News
April 29, 2025
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Glenbard News for April 29, 2025

In this issue:

  • Mental Health Awareness Month event on May 1
  • 2025 Livingston Human Relations Awards
  • Glenbard West Spring Jazz & Orchestra Concert on May 1
  • Childhood narcissism: What it is and how to fix it
  • Highlights of April 28 board meeting


Mental Health Awareness Month event on May 1
The Carol Stream Public Library will host a kick-off to Mental Health Awareness Month with a special event organized by the GPS Parent Series and the DuPage County Health Department featuring licensed clinical social worker, Loyola professor and nationally recognized expert on suicide-prevention, Dr. Johnathan Singer. He will speak on “Important Signs and Symptoms for Suicide Prevention” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 1.

At 6:15 p.m., prior to Dr. Singer’s presentation, there will be a Community Resource Fair featuring free health screenings as well as raffle prizes, including White Sox tickets and a $100 gift card for Lou Malnati’s. Must be present to win.

Come learn about summer opportunities for your teen and enjoy health-related giveaways. The Carol Stream Public Library is located at 616 Hiawatha Drive in Carol Stream.


2025 Livingston Human Relations Awards
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 Livingston Human Relations Award. This award is presented annually to 10 students from each Glenbard high school who have demonstrated real concern for others and have promoted positive, caring relationships among social groups regardless of race, sex, religion, ethnicity, economic level, physical ability or academic prowess.

  • Glenbard East: Sarah Choi, Kathleen Dotson, Brooklyn Horton, Romello Jones, Asia Lacy, Luisana Perez, Caitlin Rossi, Brooke Seymore, Marley Szeluga and Veronica Witt.
  • Glenbard North: Abdulrehman Ausaf, Madalyn Cook, Rayhaan Irani, Rosmi Joseph, Elhan Mensah, Nidhi Patel, Dakota Richardson, Amelia Staffa, Hogan Vo and Abigail Woitas.
  • Glenbard South: Lucas Galas, Yasmin Gomez, Christian Hill, Quinlin Pounders, Alexandra Rupp, Delaney Spontak, Eva Vogel, Olivia Weber, Simone Witort and Haley Wong.
  • Glenbard West: Benjamin Battisto, Emma Eltzroth, Ella Formanski, Luis Irizarry Ramirez, Ayushi Patel, Eliott Peterselli, Dominic Seaney, Lindsay Seifert, Allyson Stortz and Mia Terek.

 
Glenbard West Spring Jazz & Orchestra Concert on May 1
Glenbard West’s annual Spring Jazz & Orchestra Concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 in the Glenbard West Auditorium.

The concert will begin with the Glenbard West Jazz Band under the direction of Jonathan Walsh. The orchestra portion will include senior soloists Leila Salvidas, violinist, performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, and Audrey Weaver, cellist, performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto.

The concert will include a world-premiere performance of senior conductor Gavin Profitt’s original composition, Waltz in G. The orchestra’s senior members will be highlighted as they perform Barber’s Adagio for Strings, one of the most beautiful works ever written.

The concert will conclude with a medley from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash Broadway hit, Phantom of the Opera.

Admission is a free-will offering.


Childhood narcissism: What it is and how to fix it
Recently, the GPS Parent Series hosted Dr. Mary Ann Little in a program titled How NOT to Raise a Narcissist in an All-About-Me World. Read five essential takeaways from the presentation, or view the full program.

To receive detailed program summaries and be notified of upcoming events, sign up for the GPS weekly newsletter. 


Highlights of April 28 board meeting
Board Highlights feature a brief description of the action items and discussion items on the meeting agenda. Board Highlights do not replace minutes. The minutes are approved by the board and posted after the next regularly scheduled board meeting. Present: Margaret DeLaRosa, Kermit Eby, Bob Friend, Martha Mueller and Jim Shannon. Absent: Hetal Lee and Rosemarie Montanez.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT:

