Wednesday, Nov. 15

Deadline to sign up for Reading Games

School Board Member Day

Friday, Nov. 17

End of Trimester

Wednesday, Nov. 22

No School

Thanksgiving Break

Thursday, Nov. 23

No School

Thanksgiving

Friday, Nov. 24

No School

Thanksgiving Break

Monday, Nov. 27

District Leadership Team

3:45 p.m. O'Neill

Wednesday, Nov. 29

Herrick Parent Presentation on School Improvement and School Safety

7:30-8:15 p.m. Herrick Library



Click here to view the 2023-24 calendar.

A message from Dr. Russell ••

Dear District 58 Community, 

I hope this message finds you well. As we approach a critical milestone in our strategic planning process, I want to update you on the Strategic Plan process and thank the community for its involvement.

Together, we have developed a new Strategic Plan that embodies our shared vision and aspirations for the future of education in our District. This plan represents our commitment to the children of our community and builds on the success of our previous five-year Strategic Plan. It revolves around five key areas: 



• Focusing on Learning (Curriculum) 
• Connecting with the Community (Communications) 
• Securing the Future (Finance and Facilities)

which are extensions from the previous plan; and two new goals: 

• Building for Success (Implementing the new PK-5 and 6-8th grade models) 
• Cultivating Talent (Maximizing Potential of Students, Staff and Families)

Throughout this process, your voices have been heard and played a central role in shaping our collective goals and objectives. Thus, this plan reflects the needs, hopes, and dreams of our collective community for our students and school community for the next five years. 

I am pleased to inform you that the Strategic Plan, a result of your collective efforts, was approved by the Board of Education at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 13. I’d like to express my gratitude to our parents, staff and community for their invaluable input and support. Together, we are charting a course for a brighter and more prosperous future for our schools and, more importantly, for our students. 

We are ready to take the next crucial step by rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. We will take these objectives and implementation plans and work them into detailed action plans that are attainable and measurable. As you can see in this document, we will report the progress of the goals at District Leadership Team meetings quarterly and at Board of Education meetings. 

Thank you for your commitment to our educational community. The dedication of the District 58 community has been inspiring. 



Kevin B. Russell

Superintendent 

Science Fair registration opens Nov. 27! ••

Students in grades 1-6 are invited to participate in the Science Fair this winter! Registration will be open Monday, Nov. 27 through Friday, Dec. 22. To register for this year’s Science Fair, use this Registration Form. The Science Fair will take place Saturday, Jan. 20 from 8-11 a.m. at O’Neill Middle School. The fair is open to all District 58 students in grades 1-6. Participating in the Science Fair is voluntary, but District 58 encourages every student to consider participating!

Students may register as an individual or with one partner. More details can be found here.

District 58 shares e-learning plan and winter weather school closing procedures••

District 58 anticipates that most inclement weather "snow days" will be e-learning days.

If inclement winter weather prompts District 58 to close its schools and facilities this year, the District will notify families and staff as soon as possible using a variety of communication tools. Please note, extreme weather is very unpredictable, and the decision to close schools is typically not able to be made until the morning of the event. District 58 will only send a message if schools will be closed. Otherwise, the day will proceed as usual.

If schools cannot be open due to inclement weather, District 58 will have the option to declare an emergency day (also known as “snow day”) or an e-learning day. The Board of Education has approved an e-learning plan that allows District 58 to use e-learning days in lieu of emergency days. As communicated previously, because of construction plans this summer and the need to maximize that time for construction, it is more likely that District 58 will prioritize an e-learning day in lieu of an emergency day (“snow day”). An e-learning day does not need to be made up in June. However, students are required to participate in e-learning from home in order to earn credit for the school day. If District 58 uses a traditional emergency day, that day will need to be made up in June. Read more about winter weather procedures.

PHOTO GALLERY: Veteran's Day ••

District 58 schools celebrated Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 10 with educational activities and celebrations, including the planting of flags outside of schools honoring loved ones, a slide show or assembly celebrating different branches of service and honoring veterans who are related to students. Whatever the activity, students learned much more about our veterans, their service and sacrifice.

On behalf of our entire District 58 community, we thank all of our veterans for their service! Here are more photos capturing Veterans Day activities that took place at two of our schools.

Join us! Volunteers sought for District Councils •••

Thank you to those who expressed interest in joining one of our many District Councils and Board Committees. We still have some openings on two of the councils:

• The Connection and Communication Council 
• The Building for Success Council

The Connection and Communication Council, formed under Goal 2 of the strategic plan, will work to review and enhance communication practices at all levels of the district and also look to strengthen the school-family connections we value. The Building for Success Council, formed under Goal 4, will comprise a main committee to focus on preparing for the new PK-5 and 6-8 middle school models. There will additionally be some subcommittees.

