About the cover photos: Right: Hillcrest 2nd grader on a history of Downers Grove field trip. At left, an Indian Trail 4th grader showing off his award from the Downers Grove Public Library for his bookmark contest!  

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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On behalf of District 58, we would like to thank our staff for their many contributions to student success!  Thank you for all you do to enrich the lives of our students, parents, and the community. Please join us this week and next as we celebrate Staff Appreciation Week. 



We’d also like to thank our parents and PTA for their efforts and support to make this a special week for our staff – from literally rolling out the red carpet and making us fun treats and decorating our staff lounges, you make it one of our favorites weeks of the year!

Want to thank a special teacher or staff member?



• Donate a Green Apple Award in their honor

The Education Foundation invites community members to make a Green Apple donation to the Foundation in honor of an exceptional staff member. Every Green Apple Award recipient receives a Green Apple certificate with a personal message from the donor, and they are celebrated on the District’s social media pages.

• Write a "thank you card" to a special staff member
• Give a shout-out to your school nurse on School Nurse Day on May 10!
• Give a shout-out to your principal this week for Principals Day May 1! 

Earth Month is an opportunity that our schools and teachers take to raise awareness around issues impacting our planet and how to better take care of the earth. Here is a photo of Henry Puffer kindergarteners and 6th grade buddies cleaning up the area around the school. Students also celebrated Arbor Day by learning about trees from the Village of Downers Grove and the DG Garden Club, which invited the students to help plant a Swamp White Oak near the school. Most schools had an activity for students to complete each day of Earth Week. At Belle Aire, students played Earth Day bingo. Pierce Downer held a puzzle exchange and encouraged students to bike or walk to school and pack a waste-free lunch. Some Hillcrest students went on a nature Scavenger Hunt and played recycle bowling. The Grove Preschool students used their imaginations to recycle items for play. See more photos of Earth Day activities and learning.

Congratulations to the following students who advanced to the National Level for their entries in the PTA Reflections competition. Through Reflections, District 58 students in K-8 grade are invited to submit works of art in six areas: dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts. The theme for the 2022-23 program is “Show Your Voice!”

Advancing to National Level

• El Sierra: 2nd grader Tyler Holmes (film) “You Too Can Be a Hero.”
• Highland: 6th grader McKenna Blonn – (Dance) “Words.” 
• Hillcrest: Kindergarten student, Teagan Holtrup’s (literature) “The Boy Hoo Toks Olot (The Boy Who Talks A Lot).”
• Lester: 5th grader George Onken (film) “A Kid Who Showed His Voice – Ryan White.” 

Receiving State Honorable Mention

• Whittier: 1st grader Elin Carlson (photography) “A Whisper in the Ear”
• Highland: 5th grader Naya James (visual arts) “Blossoming Voices.”
• Fairmount: 1st grader Jessica Fischer (literature) “The Forgetful Wedding.”
• Hillcrest: 5th grader Keira O’Donoghue (dance choreography) “Listen.”

Bonds from the 2022 facilities referendum will appear on property tax bills that began arriving in homes at the end of April. Please note that there was an error in the April 24 Board Briefs, which said that the referendum's impact on tax bills would not take effect until 2024. We apologize for the error and have corrected the Board Briefs on our website. Additionally, there is more background information about the referendum and property taxes in the April 10 Board Briefs. As a reminder, all public school districts in DuPage County are subject to the Property Tax Extension Law Limit (PTELL), which limits a school district’s operational increases to the CPI or 5%, whichever is less. Since 1992, when tax caps were enacted, this is the first time that the CPI was 5% or higher. District 58 continues to have the lowest tax rate of all large elementary school districts in DuPage County, To learn more about tax caps and PTELL, click here. To keep up with facility planning, click here. 

IDEA Student Services Survey ••

District 58 invites families to complete the Regional Office of Education's Student Services survey. This optional short survey will help District 58 better understand the scope of its needs in the following service areas: school counseling services, psychological services, social work and health.

Take the one-minute survey here. 

Four children’s authors visited our schools for Author Fest Week, sharing their love of writing and illustration. They gave insight into their writing process, offered students lessons in illustrating and answered questions. Pictured at left is Troy Cummings at Highland.

Thank you to the DG58 PTA Council for organizing and funding and the District 58 Foundation for support. Check out more on the PTA Council’s Author Fest Facebook page, on our Twitter pages and in the Photo Gallery.

The Board of Education held a Financial and Curriculum Workshop Meeting on Monday, April 24. The meeting featured an update on the district’s five-year financial plan and status reports on three curricular committees. Read the Board Briefs.

Looking Ahead



The Board will hold its next regular Business Meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 8. It will start with a Reorganization Meeting of the Board, followed by the business meeting, then a workshop meeting to train members of the Board and administrators to facilitate Strategic Planning sessions. The Board agendas will be published on the Friday preceding each meeting on BoardDocs.

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

• Cyberparenting Presentation
• Healthy Kids Running Series
• Founders Day Events
• History Happens Here at the Tivoli
• May Mental Health Activities
• DGS Wrestling Camps
• Roadrunners Soccer Tryouts