  1. Congratulations to Glenbard East student John Wilson Scott on earning the rank of Eagle Scout. To fulfill his requirement for Eagle rank, John built a raised flower and garden box at Faith United Methodist Church. The skills he learned during scouting and his Eagle project will help him in various aspects of his life going forward.
  2. Congratulations to Glenbard West boys basketball coach Jason Opoka and girls basketball coach Kristi Faulkner on both being named Coach of the Year by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Their girls and boys basketball teams each won an IHSA sectional championship and advanced to the state quarterfinals in Class 4A. It marked the first time in school history that both programs won sectional titles in the same season.
  3. Dr. Larson expressed appreciation and gratitude to Bob Friend and Rosemarie Montanez for their service on the Board of Education. Their commitment to Glenbard has enhanced the educational opportunities for all students and will leave a lasting positive impact on our schools. Their advocacy for public education and tireless work on behalf of students, staff and community members has helped pave the way for continued academic success and achievement in District 87.
  4. We encourage community members to attend the following GPS Parent Series events. Details and links to each event are available at GPSparentseries.org.
  • May 1 at noon and 7 p.m. – Suicide Signs and Symptoms: Let’s Talk About It
  • May 6 at noon and 7 p.m. – Early Childhood Event: Everyday Principles to Grow Happy, Healthy and Smart Young Children
  1. On March 20, 2025, the district received a commercial Freedom of Information Act request from Keith Nance, requesting Glenbard’s current or most recent beverage agreement in place. The district has responded to this request.
  2. On April 7, 2025, the district received a Freedom of Information Act request from the Painters District Council No. 30, David Arvayo, requesting purchase invoices for any recent paint purchases made by the school district to maintain or improve school district buildings or facilities, as well as a list of painting, drywall finishing or glazing projects scheduled to start within the next 12 months. Additional requests include submitted invoices for qualifying projects or contracts conforming to the criteria of the FOIA request; a list of school district staff who worked on related projects; bid tabulation sheets used to compare qualifying bids; approval meeting minutes for qualifying contracts; and performance agreement for qualifying contracts. The district has responded to this request.

THE BOARD APPROVED:

the April 14, 2025 regular meeting minutes and closed session minutes.

– destruction of closed session audio recordings.

the following personnel items:

LICENSED STAFF – EMPLOYMENT:
Name                                        School/Position                                                                 FTE          Effective Date
Benedetti-Sich, Lucia     South / EL Teacher (correction)                                20%                08/11/2025
Benedetti-Sich, Lucia     South / World Language Teacher (correction)   60%                 08/11/2025
McCann, Carrie                 North / PE Teacher                                                          80%                08/11/2025
Munro, Kimberly                South / School Counselor (rehire)                           20%                08/11/2025
Parikh, Kruti                         West / School Counselor                                             100%              08/11/2025
Scolire, Michael                 Dir / Science Teacher                                                    100%              08/11/2025
Talarico, Marissa               North / Speech Teacher (rehire)                               70%                08/11/2025
Tragasz, Noelle                  East / Bus+Computer Sci Teacher                         100%              08/11/2025

LICENSED STAFF – SUMMER SCHOOL/ESY EMPLOYMENT:
Name                                    School/Position                                                     Term
DiLegge, Roxanne        West / ESY Teacher                        06/05/2025-07/17/2025
Malizzio, Brianna           Transitions / ESY Teacher           06/05/2025-07/17/2025

SUPPORT STAFF – EMPLOYMENT:
Name                                    School/Position                                         FTE                Effective Date
Abruscato, Lora             DO / Accountant                                        100%                   05/09/2025
Matthews, Tyler              East / Special Education Asst.           87.5%                  04/28/2025

SUPPORT STAFF – SUMMER SCHOOL/ESY EMPLOYMENT:
Name                                    School/Position                                                   Term
Albright, Ayden               North / ESY Aide                             06/05/2025-07/17/2025
Debs, Lauren                   West / ESY Aide                              06/05/2025-07/17/2025
Petrine, Jennifer             Transitions / ESY Aide                 06/05/2025-07/17/2025

LICENSED STAFF – RESIGNATION/TERMINATIONS:
Name                                    School/Position                                                                       Effective Date
Fumagalli, Michael       DO / Assist. Director of Teaching and Learning             06/30/2025

SUPPORT STAFF – RESIGNATION/TERMINATIONS:
Name                                    School/Position                                                                       Effective Date
Fuentes, Roberto          North / Building Sub Coordinator                                         04/15/2025

one excursion.

athletic and physical education school towel service agreement bid award. The district recently rebid athletic and physical education towel service for three one-year terms for school years 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28. Bids were opened on April 10, 2025 and there were four bidders: Marberry Cleaners & Launderers LLC (current services provider), Cintas, Now Linens and Vestis Uniforms.

Current service includes two times per week service at Glenbard North and Glenbard West and one time per week for Glenbard East and Glenbard South. The newly proposed service schedule will include two service days per week at each school.

Vestis Uniforms was approved as the lowest apparent bidder at a three-year cost of $72,082.76, for two times per week service.

horticulture building lease. The Transition programs use the horticulture space at the Technology Center of DuPage (TCD) as a vocational work site. TCD had initially planned to use the horticulture space starting in 2025-26, so we were seeking a new site for the vocational work. TCD has since determined they do not need the horticulture space and have extended another lease to Glenbard. TCD is already a successful space for our work and is cost-effective.