If you are interested, please fill out this form by Wednesday, Nov. 22. 

Thank you to our Support Professionals ••

Happy National Education Support Professionals Day to District 58's hard-working support staff! Our support staff includes school secretaries, instructional assistants and central office support staff. Each works closely with students, staff and families to ensure both our students' needs are met as well as our families. We truly appreciate their dedication and their commitment to our students and families! 

For American Education Week, consider honoring a staff member with a Green Apple Award! ••

Want to recognize a staff member in a meaningful way? Give an Education Foundation Green Apple Award! With each Green Apple Award donation received, the Education Foundation will send a specially designed Green Apple Award card to the teacher or staff member the donation is honoring, with a custom message from the donor. Green Apple recipients will also be celebrated on the District’s social media pages this spring and summer. Learn more.

Reflections Ceremony set Dec. 5 ••

All District 58 schools participated in this year's Reflections Art Competition. The theme is "I Am Hopeful Because....". The District has 87 submissions, which will advance to the Downers Grove Area Council for another round of judging. The Council Ceremony will recognize these 87 at a special ceremony held at O'Neill on Dec. 5. Viewing of artwork will begin at 6:30 and the award presentation will begin at 7pm.

District 58 shares its lice communications practices ••

If your child has lice or nits, it is important to let your school know and begin treatment quickly!

If there is one confirmed case of lice in school, District 58 will notify families in the affected child's grade. If there is more than one confirmed case in a school, across multiple grade levels, the District will send an email to the entire school. Visit the Health Office's Lice page to learn more information and find resources about lice.

Today's the deadline! Registration for the Reading Games closes Nov. 15 ••



Registration for the 2024 Reading Games is open now through Wednesday, Nov. 15. You do not need to identify the students who will be on your team, so there is time to finalize the team members. 



The Reading Games is a fun reading competition for District 58 students in grades 3-8. Students read books from the book lists, then face other teams to answer questions about the books they've read. It is a great opportunity for kids to read new books and discuss them with friends.

Teams are made up of 5-8 students, and may include students from different grades and schools. However, due to space limitations, participation in the Reading Games is limited only to DG58 students. Teams will read books and be asked questions from Book List 1 (3rd-4th grades) or Book List 2 (5th-8th grades).



To read more or to register, click here.

Please share! We are still hiring! •••

District 58 is hiring several full-time and part-time instructional assistant positions at various schools. Instructional assistants help supervise students and support classroom teachers through small-group or individual student instruction, under the teacher’s guidance. The starting salary is $16.80 an hour. Some instructional assistant positions that work in specialized programs also will receive a $2,000 stipend. Learn more and apply at www.dg58.org/employment.

Thank you to District 99, our generous community and Blessings in a Backpack •••

Many thanks go to the Downers Grove area community for donating to Blessings in a Backpack (BIAB) and to District 99 students for their volunteer efforts to support the program. And, finally, thanks to the organizers of BIAB and participants in the BIAB 5K! All of their efforts combined helped bring meals to 200 food-insecure students in District 58 over the Thanksgiving and winter holidays. 

District 99 student organizations Empowerment Club, Direct Action Club, Key Club and Student Council all participated in packing supplemental meals. The boxes of packed bags completely filled the District 58 van, which will deliver them to school buildings to be sent home with students next week.

Parent workshops by Glenbard Parent Series ••

• 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29

In-Person Film Screening followed by a Hybrid program with Timothy Fong MD. Screenagers Under the Influence. Zoom links and more information at Glenbardgps.org

Programs are free and open to the public. No registration is required. Click here to see the 2023-24 schedule. 

Flu Vaccines, Health resources for uninsured or underinsured •••

• Free Flu Vaccines
• DuPage Health Coalition Resources

Join the Grove Express 5K Annual Thanksgiving Tradition ••

The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 has once again teamed up with two local nonprofits -- the Downers Grove Rotary Club and the Downers Grove Roadrunners Soccer Club -- to host the Grove Express 5K on Thursday, Nov. 23 at 8:30 a.m. in downtown Downers Grove. The Grove Express 5K is Downers Grove’s annual Thanksgiving family run/walk, and a portion of the proceeds will directly benefit District 58 students through the Education Foundation’s programs. 

Please consider participating or volunteering at this community event! 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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