Indian Prairie School District 204 kicks off the school year
This morning, more than 25,000 students returned to Indian Prairie School District 204 to kick off the 2024-25 school year. Along with the returning students are several new faces in administrative roles:
- Carol Betzold: Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School principal
- Michael Zeman: Longwood Elementary School principal
- Patrick Raleigh: Gregory Middle School assistant principal
- Rachael Zozulia: Granger Middle School assistant principal
Some staff members and district retirees have also taken on new roles:
- Michelle Hebenstreit: Patterson Elementary School principal
- Ryan Vankampen: Waubonsie Valley High School assistant principal
- Michele Frost (retiree interim role): Hill Middle School co-principal
- Charles Bibbs (retiree interim role): Hill Middle School co-principal
New this year, kindergarten students are starting classes on the same day as the rest of the students. The preschool program is holding parent and student open houses on Aug. 22 and 23 with the first day of school on Aug. 26.
Sheri Costello starts first school year as Benet Academy’s principal
A fresh school year also kicks off this week at Benet Academy, welcoming hundreds of eager students and a new principal.
Earlier this summer, Sheri Costello started her new role as the school’s principal, the seventh in its history.
Learn more about Costello’s more than 25-year career in education.
Inaugural DuPage County Mental Health Summit to be held Sept. 7
The inaugural DuPage County Mental Health Summit will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7 at the DuPage County Administrative Building, 421 N. County Farm Road.
The event to raise awareness about mental health issues and resources available to help is being hosted by DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy and the DuPage County Health Department. It will feature a keynote address by former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, as well as tours of the Drug Court program, the Mental Illness Court Alternative Program, and other county behavioral health resources.
There will also be a Mental Health Expo Fair, and a panel discussion with mental health experts, policymakers, and individuals who’ve experienced mental health struggles.
The event will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration information is available on the DCHD’s website.
A possible change to Naperville’s zoning code
The specifications around what can and cannot occupy land zoned for industrial use could be tweaked, following a favorable recommendation at Wednesday’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
Commissioners backed a request to allow for-profit vocational and trade schools as permitted businesses that can operate within industrial zoned areas of the city. Naperville only currently allows schools considered a “public assembly use,” or non-profit, as permissible within industrial zoned areas.
The proposed change, which advances to the city council for a final vote, comes as an outfit known as Phlebotomy Training Specialists is seeking the amendment to the code. Information on where the school might operate in Naperville was not discussed at Wednesday’s meeting. Phlebotomy Training Specialists currently has schools in Chicago and Schaumburg.
City seeking applicants for grants available through four different programs
The city of Naperville is seeking grant applicants for four different grant programs. Federal funding is available through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), while city funding will be distributed through Special Events & Community Arts (SECA), Social Services Grants (SSG) and Opioid Remediation, to fund 2025 projects.
CDBG is focused on building stronger communities, through housing, infrastructure, and community development projects. SECA supports cultural and artistic events and initiatives, SSG helps to enhance social service activities, and Opioid Remediation assists with programs fighting against the opioid crisis.
Information about each grant program will be given at upcoming workshops. Those applying for a SECA grant must have a representative at one of two upcoming meetings: 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22 in council chambers; or 6 p.m. on Monday Aug. 26 in Meeting Rooms A & B. An optional workshop for the other three grants will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12 in council chambers. More information about applications and the deadline for each can be found on the city of Naperville’s website.
