The council is organized under the authority of the Illinois PTA for the purpose of conference, leadership training, and coordination of the efforts of local PTA/PTSA units.

A council serves the following purposes:

• • Provide for the cooperation and conference in matters of the welfare of children and youth.
  • Provide for the cooperation and conference of local PTA/PTSA units in council membership so as to create a public opinion favorable to the interests of child welfare; encourage child welfare projects in the various local units, and assist in the formation of new PTAs/PTSAs in cooperation with Illinois PTA.
  • Unify and strengthen local PTA/PTSA units comprising the council.
  • Promote the interests of National PTA and Illinois PTA within its council territory.
  • Initiate action in matters of common interest within council boundaries, when supported by a majority vote of the local PTA/PTSA units in membership.

The council exists to help its PTA units function effectively. The council contributes to a stronger, more effective PTA organization by providing local units and their leaders with: 1) guidance in all PTA matters, 2) information, and 3) inspiration and support. The council provides a forum and opportunity for all local units to communicate and cooperate with one another, thereby increasing effectiveness and capacity for service because of their united strength.

A council provides the opportunity for PTA/PTSA units to address issues which encompass, but reach beyond the local school and neighborhood. A council heightens awareness, translates resolutions into action, and works in coalition with school boards, administrators and others in the community for the betterment of children. A council provides another opportunity for local units to be involved in child advocacy issues.

The organization shall work with the schools and community to provide quality education for all children and youth and shall seek to participate in the decision-making process establishing school policy, recognizing that the legal responsibility to make decisions has been delegated by the people to boards of education, state education authorities, and local education authorities.

A council can develop good public relations and serve as a two-way channel of communication between school boards and the public. A council provides an organization through which the member PTA units can work with the school board and the administrators of the school system.

The organization shall work to promote the health and welfare of children and youth, and shall seek to promote collaboration among parents, schools and the community at large.

The organization may cooperate with other organizations and agencies concerned with child welfare, but its representatives shall make no commitments as an individual that bind the group represented.

All council projects, plan of work, and fundraisers shall be approved by a vote of the delegate body.

The council shall not:

• • Legislate for local units
  • Impose any action on the local PTA/PTSA units
  • Dictate to local units
  • Duplicate the work of local units
  • Create rules or take action involving member units without their consent

Indian Prairie School District 204 was formed in August 1972 when the residents of Wheatland Elementary District 40, Indian Plains Elementary District 182, and Granger Elementary District 90 voted 359 to 44 to merge into a single, unit district. The district educated its kindergarten-eighth graders in its four original schools: Wheatland, Indian Plains, the original Granger, and Longwood. High school students attended what are now as Naperville Central and North until the completion of Waubonsie Valley High School in 1975. Waubonsie also accommodated students in grades seven and eight until Thayer J. Hill Jr. High opened in 1981.

Since the inception of the Indian Prairie School District, school building principals and administrators have encouraged active participation by parents. Parents formed Home & School Associations to organize volunteers and raise money for extra school programming and amenities. Superintendents met regularly with the Home & School Association Presidents to get feedback and listen to their concerns. An early favorite meeting place was the IHOP restaurant at Rt. 59 and 75^th Street.

In 1987, an elementary student was seriously injured at a Home & School event. Superintendent Thomas Scullen, in consultation with parent leaders, decided to discontinue Home & School Associations in favor of the National Parent Teacher Association. PTA affiliation would require bonding and insurance. All existing elementary and middle school units converted to PTAs, except Waubonsie. The high school kept its Home & School Association until Neuqua Valley High School opened in 1997. Waubonsie parents then elected to convert to a PTA.

District 204 PTAs were placed in Illinois PTA District 32 that encompasses most of Dupage County. In 1989, the PTAs formed a PTA Council, now known as the Indian Prairie Parents’ Council (IPPC). Each unit sent its president to meet monthly with the superintendent and other key administrators. The council’s monthly meeting location rotated between the schools until the Crouse Education Center (CEC) administration building opened in 1998. IPPC then was given a consistent meeting site in the upstairs boardroom.