– 2025-26 IHSA membership renewals. Each year, the district submits a recommendation to renew the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) memberships for Glenbard East, Glenbard North, Glenbard South and Glenbard West. Renewal of membership confirms that our district continues to be recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education and certifies that our board has voted to adopt and abide by the constitution, by-laws, terms and conditions, and administrative procedures, guidelines, and policies of the association for the 2025-26 school term.

BOARD INFORMATION/DISCUSSION ITEMS INCLUDED:

Livingston Human Relations Awards. Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 Livingston Human Relations Award. This award is presented annually to 10 students from each Glenbard high school who have demonstrated real concern for others and have promoted positive, caring relationships among social groups regardless of race, sex, religion, ethnicity, economic level, physical ability or academic prowess.

  • Glenbard East: Sarah Choi, Kathleen Dotson, Brooklyn Horton, Romello Jones, Asia Lacy, Luisana Perez, Caitlin Rossi, Brooke Seymore, Marley Szeluga and Veronica Witt.
  • Glenbard North: Abdulrehman Ausaf, Madalyn Cook, Rayhaan Irani, Rosmi Joseph, Elhan Mensah, Nidhi Patel, Dakota Richardson, Amelia Staffa, Hogan Vo and Abigail Woitas.
  • Glenbard South: Lucas Galas, Yasmin Gomez, Christian Hill, Quinlin Pounders, Alexandra Rupp, Delaney Spontak, Eva Vogel, Olivia Weber, Simone Witort and Haley Wong.
  • Glenbard West: Benjamin Battisto, Emma Eltzroth, Ella Formanski, Luis Irizarry Ramirez, Ayushi Patel, Eliott Peterselli, Dominic Seaney, Lindsay Seifert, Allyson Stortz and Mia Terek.

Mireya Vera Educational Equity Award. The Mireya Vera Educational Equity Award honors the memory and legacy of former board member Mireya Vera’s dedication to educational equity. The Mireya Vera Educational Equity Award is presented to one staff member in each building who exemplifies Ms. Vera’s qualities and values.

The award criteria that these four individuals modeled and exemplified includes:

  • Fiercely advocating for opportunities for every student.
  • Connecting, valuing and giving high esteem to all families.
  • Valuing the language, culture and heritage of every student.
  • Professional, respectful, but deliberate and persistent in advocating for underserved and underrepresented students.
  • Intentional and innovative in helping students and families.
  • Authentically demonstrates many Glenbard Profile of an Educator attributes.

Congratulations to the following award recipients:

  • Kelly Roberts – Glenbard East librarian/media specialist
  • Tracy Balhan – Glenbard North department chair of world languages
  • Jennifer Bledsoe – Glenbard South school counselor
  • Abel Sanchez – Glenbard West world languages teacher

Inspire … Empower … Succeed Awards. Congratulations to the South recipients of the district’s Inspire … Empower … Succeed Award: Michelle Duffy (administrative assistant to the school counseling department chair), Julie Fonda (department chair of business and family & consumer sciences) and Dr. Caicina Jones (school psychologist). The award recognizes faculty and staff members who: demonstrate exceptional levels of initiative or innovation; exceed expectations and make a positive difference for students; and demonstrate outstanding student service or achievement.

awards & recognition of South parent leaders. Congratulations to our 2024-25 South parent leaders who received recognition for their support and dedication to the district:

  • Glenbard South Boosters: Dawn Cassata (President), Tara Arick (1st Vice President), Pam Perron (2nd Vice President), Kristy Riley (Secretary), Stephanie Herlien (Treasurer), Abida Sabri (Concessions) and Nancy Hoerdemann (Raider Wear).

– South student and staff spotlight. Congratulations to the Glenbard South Math Team on first place finishes in the Glenbard Math Invitational, the Upstate 8 Conference Math meet, and regionals. The entire team has qualified for the state math competition and were in Bloomington the weekend of April 25th to compete against the other best mathletes in the state. Congratulations to head coach David Jodelka and assistants Erica Hearn Anderson and Haresh Harpalani. The following students placed at the regional competition and represented Glenbard South at the state level:

  • Freshmen: Dougy Biesenkamp, Nick Crawford, Emily Goodin, Adi Lehr, Owen Martinez, Aditya Narayanan, Mia Siguenza and Aspen Usalis.
  • Sophomores: Sophia Assaf, Priscilla Ha, Zach Jones, Simon Kubik, Azam Muneer, Michael McIntyre and Will Pope.
  • Juniors: Aryeri Funez-Sanchez, Ben Gower, Gavin Loftsgaarden, Alex Long, Lizzie Pekkarinen, David Puchalski and Ashrith Valluri.
  • Seniors: Grace Bittlingmaier, Andrew Lullo, Zach Nielsen and Ella Pope.

