Now-April 30

Illinois Science Assessment testing window is open for grades 5 and 8; principals will communicate testing schedule.

April 23-25

Author Fest

Wednesday, April 23

7 p.m.: Northside Elementary Musical at Herrick

Thursday, April 24

6-7:30 p.m.: Spring Open House at El Sierra, Fairmount, Hillcrest, Indian Trail and Kingsley

7 p.m.: Herrick Chamber Ensembles Concert at Herrick

April 28-May 16

Spring Assessment Period (principals will send their school's exact testing schedules)

Tuesday, April 29

Outdoor Education for Highland, Pierce Downer and Whittier Sixth Graders

6-6:45 p.m.: Beginning Orchestra Meeting for Third Grade Parents at Herrick

7-7:45 p.m.: Beginning Band Meeting for Fourth Grade Parents at Herrick

Wednesday, April 30

Outdoor Education for Fairmount and Kingsley Sixth Graders

5-6:30 p.m.: Spring Open House for Grove Children's Preschool (Henry Puffer Location)

7:30-9 p.m.: Eighth Grade Select 58 Award Ceremony at O'Neill (note updated time/location)

Thursday, May 1

Outdoor Education for El Sierra, Hillcrest and Indian Trail Sixth Graders

5-6:30 p.m.: Spring Open House for Grove Children's Preschool (Indian Trail Location)

Saturday, May 3

8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: District 58 Instrument Fitting and Registration at O'Neill

Monday, May 5

2:30-7:30 p.m.: District 58 Instrument Fitting and Registration at Herrick

May 5-9

Staff Appreciation Week

Tuesday, May 6

3:45-5:30 p.m.: Distinguished Service Awards Ceremony at O'Neill

Wednesday, May 7

Outdoor Education for Belle Aire, Henry Puffer and Lester Sixth Graders

6-8 p.m.: Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee Presents Kermes Night at El Sierra

7 p.m.: Board of Education Reorganization Meeting at the Downers Grove Civic Center

Thursday, May 8

7-8 p.m.: Downers Grove Children's Choir Spring Concert at O'Neill

Click here to view the 2024-25 calendar.

Click here to view the 2025-26 calendar.

Dear District 58 Families, Staff, and Community Members,

I want to take this opportunity to share an important update regarding the financial health and planning process of District 58, which the administration presented during a recent Financial Workshop. Over the past several years, our District, led by the Board of Education, has made great strides in strengthening our financial position, improving our planning processes, and working toward long-term sustainability.

Our efforts have been guided by three key financial steps:

1. Balanced Budgets: We have consistently presented balanced budgets, ensuring we do not spend beyond our means.

2. Fund Balance Policy: This policy ensures that we maintain adequate cash flow, especially during low-cash periods of the year. If this policy isn’t in place, the District would likely be in a position where payroll could not be met.

3. Capital Reserve Policy: Implemented this year, this policy designates funds annually for long-term maintenance of our school buildings. For example, in the upcoming year, $750,000 will be transferred from operating funds to the capital fund for required projects. If this policy were not in place, the District would not be able to adequately address ongoing maintenance of its facilities. 

These steps have put District 58 on a much stronger financial footing. However, like many school districts, we are now facing growing financial challenges that threaten this stability. Without action, our expenditures will begin to outpace our revenues, putting the District on an unsustainable path.

Several key factors are contributing to this financial outlook:

• Inflation: Property tax revenue increases are capped by state law (PTELL), but many of our expenses—such as labor, services and supplies—are rising faster than this cap allows.

• End of Federal COVID Funding: Temporary pandemic-related funding allowed us to expand staffing and services. With those funds ending this year, we must adjust our operations accordingly.

• Rising Transportation Costs: Increased labor costs, sustained high fuel prices, modernization of aging buses, and the opening of the Interim Housing Center (IHC) have driven up transportation costs dramatically, from $3.4 million in fiscal year 2021 to $6.75 million in fiscal year 2024.

