Overview
After the successful referendum, Glenbard West and its sister schools are set for much-needed renovations. The upcoming renovations aim to tackle issues like hallway traffic, security, accessibility, and the need for additional classroom space. As an older building, West faces several challenges, many of which have been addressed with temporary fixes.
The Real Project
What’s Actually Changing
The largest renovation will be the new wing and lobby addition. The new wing will include major upgrades, such as improved hallway flow, a secondary performance space, and state-of-the-art classrooms. It will also improve access with new elevators and stairs connecting to the rest of the building.
Classroom essentials such as furniture, wall paint, boards, tiles (both ceiling and floor), and technology will be renovated throughout the building. Windows will also be changed throughout the building. In big areas such as the auditorium, windows will be replaced with energy-efficient windows that will not alter the look of the building. All academic departments (e.g. Math, English, etc.) will be centralized to certain parts of the building.
Second Floor Renovations.
Second-floor renovations will notably impact the math department, according to administration reports. Rooms 217-219 will be replaced with huddle rooms (rooms specifically designed for group work which students can book) along with a new seating area, activity coordinator’s office, and entrances to the new lobby.
The Counselor Suite or offices will take over the current math department office (room 200) and the IT help desk. Room 220 will become a career and counseling conference room, while room 222 will be demolished to create the new math wing entrance and tech help desk.
To make space for the new Math office, rooms 223 and 224 will be combined, and room 225 will be downsized to a standard classroom. The renovations will also enlarge the hallway leading towards the student services offices and the social studies department office by reducing the classroom size of room 227/28. Admin will be relocating the student services office from its current location to the third floor. Where the current student Services office stands will be home to the new Social studies Department office. The social studies office (where it currently stands) will be transformed into two classrooms.
On the opposite side of the building, the current Special Education department office (211) will relocate to the third floor. District has decided to integrate the Special Eds’ classes into their respective departments (e.g. Special Ed math will be in the math department, etc). The special Ed wings should be renamed the Business and consumer Science wing. The Consumer/business department will relocate and have a department office in room 208, which will be concurrently expanded into room 209 and conference room 209a. The stairs, which currently lead to the music and art departments, will be developed into a proper hallway and stairway.
The new renovations will also affect the current classrooms for consumer management. Room 203 will be expanded and converted into the development classroom while 204, 205, and 206, will be updated to three culinary labs concurrently. 206 will be shortened in size, allowing for extra seating and huddle rooms on the second floor before the science wing hallway.
Third floor renovations.
Third-floor renovations will relocate several administrative offices. Rooms 324 and 325 will become the receptionist and nurses’ offices, and a new security office will be added at Door 1, restoring it as the main entrance.
The main office will be converted to the principal’s and assistant principal’s offices. The current principal, dean, and health center areas will house the school psychologist, social workers, and one assistant principal. The counseling office will be reconfigured to accommodate two more assistant principal offices which were removed from the 3rd floor.
The Assistant Principal of Operations, Assistant Principal of Instruction, and Activity Coordinator’s offices will be demolished to make space for huddle rooms and access to the new math wing. A business incubator classroom will also be added, providing entrepreneurship experience for students. According to an article by BDC, “An incubator helps an entrepreneur put their house in order before beginning the process of commercializing the technology they’re developing”Rooms 321-323 will remain.
Moving on, room 317 will continue to be life skills. Where the business office currently stands and one of the business classrooms, (318 and 319) will now be combined and repurposed for the special education department offices. Room 314 will be expanded into the business copy room (resource room) and made into a full-sized classroom.
The renovations will not significantly touch rooms 313, 315,-316, 318, and 320; The current black box theater in room 302, which will be repurposed into an “open teaching station/recording hub” according to the major Facility plan similar to the current Multipurpose Resource Conference Room (MURC).
Fourth floor renovations
Rendering by Wold Architects, Gilbane provided through Glenbard Board of Education
Math teachers in rooms 431–435 will be relocated to the new math wing. Room 430, which currently houses the driving simulation room, will be shortened to make it flush with the wall to allow better traffic flow into the new wing.
The fourth-floor wing spaces will contain theater/speech classes, an extra lobby for the new black box theater, overlooking Lake Ellyn, on the fourth floor. The black box theater will also serve as a secondary performance space, conservatively housing approximately 350 people. In addition, bathrooms are intended to be added to the fourth floor, which will serve not only the black box used for performances but students as a whole.
Biester gym building
Provided through Glenbard Board of Education
The Biester Gym will also undergo renovations. The lobby will be expanded to accommodate more people, add a secure vestibule, and secure athletic entries.
Who’s behind the Work?
After the referendum passed, the district administration and Board of Education began planning renovations for all four Glenbard schools. District 87 partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers (WEA) to design the addition and Gilbane Construction (GC) to execute their vision.
Timeline
The WEA-Gilbane team plans to begin adding the new wing and lobby in July 2025. The addition of the classrooms will take approximately 17 months. In comparison, the common space (lobby) will take approximately 21 months, construction concluding in late May 2027. It is important to note that the addition to the entryway (of Beister Gym) will commence in May 2028 and approximately conclude in late July 2028. However, internal building renovations will be initiated in the summer of 2028, meaning the inside of the building will not be as affected during the school year.
Issues with the construction
A major concern is the removal of Shakespeare Plaza and the Victory Bell, as the new addition will be built in its place. Glenbard District administration emphasized the need for more classroom space and versatile learning areas, saying, “Our students and families deserve these upgrades.”
Robert Elliot, a junior, expressed concerns about the renovations, stating, “Unless the need for this addition is proven beyond short-term population trends, it should not be built.” His concerns arise from the change to the overall look of the castle on the hill. “Doing so will significantly change the way Glenbard West looks from the outside,” he continued.
Concerned community members also stated their doughnuts of the necessity of removing the outside seating and changing the view of the castle. In response Glenbard West administration and the Wold Architects mentioned that while the new math wing’s size remains unchanged, its orientation is shifting, which could allow for some outdoor seating.
Principal Mr. Peterseli also highlights the loss of seating outside his window, where students often gather. Mr. Peterselli states the importance of the new wing lobby which will provide seating year round which is something not currently available outside the Cafeteria Seating.
Glenbard West prides itself on tradition and its beautiful campus. With the addition of a new wing, the loss of trees is inevitable. In addition, as seen with the science swing auditions, the community prides itself on conserving the Glenbard West nature, which caused a protest (as mentioned in Mr. Wiersems’ book Glenbard West History Version 2 available in the West Elliot Library) during the science wing construction back in 2016.
Mr. Peterselli mentioned that currently trees are in fair condition (meaning that they are slowly deteriorating but don’t pose any danger). Replanting new trees in their place will allow for outside safety concerns to be lessened.
Transportation will be a challenge during renovations. Currently, buses drop students off at Duchon Field. However, during construction, the back of the building will be a work zone, requiring students to enter and exit through a different part of the building. According to Mr. Peterselli, traffic in front of the school could also increase as a result, causing potential delays during drop-off. The administration is working to address this and assures that a new bus drop-off process will be in place for the 2025-26 school year.
The current timeline is a draft, and it may change due to factors like supply delays or holidays. These changes will significantly impact both Glenbard West and the Glen Ellyn community, improving academic facilities.
