Indian Prairie School District 204
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Indian Prairie School District 204 (sometimes abbreviated IPSD) is the youngest of the three main districts serving Aurora, Illinois. Students from Aurora, and its neighboring communities of Naperville and Bolingbrook attend District 204 schools. Currently seven elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, and one alternative high school are in Aurora city limits. There are a further nineteen District 204 schools in Naperville and one in Bolingbrook.
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[edit] History
The district was formed in 1972 by the mergers of Wheatland Elementary District 40, Granger Elementary District 90 and Indian Plains Elementary District 182. The district began as a Kindergarten-8th Grade (K-8) district, with its students attending Naperville Central High School for 9th Grade-12th Grade until Waubonsie Valley High School was constructed for District 204 and opened in 1975. The district opened eleven buildings during the 1990s, at all levels of primary and secondary education. Another two elementary buildings were opened in 2001-2002, while another was constructed but remains vacant (see below), and a third high school, to be called Metea Valley High School, is scheduled to open in 2009 — construction will begin on the high school once land has been fully acquired.
[edit] Criticism
The district faced criticism throughout most of 2006 centered on estimates of future enrollment numbers, which were used by supporters of the referendum to build Metea Valley High School.[1] The court process, and attempts at receiving special powers from the state legislature for acquiring the remaining land required for the construction, has also been criticized in local letters to the editor. The district remains in condemnation proceedings in an effort to obtain a portion of the Brach-Brodie property that will be the foundation for the school[2] and is seeking to gain the remaining land with a definitive court hearing scheduled for September 2007, or 'Quick Take' powers if granted by the Illinois General Assembly.[3]
The district has been further criticized over the construction of Peterson Elementary School, which remains unoccupied.[4] In November 2006, the district's school board voted to have students move from Wheatland Elementary into Peterson Elementary.[5] The fate of Wheatland Elementary is unknown.
In March 2007, a lawsuit was filed by a student of Neuqua Valley High School, under claims that free speech rights were violated after a t-shirt was defaced under instructions by school administration. The T-shirt was meant to serve as a protest for the "Day of Silence."[6] A boycott of the 2007 observance is planned.[7]
[edit] Elementary Schools
| School's name | School's namesake | Location | Mascot | Principal | Year opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Children Preschool | Aurora | LuAnn Shields | 1998 | ||
| Brookdale Elementary School | Brookdale subdivision | Naperville | Bobcats | Theresa Drendel | |
| Brooks Elementary School | Gwendolyn Brooks | Aurora | Tigers | Dave Younce | 1995 |
| Builta Elementary School | Wayne Builta, former teacher at Waubonsie Valley | Bolingbrook | Badgers | Maranda Van Waning | 1999 |
| Clow Elementary School | Robert E. Clow, school board president | Naperville | Cougars | Barbara Kaufman | 1979 |
| Cowlishaw Elementary School | Mary Lou Cowlishaw, retired member of the Illinois General Assembly | Naperville | Koalas | Karen Sullivan | 1997 |
| Fry Elementary School | Fry family, longtime residents of Will County, Illinois | Naperville | Foxes | Sharon Baskerville | 2001 |
| Georgetown Elementary School | Georgetown subdivision | Aurora | Hawks | Stephen Selle | 1988 |
| Gombert Elementary School | Peter M. Gombert, former Associate Superintendent for Business | Aurora | Gators | David Worst | |
| Graham Elementary School | V. Blanche Graham, former teacher and principal | Naperville | Falcons | Joan Peterson | 1996 |
| Kendall Elementary School | Oliver Julian Kendall, World War I casualty from Naperville | Naperville | Patriots | Martha Baumann | |
| Longwood Elementary School | Longwood subdivision | Naperville | Lions | Laura Johnston | |
| McCarty Elementary School | Aurora | Mustangs | Kim Earlenbaugh | ||
| Owen Elementary School | Owen Wavrinek, former School Board President [8] | Naperville | Owls | Jason Bednar | 2002 |
| Patterson Elementary School | Patterson family, early settlers of Wheatland Township, Will County, Illinois. | Naperville | Prairie Dogs | Quynh Nguyen | 1993 |
| Spring Brook Elementary School | Spring Brook subdivision | Naperville | Huskies | Cynthia Lee McKesson | |
| Steck Elementary School | Reba O. Steck, former teacher | Aurora | Eagles | Kerry Merrill | 1992 |
| Watts Elementary School | May Watts | Naperville | Wolverines | Kim Stephens | |
| Welch Elementary School | Arlene Welch, former teacher | Naperville | White Tigers | Sharon Jennings | 1999 |
| Wheatland Elementary School | Wheatland Township, Will County, Illinois | Naperville | Wildcats | Terri Russell | 1950 |
| White Eagle Elementary School | White Eagle subdivision | Naperville | Wolves | Ron Zeman | 1995 |
| Young Elementary School | Nancy Young, former librarian | Aurora | Dolphins | Jenny Giambalvo |
[edit] Middle Schools
| School's name | School's namesake | Location | Mascot | Principal | Year opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crone Middle School | Clifford Crone, former superintendent | Naperville | Panthers | Stan Gorbatkin | 1997 |
| Granger Middle School | Francis Granger, early resident of DuPage County, Illinois | Aurora | Grizzlies | Mary Kelly | 1993 |
| Gregory Middle School | Gordon Arthur Gregory, former school board president | Naperville | Pioneers | Stephen Severson | 1987 |
| Hill Middle School | Thayer J. Hill, first superintendent of IPSD 204. | Naperville | Trailblazers | Mike Raczak | 1981 |
| Scullen Middle School | Thomas G. Scullen, former superintendent | Naperville | Sharks | Kathy Kosteck | 2001 |
| Still Middle School | Jeffrey C. Still, former teacher at Waubonsie Valley and Granger | Aurora | Bulldogs | Jennifer Nonnemacher | 1997 |
[edit] High Schools
| School's name | School's namesake | Location | Mascot | Principal | Year opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Plains Alternative High School | Aurora | Hawks | Kevin Myers | ||
| Waubonsie Valley High School | Waubonsie, chief of the Potawatomi | Aurora | Warriors | Jim Schmid | 1975 |
| Neuqua Valley High School | Neuqua, son of Waubonsie | Naperville | Wildcats | Dr. Michael Popp | 1997 |
| Metea Valley High School | Metea, chief of the Potawatomi | Aurora | Mustangs | TBD | Scheduled for 2009 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Supporting the 204 Referendum", Rick Klau's weblog, March 19, 2006
- ^ Metea Valley High School, Indian Prairie School District
- ^ "No Quick Way for Dist. 204 to Get Land", Sara Hooker and John Patterson, Chicago Daily Herald, March 9, 2007
- ^ Opinion posted on the blog of the Naperville Township Democratic Organization.
- ^ IPSD School Board decision to move students from Wheatland to Peterson.
- ^ Fedorowicz, Lisa. "Teen who wants to wear anti-gay T-shirt takes battle to court", Chicago Sun-Times, 2007-03-22. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
- ^ Fawell, Nick. "Naperville in spotlight over high school gay-rights issue", Sun-Times News Group, 2007-03-28. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
- ^ Owen Elementary School is the only elementary school in the district to use its namesake's first name (or the name of the subdivision the school was constructed in) for the building, rather than the last name.