• Decreased State Funding: Illinois is projecting a $3.2 billion deficit, which will lead to further reductions in funding for transportation, special education, and Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax (CPPRT) revenue. The State of Illinois has already begun to prorate its commitment to all school districts and has shared that next year will be worse.

Additionally, District 58 faces unique local challenges, including maintaining our neighborhood school model, operating with one of the lowest property tax rates in DuPage County, and serving an increased population of homeless students due to the IHC.

While we remain committed to delivering high-quality education for all students, we also recognize the need to align our expenses with our projected revenues. The District has also added full-day kindergarten and a robust dual language program that must be maintained. As a result, we began our fiscal year 2025-26 budgeting process early and identified the need to reduce expenses by approximately $2.2 million.

Our team has been working diligently to make thoughtful, student-centered decisions that minimize impacts to our core programming. The following are cost-saving improvements and programming shifts already in progress that will result in approximately $676,000 in savings:

• Shifting elementary gifted programming from centralized to school-based delivery.

• Adjusting the budgeting of certified salary lane changes.

• Replacing contracted occupational therapists with full-time OTs.

• Anticipating a reduction in special education outplacement costs due to student transitions.

In addition to these shifts, we proposed the following reductions to the Board of Education:

• Software Reductions: Eliminate underused/redundant platforms and adopt cost-effective alternatives.

• Administration: Eliminate the part-time assistant principal positions at Highland and Kingsley schools.

• Preschool Schedule Adjustment: Modify times to reduce transportation costs. Please note this change will impact start and end times only and will not reduce the number of minutes offered for preschool.

• Class Size Adjustments: Return to pre-COVID class size targets, which may result in reducing up to 11.5 teaching positions.

• Nursing Substitute Reduction: Eliminate a 0.6 floating registered nurse position no longer needed at this time. Please note, all buildings will continue to have a full time nurse allocation.

• Special Programs Staffing: Reduce two certified special program positions due to increased instructional assistant availability. Please note, all special education students will continue to have their minutes met as called for in each student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP).

Please know that no final decisions have been made in terms of class sizes and the number of sections. We are actively monitoring enrollment, revenue and other key data. These decisions are never easy, and we are committed to being transparent and responsive to our community throughout this process. We anticipate that we will be able to share our tentative recommendations on class sizes and number of sections with the Board in June.

The District remains fully committed to ensuring that core programming remains intact and that all students receive an education of the highest quality and robust student services.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. Together, we will navigate these challenges while keeping students and staff at the heart of every decision.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kevin Russell

Superintendent of Schools

Downers Grove Grade School District 58

Today, Wednesday, April 23, is Administrative Professionals Day!

District 58 wishes a very Happy Administrative Professionals Day to all of its secretaries and support staff. You each make a tremendous difference in the lives of our students, families and fellow staff!

Thank you for your service!

District 58 looks forward to celebrating all of its staff during Staff Appreciation Week, which will take place May 5-9. While every school and PTA has different activities planned, we wanted to share one districtwide way you can celebrate a special District 58 staff member: the Green Apple Award Program.

The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 invites the community to make a Green Apple Award donation in honor of a District 58 staff member. Click here to start the process!

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell or the school principal will personally deliver each Green Apple Award to the recipient, and a photo will be shared on the District's Facebook and X pages. Your donation amount will be kept private, and it will support the Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58.

The deadline to give a Green Apple Award for the 2024-25 school year is Monday, May 12.

Give a Green Apple Award today!

This week, District 58 will begin demolishing the boilers at Fairmount, Indian Trail, Kingsley, Lester, Herrick and O'Neill. This work is needed now to ensure construction keeps on schedule. After the boilers are demolished, the schools will not be able to turn the heat back on this school year. The District encourages students and staff from these schools to dress warmly on cooler spring days.

"Shutting down the boilers on this date is critical to allowing major mechanical and electrical work to begin and be in place before the school year starts in September," said Director of Buildings and Grounds Kevin Barto. "The 10-day weather forecast looks favorable, and we are hopeful that even warmer temperatures are on the way."