The Glenbard South Raider Scholastic Bowl Team went undefeated in the regular season in the Upstate 8 Conference. It came down to one of the final questions in the UEC conference tournament, but they lost a close one to Bartlett High School. However, they went on to win the IHSA regional tournament at Metea Valley on March 10th. They went into the hardest sectional in the state at Waubonsie Valley High School on March 15th, but came up a little short at that event.

We are proud of these students who represented Glenbard South. Our team is coached by Michael Douglas and Dr. Caicina Jones. Congratulations to Adam Berntsen, Grace Bittlingmaier, Ibrahima Diagne, Soren Loest, Andrew Lullo, Aniyah Nelson, William Pope, Quinlin Pounders, Belinda Ramos, Ayush Shah and Riven Wisniewski.

Brooklynn Moore submitted outstanding seasons for both the girls basketball and girls volleyball teams. Among her many accomplishments, she received the following distinguished recognitions: 

  • Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association – First Team All-State, Class 3A
  • Illinois Basketball Coaches Association – Special Mention All-State, Class 3A
  • Illinois Sports Media Girls Basketball – Honorable Mention All-State, Class 3A

equity and inclusion update 2024-25. The 2024-25 year-end report included a comprehensive picture of student services work in equity and inclusion. Glenbard has continued the very important work around equity. A key and common understanding we want all professionals in Glenbard to understand is why a focus on equity and inclusion is important. A review of student diversity and the ongoing work was provided.

school safety measures update – Guidepost summary. Glenbard schools have engaged in review and evaluation of safety practices for several years. In 2022, an outside contractor, Guidepost, was hired to evaluate and provide feedback on the district’s work culminating in recommendations sent in 2023. Guidepost returned in 2025 to review the more-recent safety practices and improvements. The high-level executive summary was presented for the board’s information. Safety practices will be reviewed and improved as a result of this report and the ongoing work of leadership.

College of DuPage facility use agreement for reunification. The College of DuPage (COD) has been a long-standing partner with Glenbard South High School as an evacuation and reunification site. As administration has conducted training and tabletop exercises at the district-wide level, we have evaluated the efficacy of our plan to not only evacuate, but to perform the reunification process with families should a significant and devastating event occur at one of our high schools.

In accordance with our Emergency Operations Plan, should an event occur that requires students to be dismissed for the remainder of the day, we need a site large enough to accommodate what would be a lengthy and complex process.

This past fall, district administration engaged leadership from COD to request expansion of our existing agreement to provide space for Glenbard South to also encompass a situation that would arise at any of our high school campuses.

Performance Services Inc. installation agreement. Performance Services Inc. (PSI) has been a long-standing partner with the district for more than a decade. As we enter into this next phase of our 10-year facility master plan, it is appropriate that we update our contract for the upcoming scope of work that will be performed by PSI.

Over the next several years, we have budgeted approximately $73 million of guaranteed energy savings contract projects. This agreement will provide the ability to engage PSI to continue to perform projects that ensure we have efficient infrastructure and continue our commitment to warm, safe and dry educational environments.

district-funded flag football proposal. On behalf of the Glenbard flag football program, assistant principals for athletics D’Wayne Bates, Matthew Bowser, Tim Carlson and Joe Kain have submitted a proposal for the team to become a district-funded sport.

Flag football ran as a club for the 2024-25 school year and has grown into a robust IHSA-sanctioned sport. Adding flag football as a district-funded sport would decrease the cost to participate and incentivize involvement from students who would otherwise be unable to afford the activity. The district estimates the first-year cost for all four schools to be $48,000. The assistant principals for athletics, principals and district administrators are supportive of the proposal.

district-funded boys lacrosse proposal. On behalf of the Glenbard North/East/South parent-funded boys lacrosse co-op, assistant principals for athletics D’Wayne Bates, Matthew Bowser, Tim Carlson and Joe Kain have submitted a proposal for the team to become a district-funded sport.

The parent-funded programs have run successfully for the past three years. Boys lacrosse is an IHSA-sanctioned sport, and is growing across the Midwest. Adding boys lacrosse as a district-funded sport would decrease the cost to participate and encourage involvement from students who would otherwise be unable to afford the activity. The district estimates the first-year cost to be $7,000. The assistant principals for athletics, principals and district administrators are supportive of the proposal.