District 58 and the Downers Grove Elementary Education Association (DGEEA) proudly celebrated Retiree Day on May 21 by inviting students and staff to wear the color red to school, delivering small retiree gifts and staff treats, and publishing a video.

Please view our 2020-21 District 58 Retiree video, honoring each of our incredible retirees! Congrats to our 2020-21 retirees, and best of luck on your future endeavors!

Onsite students will turn in their District-issued student iPads and Chromebooks on Tuesday, June 8.

Remote students may turn in their iPads and Chromebooks at their school office either Thursday, June 10 after school (and by 4 p.m.) or on Friday, June 11 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Please click here to view instructions for returning your child's District 58-issued device!

District 58 reminds families of these important end-of-year dates:

School offices will be closed for the summer from June 16 through July 30. School offices will reopen on Monday, Aug. 2.

District 58 administrative offices will be open through the summer. However, from June 14-July 30, 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.

Please visit these webpages as you prepare for next school year! Please note, some pages are still being updated for 2021-22. If you see a page under construction, please check back later this month.

* Back-to-school toolkit

* Family resources

* 2021-22 school supply lists

* 2021-22 calendar

* Immunization requirements

* Kindergarten resources

* Summer learning in District 58

District 58 invites students to join the PTA Summer Math Club and the Downers Grove Public Library’s Summer Reading Program!

The PTA Summer Math Club is open to students entering grades K-8. It provides participating students with three brand-new math packets that feature a variety of fun and interesting math activities, designed to keep young math minds active all summer long. After students submit each completed packet, they will receive prizes and their next math packet.

Click here to access the first Summer Math Club math packet! To access the packets, please enter the password: 58Math!

Click here to learn how to participate in Summer Math Club.

The Downers Grove Public Library is excited to offer its annual Summer Reading Program! This program has already begun and will continue through Aug. 1. District 58 students who track their reading this summer can win fun prizes from the library! Learn more about the library’s Summer Reading Program.

Finally, District 58's Summer School Session IV: Summer Music program will close registration on Friday, June 4. Click here and scroll down to Session IV to learn more. Click here to register.

District 58 will continue to offer meals throughout the summer for children ages 18 and under who live in District 58 boundaries. Free meal packs can be picked up at O'Neill Middle School, on the south side of the building at door 6, from 7-8 a.m. every Monday morning throughout the summer. Each meal pack will contain six breakfasts and six lunches for the week.

District 58 will voluntarily test the water at its schools next week while schools are still occupied, as part of its commitment to a safe and healthy environment. District 58 expects to receive test results in late June. The District will post the results to its Water Testing webpage and will email school results to each individual school community.

If any issues are found, District 58 will remediate them before the start of next school year. Please visit the District's Water Testing webpage for more information on this voluntary water testing effort.

This summer, District 58 will complete the following facility projects:

 

• Replace Pierce Downer roof

• Pierce Downer masonry maintenance

• Replace some Pierce Downer HVAC equipment

• Replace some Fairmount HVAC equipment

• Miscellaneous painting at District 58 buildings

• Pavement repairs at Herrick and Henry Puffer

• Relocate District 58 servers to Kingsley School

• Replace flooring in Henry Puffer basement

• Replace flooring in three O’Neill classrooms

• Renovate Highland playground

 

The Henry Puffer and O’Neill flooring project will be partially funded by a School Maintenance Project Grant. The majority of the Highland playground project is funded by a generous donation from the Climb Higher at Highland community group. Of the remaining projects, most of it will be paid for using bonds that District 58 sold last winter for this purpose.

 

This summer's work covers just some of District 58's many critical facility needs. The District plans to reconvene its Citizen Task Force and continue its master facility planning this summer. Visit www.dg58.org/facility-planning to learn more.

 

Professional Learning Mondays: District 58 will resume its Professional Learning Mondays program, which was paused last year due to the pandemic. Every Monday, District 58 schools will dismiss at 2 p.m., and staff will participate in professional development. This will give teachers the time to fully explore, implement and reflect upon instructional strategies to provide optimal student learning experiences. Learn more.

Social Studies: District 58 piloted three different grade 6-8 social studies curricula this school year. After much thoughtful discussion, the social studies committee has reached consensus on a recommended resource for adoption in the fall of 2021. The resources will be on public display both at the Administrative Service Center and the Downers Grove Public Library beginning on June 8. Information will be shared with the Board of Education at the June 14 meeting, and the Board will be asked to approve the recommendation at the July 12 meeting. In addition, next school year a grade K-5 social studies curriculum pilot will take place.

Math: District 58 is extremely proud of our teachers for their perseverance in implementing a brand new math curriculum in grades K-8 amidst this pandemic year and a number of instructional models throughout the year. We look forward to a second year of implementation in a much more typical onsite delivery of instruction. 

Curricular Program Reviews: District 58 engages in continuous improvement planning for all curricular programs. In the 2021-22 school year, areas of particular focus will include a review of writing instruction districtwide, our Dual Language program, our Gifted program, and the implementation of math (year 2) and science (year 3) curricula, as both of these implementations were impacted by COVID-19.  

District 58 shared curriculum updates during the spring Curriculum Workshop. View the Curriculum Workshop presentation.

District 58 invites all community members to complete its Communication Satisfaction and Preferences Survey (para Español: Encuesta de Satisfacción y Preferencias de Comunicación del Distrito 58) through Sunday, June 6. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, and the District will use survey feedback to guide its communication improvement efforts.

Visit www.dg58.org/surveys to view past survey results and to learn how the District uses these results to make improvements.

The Illinois State Board of Education annually surveys a representative sample of parents of students with disabilities to determine how well Illinois schools are involving parents in their children's educations. Survey results become a part of ISBE's Annual Performance Report to the U.S. Department of Education.

ISBE selected District 58 to participate in this year's survey sample. This March, parents of District 58 students with disabilities received a survey in the mail. Parents may complete the paper survey and return it by mail or complete it online at www.mievaluation.com/isbe2021.htm.

Congratulations to eight District 58 third graders who won this year’s Downers Grove Fire Department’s Home Fire Escape Plan contest! The winners are:

Jackson T., El Sierra

Katherine S., Fairmount

Jake L., Henry Puffer

Evie T., Kingsley

Harper M., Lester

Lauren S., Pierce Downer

Ellery M., Whittier

Lucas R., Whittier

The Board of Education will hold the following regular business meetings this summer:

Monday, June 14 at 7 p.m. at O'Neill

Monday, July 12 at 7 p.m. at DG Village Hall

Monday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. at DG Village Hall

Meeting agendas will be posted on BoardDocs on the Friday preceding each meeting.

The Westmont Chamber of Commerce awarded the "Educators of the Year Award" to the entire District 58 faculty last week!

The Chamber presented this award to District 58 staff and surrounding school district staff, noting the hard work and contributions of all educators during this unprecedented school year.

Thank you, Westmont Chamber of Commerce, for recognizing our dedicated staff!

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