Starting next school year, both middle schools and Phase II elementary schools (Fairmount, Indian Trail, Kingsley and Lester) will have modern heating systems. 

Please note: District 58 typically turns its boilers off in mid-April, as warm weather returns. The District followed this schedule and turned off its boilers districtwide last week. If cold weather returns later this spring, the District can turn the heat/boilers back on in schools not listed above.

Pictured: Herrick's boilers, which are approximately 72 years old. The recommended life expectancy of a boiler is 30 years. These boilers are energy inefficient and very costly to maintain. They will be replaced with modern heating systems this summer.

Blessings in a Backpack is a national organization that provides weekend meals for children who are food insecure. This incredible organization served 221 District 58 children each week this school year. In addition, they provided the children with extra food to cover Thanksgiving, winter break and spring break, as well as most three- and four-day holiday weekends.

Our local District 58 chapter of Blessings in a Backpack is led by volunteer Lead Program Coordinator Kim Venzon and a team of nearly 30 additional community volunteers. This group regularly orders and delivers food to District 58’s 13 schools. 

In a true community effort, the local chapter of Blessings in a Backpack partnered with 20 organizations (and 400 local individuals) to secure funds, food or volunteer time. This work helped ensure 221 District 58 students could have breakfast and lunch on the weekends throughout the entire 2024-25 school year.

In addition, last summer, Blessings provided bags of supplemental weekend food for kids attending summer school and plans to do the same this year.

District 58 wholeheartedly thanks Ms. Venzon along with all District 58 Blessings volunteers, along with the many District 58 school staff who help distribute these meals internally!

We appreciate you, community District 58 Blessings in a Backpack volunteers!

• Kim Venzon
• Katie Kestner
• Nina Miller
• Beecher Dinapoli
• Tina Patten
• Suzette Stapleton
• Deirdre Boone
• Tracy Weirda
• Shannon Franchi

• Lisa Dantoft
• Maria Quatman
• Emily Mittal
• Julie Jackson
• Brad Keown
• Jen Meggos
• Kate Magnusson
• Michelle Bliss
• Carie Blonn

• Laura McGreal
• Maddie Haseltine
• Heather Wheeler
• Alyssa Mayer
• Corinne Cooper
• Joy Myers
• Miyuki Calvert
• Hilary Gilway
• Kathy Hebert

District 58 invites parents and guardians to complete its Student Services survey. This optional short survey will help District 58 better understand the scope of its needs in the following service areas: guidance and school counseling services, psychological services, social work and health.

• Take the one-minute survey here - English.
• Take the one-minute survey here - Spanish.

Thank you for your time.

Attention current third and fourth grade parents/guardians! Next year, your child will have the opportunity to begin playing a musical instrument!

Please view this document to read FAQs about instrumental music and the recruitment process. Please review this information and talk with your child about playing an instrument! Additionally, please add the Parent/Guardian Information Meeting to your family's calendar:

Parent/Guardian Information Meetings:



• Beginning Orchestra Meeting (for 3rd Grade Parents): Tuesday, April 29 from 6-7 p.m. at Herrick Middle School

• Beginning Band Meeting (for 4th Grade Parents): Tuesday, April 29 from 7-8 p.m. at Herrick Middle School

District 58 thanks the 92% of returning families who completed 2025-26 student registration. If you still need to register your child for next school year, please complete this process as soon as possible.

To register your child, please log on to the PowerSchool Enrollment Portal. On the left-hand navigation menu, click "Returning Student Registration" and complete all forms. Afterward, please pay student fees in your PushCoin account. If you did not upload any required forms (for example, a required medical form) during the online registration process, please submit them at your soonest convenience.

For more detailed directions, please visit our Registration webpage.

The Fire Department visits Lester third graders for a Learn Not to Burn lesson. Watch this video to see their learning in action!

Danny, an Indian Trail third grader, was one of this year's Home Escape Safety Plan Contest winners. The prize? Breakfast at the fire station and a ride to school on a fire truck! Check it out!

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

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