A record 65 District 58 staff members earn a nomination
The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 is pleased to announce that Belle Aire School Third Grade Teacher Tara Fulton and Fairmount School Instructional Assistant Lety Von Kerens earned the 2025 Distinguished Service Award (DSA)! This award program annually invites community members to nominate District 58 employees who exceed expectations and serve as inspirations to their community. Two winners are chosen each year: one teacher and one non-teaching staff member. View the 2025 DSA ceremony photo gallery here. View the 2025 DSA nominee video here.
“Ms. Fulton and Ms. Von Kerens are both phenomenal educators and very deserving of this honor,” said Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell. “They go above and beyond every day to meet the individual needs of each student under their care. I am very proud of them and so happy to celebrate them as this year’s Distinguished Service Award recipients. Congratulations!”
This year, a record-breaking 65 staff members earned DSA nominations. An Education Foundation committee reviewed each nomination essay on an identity-blind basis to select the two winners.
Ms. Fulton was nominated by Belle Aire Parent Lindsay Richardson. In her essay, Ms. Richardson wrote:
“Some examples of the extraordinary effort she puts in on a regular basis include calling each individual parent on the first day of school to tell them how their child’s day went, personally delivering necessary materials to students experiencing housing and food insecurity, reaching out in the evening to inquire if my daughter was okay after a recess injury, and spending her entire Saturday supporting her students (first cheering them on during The Reading Games in the morning followed by an afternoon of attending not just one, but two basketball games that her students were playing in)."
Ms. Von Kerens was nominated by her colleagues, Fairmount Kindergarten Teacher Marissa Remus and Fairmount Teacher Librarian Liz Stroud. The two described the impact Ms. Von Kerens has made both on the entire school community, and also, more specifically, on a student with whom she works on a daily basis. They wrote:
“A powerful example of her dedication is her work with a student who is blind. Understanding the importance of accessibility, she took it upon herself to learn Braille alongside her. She has Braille visuals in her home, practices on a Brailler during the school day, and incorporates accessible learning materials—all without any expectation or requirement. She does this simply because she is passionate about ensuring every student succeeds.”
Congratulations, Ms. Fulton and Ms. Von Kerens! In addition, District 58 congratulates all 65 staff members who earned 2025 DSA nominations:
2025 District 58 Distinguished Service Award Nominees
- Jennifer Abraham, El Sierra Instructional Assistant
- Jamie Arendas, Kingsley Second Grade Teacher
- Audrey Barc, Pierce Downer RISE Teacher
- Andrew Biederman, Kingsley Third Grade Teacher
- Kate Blackburn, Kingsley Speech Pathologist
- Erin Blank, Hillcrest Nurse
- Kevin Bowser, Pierce Downer Instructional Assistant
- Rachel Bush, Kingsley First Grade Teacher
- Taylor Carroll, Indian Trail Fourth Grade Teacher
- Erin Contreras, Pierce Downer Second Grade Teacher
- Karina DeLeon, El Sierra 2nd Grade Dual Language Teacher
- Susan Dillon, Grove Children’s Preschool Coordinator
- Sara Felker, Whittier Social Worker
- Kathleen Finley, Belle Aire Instructional Assistant
- Christine Fiorenzi, Kingsley First Grade Teacher
- Kimberly Fisher, Lester First Grade Teacher
- Amy Freitag, Lester Third Grade Teacher
- Tara Fulton, Belle Aire Third Grade Teacher
- Megan Gilbert, Indian Trail Kindergarten Teacher
- Stacie Hamilton, Indian Trail Grade 3-4 RISE Teacher
- Ashley Honn, Henry Puffer Teacher Librarian
- Barry Kincaid, O’Neill Eighth Grade School Counselor
- Kerri Kovarik, Hillcrest Sixth Grade Teacher
- Christine LaPointe, Hillcrest Reading Specialist
- Leah Lewis, Pierce Downer Instructional Assistant
- Cindy Lopez, El Sierra 1st Grade Dual Language Teacher
- Rob Lube, Indian Trail Sixth Grade Teacher
- Julia MacKerell, Grove Children’s Preschool Teacher
- Crystal MacNamara, Pierce Downer/Herrick Speech Pathologist
- Kathy Mahay, Herrick French & Social Studies Teacher
- Lara Marlowe, Indian Trail RISE Social Worker
- Beth McIntosh, El Sierra Secretary
- Kim McSherry, Grove Children’s Preschool Speech Pathologist
- Eric Miller, Whittier Fourth Grade Teacher
- Geoff Neustadt, District 58 Assistant Director of Buildings & Grounds
- Annabeth Niemann, Fairmount Second Grade Teacher
- Sarah Pinkus, O’Neill Science Teacher
- Katie Porter, Whittier Resource Teacher
- Cheryl Prescott, Grove Children’s Preschool Instructional Assistant
- Haily Pribyl-Shay, Grove Children’s Preschool Speech Pathologist
- Carrie Redpath, Hillcrest Second Grade Teacher
- Alyssa Reinholz, Fairmount Fourth Grade Teacher
- Christine Reynolds, Henry Puffer Fifth Grade Teacher
- Michelle Rzepka, Hillcrest Principal
- Joanne Steichmann, Lester Instructional Assistant
- Jennifer Tartaglione, Herrick ELA & Gifted ELA Teacher
- Jonathan Vidovic, Herrick Special Education Teacher
- Lety Von Kerens, Fairmount Instructional Assistant
- Julie Walters, Highland Second Grade Teacher
- Allison Wrolson, Indian Trail & Grove Children’s Preschool Psychologist
- Eareen Yambao, Herrick Music and Choir Teacher
- Taylor Zilleox, Hillcrest 3rd-4th Grade DLP Teacher
- Grove Children’s Preschool Special Education Team: Antoinette Belken, Kira Baltazar, Lauren Wilson, Cheryl Prescott, Karen Mulligan, Hannah Lamprecht, Kim McSherry, Maggie Michels, Susan Dillon
- Kingsley First Grade BEST Team: Maggie Resillez, Lori Bjes, Mia Liebmann, Michelle Schmidt, Kate Blackburn, Jen Zamora, Lauren Hartelius