p.m. Downers Grove Village Hall


Monday, June 12

The last day that school offices will be open 


Monday, June 12

Summer school begins (Session I)


Monday June 26

Summer school begins (Session II)


Monday, July 31

Summer school begins (Session III)


Monday, June 19

Juneteenth

District offices, summer school closed


Tuesday, July 4

Fourth of July

District offices, summer school closed


Monday, July 10

Board of Education meeting


Tuesday, Aug. 1

School offices reopen


Click here to view the 2023-24 calendar.

A message from Dr. Russell

Dear District 58 Families,


As the 2022-2023 school year comes to a close, I want to thank you for your partnership. I am very proud to be an educator in District 58 because we have such great students, an outstanding staff, and very supportive families. We very much appreciate all of the feedback we receive through various surveys, working groups, and committees. District 58 strives to get better every year through a continuous improvement cycle and your feedback is carefully reviewed so we can continue to grow. Your partnership is essential to the success of our District. 


I am incredibly proud of the work that took place this year in the district. Some highlights include the following:


  • Passed a referendum that will secure main entrances, update all HVAC systems in the district to provide better air quality and total air conditioning, and move sixth graders to our two middle schools.
  • Developed a new five-year Strategic Plan.
  • Implemented a robust School Improvement Model based on Cycles of Inquiry
  • The Board approved full-day kindergarten starting in the 2023-2024 school year
  • Earned the State’s highest financial recognition award.
  • Implemented the first year of the District’s two-way dual-language Spanish program
  • Implemented the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for student achievement and growth.
  • Implemented key curricular adoptions and/or enhancements (elementary writing and new ELA pilot resources).
  • Recruited and hired new staff members while navigating a historic shortage of teachers and support staff.
  • Continued to offer more services within the District to students with special needs.
  • Made progress on building a new administrative center via a long-term partnership with the Village of Downers Grove.
  • Made progress on building new playgrounds at the remaining elementary schools with the help of our PTAs, the State of Illinois, and other fundraising groups.
  • Improved areas throughout the buildings (playgrounds, flooring, roofing, paved areas, tuck-pointing, etc.).
  • Held visioning meetings with community members and numerous user group meetings with staff to obtain feedback on the new facility spaces.
  • Added a new Student Advisory Period in middle school to provide students with intentional executive functioning instruction and more time to access interventions, and/or enrichment activities.
  • Strengthened community relations through strong partnerships (Education Foundation of District 58, District 99, the Village of Downers Grove, Lions Club, Rotary Club, etc.).


As we head into the 2023-24 school year, the District is preparing to start construction on the referendum projects. The design process is underway and we will seek project bids in the fall. Groundbreaking on the middle schools will start around spring break (weather permitting) and the first group of elementary schools will start in the summer of 2024. This summer, we will finalize smaller projects and playgrounds to ensure we are ready to go for the referendum projects. Thank you once again for your partnership and flexibility. I am honored to serve the community of District 58 and am incredibly excited for the future. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our District Office if you have any questions or need anything over the summer. 


Sincerely,


Dr. Kevin Russell

Superintendent of Schools

Planning for next school year

Key Dates

  • First Day of School: Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023
  • First Day of Preschool: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023 (Aug. 23 will be a Meet-and-Greet)
  • Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 22-24, 2023
  • Winter Break: Dec. 25, 2023-Jan. 5, 2024
  • Spring Break: March 25-29, 2024
  • Last Day of School: Friday, May 24 (if no emergency days are used)


Curriculum and Instruction Focus for 2023-24

Here are just a few of District 58's areas of focus in curriculum and instruction for the coming school year:

  • Implementation of all-day kindergarten at all of our elementary schools with a half-day option.
  • Implementation of new writing resources for K-5, called School-Wide Writing Fundamentals, which focus on narrative, opinion and informative writing.
  • Pilot of grade 6-8 writing resources in some classrooms. 
  • Pilot of two new English Language Arts (ELA) resources in some classrooms.
  • Addition of a second grade level in our two-way Dual Language, which means that two-way Dual Language is now offered in kindergarten and 1st grade.


Summer facility projects

Here are facility projects planned this summer in District 58. 

  • Continued masonry remediation Henry Puffer
  • Abatement of floor tile asbestos in the intermediate classrooms wing at Henry Puffer
  • Installation of new floor tile and cabinetry in the intermediate classrooms at Henry Puffer
  • Continued from 2022, fire alarm replacement at Henry Puffer and Highland
  • Renovations* of playgrounds at:
  • Belle Aire
  • Fairmount
  • Henry Puffer
  • Indian Trail
  • Kingsley
  • Lester
  • Pierce Downer
  • Continued seasonal projects such as summer painting and annual playground mulch refresh


Completion dates of playground renovations vary depending on equipment arrival dates.

