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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the students,
4 staff, and administration of Mill Street Elementary School on
5 the occasion of the dedication of the school's new renovations
6 on October 19, 2009; and
 
7     WHEREAS, The history of what would become Mill Street
8 Elementary School began in the 1960s, a decade marked by rapid
9 growth in both population and real estate value in the City of
10 Naperville; in 1966, the District 78 Board of Education called
11 voters to the polls to approve a building referendum for a new
12 elementary school; the community approved a $1,049,375
13 referendum to build Mill Street Elementary School on 14.25
14 acres north of Ogden Avenue along the east side of Mill Street;
15 the capacity of the new school would be 800 students in 20
16 regular classrooms, two kindergarten rooms, four special
17 education rooms, a central learning resource center, and a
18 gymnasium with a stage and office; this new school would
19 provide for the burgeoning numbers of elementary-age school
20 children in the district; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Mill Street Elementary School opened in time for
22 the school year to begin in the fall of 1967 under the
23 leadership of the school's first principal, Robert

 

 

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1 Hillenbrand; with a starting enrollment of 596 students, Mill
2 Street was the first elementary school to have rooms designed
3 specifically for art, music, and special education; the
4 school's 26 classrooms included partition walls that could be
5 opened and closed, allowing teachers the flexibility of
6 changing the instructional environment to accommodate
7 large-group activities; the school was dedicated in February of
8 1968 to the memory of Edna C. Wunder, who had attended school
9 as a child in Naperville and had been an educator in the public
10 elementary schools for 45 years; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Robert Hillenbrand served as principal of Mill
12 Street Elementary School until the 1982-1983 school year;
13 subsequent Mill Street School principals have included Sue
14 Ellen Jensen, Larry Dusanek, Ruth Cross, and the school's
15 current principal, Mark DeMoulin; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Over the years, the population on the north side
17 of Naperville grew and Mill Street Elementary School moved
18 beyond its capacity during the 1999-2000 school year; as the
19 demographics of Naperville shifted, the need for English
20 Language Learner (ELL) classes and other support resources
21 translated into the necessity for finding additional space; in
22 response to these changes, the district decided to begin a
23 comprehensive renovation of the 40 year old school; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, In the past year, over $7 million in improvements
2 have been made to Mill Street Elementary School, thanks to a
3 $43 million facilities bond referendum which passed in February
4 of 2008 as part of a larger $115 million plan; the various
5 improvements made to Mill Street School include the addition of
6 a 15,000 square foot gymnasium/multipurpose/lunch area, the
7 addition of a kindergarten classroom; the improvement of
8 traffic flow around the school, the renovation of the
9 building's core, the reconfiguration of the current
10 multipurpose room to provide instructional learning areas for
11 educational support programs, and the expansion of the school's
12 conference room, school office area, and nurse's facilities;
13 and
 
14     WHEREAS, The improvements made to Mill Street Elementary
15 School will ensure that future generations of school children
16 in the City of Naperville will receive the quality education
17 that they deserve; therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
20 congratulate the students, staff, and administration of Mill
21 Street Elementary School on the occasion of the dedication of
22 the school's new renovations and wish them the best in the
23 years to come; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Mark DeMoulin, principal of Mill Street Elementary
3 School, as a symbol of our esteem and respect.