In the 1990's, District 204 was one of the fastest growing in the United States. The district built 14 buildings to accommodate a student population that would triple from less than 7,000 in 1990 to over 21,000 by 2000. Another three buildings were opened from 2001-2002, and an additional elementary school opened in 2007. A third high school and seventh middle school opened in 2009.

As the district’s population exploded in the 1990's, the size of IPPC grew as new schools opened. By 1995, when Gail McKinzie became superintendent, IPPC consisted of the PTA president and a parent representative from each school. Larger meetings meant a diminished opportunity for the superintendent to know each president. Dr. McKinzie, in collaboration with the council leaders, instituted Presidents’ meetings to discuss district issues and unit concerns.

Today, IPPC consists of the PTA president and parent representative from each school, Indian Prairie Project Arrow PTA, and STEPS (Supportive Training Experiences Post Secondary) PTSA, for a total of 34 local units. Gail McKinzie alternative high school does not have a separate local unit; parents join their student's home high school PTA. IPPC is led by an at-large elected executive committee consisting of a president, two vice presidents, treasurer and secretary. IPPC and local units subscribe to the National PTA mission. Members work on behalf of children and youth in matters pertaining to their education, health and welfare.

IPPC Past Presidents

 

Patty Scholle	1989 - 1990
Sue Hulsey	1990 - 1992
Susan Burks	1992 - 1993
Karen Roberts	1993 - 1995
Pam Seubold	1995 - 1997
Joycelyn Hafstad	1997 - 1998
Leeann Skinner	1998 - 1999
Mary Anne Castro	1999 - 2001
Nikki Sangdahl	2001 - 2002
Margie Sillery	2002 - 2004
Anne Mathews	2004 - 2006
Jean Donovan	2006 - 2008
Robin Church	2008 - 2009
Jennifer Streder	2009 - 2010
Dina Lohman	2010 - 2012
Michelle Plummer	2012 - 2014
Shannon Lynch	2014 - 2017
Kellie Herzberg	2017 - 2019
Karen Duncan	2019 - 2021
Catey Genc	2021 - 2023
Shelby Schultz	2023 -

 

District 204 Superintendents

 

Thayer J. Hill	1972 - 1975
Clifford Crone	1975 - 1986
Thomas Scullen	1986 - 1995
Gail McKinzie	1995 - 2004
Howard Crouse	2004 - 2007
Stephen Daeschner	2007 - 2009
Kathryn Birkett	2009 - 2014
Karen Sullivan	2015 - 2020
Adrian Talley	2020 -

 

 

 

PreK/Elem Schools City Year Opened

 

Prairie Children PreK	Aurora	1997
Brookdale	Naperville	1985
Brooks	Aurora	1995
Builta	Bolingbrook	1999
Clow	Naperville	1979
Cowlishaw	Naperville	1997
Fry	Naperville	2001
Georgetown	Aurora	1987
Gombert	Aurora	1998
Graham	Naperville	1996
Indian Plains	Aurora	1928 (Elementary school until 1999)
Kendall	Naperville	1998
Longwood	Naperville	1967 (Granger District 90)
Watts	Naperville	1989
McCarty	Aurora	1989
Owen	Naperville	2003
Patterson	Naperville	1993
Peterson	Naperville	2007
Spring Brook	Naperville	1989
Steck	Aurora	1992
Welch	Naperville	1999
Wheatland	Naperville	1950 (Wheatland District 40; closed 2007)
White Eagle	Naperville	1995
Young	Aurora	1999

 

 

Middle School City Year Opened

 

Crone	Naperville	2003
Fischer	Aurora	2009
Granger*	Aurora	2003
Gregory	Naperville	1987
Hill	Naperville	1981
Scullen	Naperville	2001
Still	Aurora	1999

 

 

(*original Granger opened 1921 at Rt 59 & Ogden)

 

High School City Year Opened

 

Frontier Campus	Naperville	2006 (now closed)
Indian Plains	Aurora	1928 (Indian Plains Dist. 182; addition 1964)
Metea Valley	Aurora	2009
Neuqua Valley	Naperville	1997
Neuqua Valley Gold	Naperville	1997 (Crone Middle School until 2003)
Waubonsie Valley	Aurora	1975