Promotion Ceremonies.


At separate Promotion Ceremonies Tuesday evening, 328 Herrick students and 206 O'Neill students were celebrated in front of friends, teachers and their families. Here are highlights of the event.


Herrick

  • Andre Cheng led the Pledge of Allegiance.
  • Stormy Fleener and Michael Novotny gave promotion speeches.
  • Cecelia Nelson and Quinn McCloud were winners of the American Legion Award.


O'Neill

  • Siobahn Diaz led the Pledge of Allegiance.
  • Ellie Penavic gave the speech "Embracing Change."
  • Alyse Lynde and Patrick Olczyk were winners of the American Legion Award.
  • Ellie Penavic and Mason Suva won the Pride of O'Neill Award.


View the Herrick Photo Gallery. View the O'Neill Photo Gallery.

Staff honored with Green Apple Awards

Congratulations to the District 58 teachers and staff who received an Education Foundation Green Apple Award between January-June 2023. Each Green Apple Award was accompanied by a donation to the Education Foundation, which will be used to help fund next year’s Teacher Grants Program.

Note: Staff who work at more than one school are noted by the school from which they received their award. We are still adding a few final photos to the Green Apple photo gallery and celebrating them on social media.


Cassie Acevedo, Pierce Downer

Kristina Melone Cardinal, Belle Aire

Shor Costello (2), Highland

Jen Coyne, Lester

Angie Cushing, Lester

Patrick Donnelly, O’Neill

Jennifer Dunlap, Highland

Bethany Erickson, Belle Aire

Laudine Eshghy, Indian Trail


Christine Fiorenzi, Kingsley

Liz Fleming, Hillcrest

Marina Kasicki, Lester

Lisa Garbis, Lester

Anne Kehoe, Highland

Jennifer Kotor, Kingsley

Sandra Leff (2), Indian Trail

Cheryl Lyons, Whittier

Alka Mahotra, Indian Trail

Kevin McDermott (2), Belle Aire

Laura Novotny, Lester

Bridget Patton, Lester

Amy Peters, O’Neill

Alecia Probst, Indian Trail

Stephanie Quigley, Fairmount

Kate Salsbury, Lester

Colleen Sciacca, Lester

Julie Spring, O’Neill

Beebe Steele, Lester

Joanne Steichman, Lester

John Smoke, Lester

Megan Winnecke, Lester

Kyle Winter, Highland

Eareen Yambao, Herrick

Kathryn Yee (2), Lester

Dana Zikis (2), Lester


PHOTO GALLERY: End of year events

Field Days, capstone projects, ceremonies and more!

The end of the year is a special time for students. It means the culmination of all their hard work – all-school assemblies, field days, awards ceremonies, concerts, traditions, capstone projects and more! Take a look at some end-of-the-year fun and learning! (Link to gallery)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The PTA Summer Math Club is a free and fun way to keep students engaged in math over the summer. It is free and open to students entering grades K-8. Packets have already been delivered to each school and all students need to do is start the first packet, then bring it to the library on the following dates for prizes and to receive the next packet. More details are here.

PTA Summer Math packet drop off and pick up at Downers Grove Library

9:30-11:30 a.m., 5:30-7:30 p.m.

  • June 19-20
  • July 10-11
  • July 31- Aug. 1
  • Aug. 11


Summer hours for DG58 schools and district office


The last day school offices will be open is Monday, June 12. School offices will be closed for the summer from June 13 through July 31. School offices will reopen on Tuesday, Aug. 1.



District 58 administrative offices, at 2300 Warrenville Rd., Downers Grove, will be open through the summer. However, from June 12-July 21, District offices will follow a summer schedule and be open Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed on Fridays.



SCHOOL BOARD 

Board of Education news

Looking Ahead


  • The Board will hold its regular business meeting Monday, June 12, 2023 at Downers Grove Village Hall. The agenda will be available on the Friday afternoon prior to the Board meeting.


2023-24 Board of Education calendar

IN THE COMMUNITY

Meal resources for eligible families

A new interactive tool is available for eligible families to find food pantries and other resources. The tool was developed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Illinois SNAP. The tool can filter location, school and summer meal programs, and grocery stores and farmers markets accepting SNAP/LINK or WIC and Senior vouchers. The option allows users to find exactly which meals are offered at a location, including breakfast, lunch, snacks, supper, and weekend meals, and who is eligible. Learn more about the Illinois Food Map here.


Back to School Fair Aug. 9

Community e-flyers

District 58 includes relevant e-flyers in the Communicate 58 newsletter and online. Learn more.



Downers Grove Grade School District 58

2300 Warrenville Road, Suite 200NE, Downers Grove, IL 60515

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

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