We started the month of June with our Eighth Grade Graduation Ceremonies at Dirksen, Gompers, Hufford, Thompson, and Washington Junior High Schools. Congratulations to our Class of 2026 graduates! Best wishes to these 1,018 students as they enter high school in the fall.
In addition to the last day of school, the week included the groundbreaking ceremony of the new addition for Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. The 14,900-square-foot Thomas Jefferson addition will provide four new classrooms, a gymnasium, parking lot improvements, a new main entrance, school offices, accessibility upgrades, and additional restrooms. The project will be finished in time for the start of the 2027-2028 school year.
Thank you to everyone who attended our A.O. Marshall Elementary School Community Open House. It was nice to see and talk to former students and staff at the event. It is never easy to close a school.
Congratulations to our Joliet Public Schools District 86 retirees. Collectively, these 19 individuals worked for a total of 392 years in the school district! Retirees include: Dr. Yolanda Coleman, Edna Keith Elementary; Bruce Currie, Sator Sanchez Elementary; Mary Decraene, Pershing Elementary; Thomas Devine, Marycrest Early Childhood Center; Todd Dow, Gompers Junior High; Timothy Dunne, Gompers Junior High; Dr. Raúl Gastón, Gompers Junior High; Karen Glowicki, Hufford Junior High; Yvonne Jamerson, J.F. Kennedy Administrative Center; Kimberly Knigge, J.F. Kennedy Administrative Center; Belia Mateo, Sator Sanchez Elementary; Gail Riegel, Farragut Elementary; Linda Smith, M.J. Cunningham Elementary; Debra Stasko, Taft Elementary; Terrie Stoeckley, J.F. Kennedy Administrative Center; John Talarico, J.F. Kennedy Administrative Center; Lori Wade, Lynne Thigpen Elementary; Gloria Zamudio, A.O. Marshall Elementary; and Dr. Judith Zito-Nash, J.F. Kennedy Administrative Center.
Beginning on June 8, 2026, the J.F. Kennedy Administrative Center will be open Mondays-Thursdays from 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and closed on Fridays through July 31, 2026. In addition, the phones at Gompers and Hufford Junior High Schools will be out of service during the month as we transition into the new buildings. If you need assistance, please call the District office at (815) 740-3196.
Have a wonderful, relaxing, and safe Summer Break! If you have a question, comment, concern, or compliment about one of our schools or the District, please send a Let’s Talk message at https://www.joliet86.org/o/jps/page/joliet-public-schools-district-86-lets-talk or click on “Let’s Talk” at the top of the website https://www.joliet86.org/.