In honor of Danielle-Joy
As hundreds of eager students arrived Monday morning at the new Danielle-Joy Peterson Elementary School, perhaps the school's namesake was beaming down on the scene.
Her parents thought so.
Dressed in gold and purple Peterson Elementary shirts, Ann and Ben Peterson greeted students outside the school as classes opened in Indian Prairie Unit District 204.
"It's kind of overwhelming," Ann Peterson said. "We can really just feel the presence of her here from the enthusiasm, the excitement and energy of the kids and staff. It's wonderful."
Danielle-Joy grew up in the area and attended District 204 schools. After high school, she went on to work for the district's human resources department.
She was only 22 when she died in 2002 after battling both cystic fibrosis and rheumatoid arthritis for much of her life.
Roughly 450 students will call the Naperville school at 4008 Chinaberry Lane their own, including those from Wheatland Elementary and the Ashwood Creek and Ashwood Park subdivisions.
Wheatland, the district's oldest and smallest school, will now be used for early childhood instruction and storage space.
The $11 million Peterson building sat empty last year when development in the area lagged, making this year's grand opening even more highly anticipated.
"We've planned this for many months and it's coming to fruition today and it's just beyond words to describe the excitement in the air today," Principal Terri Russell said.
She said she is especially happy the Petersons got to finally see the school open.
It's an honor Ben Peterson said his daughter had dreamed of but he never expected to come true.
"She created her own family in her workplace and with all her friends and in the community," Ben Peterson said. "She came up through the school system here … and they knew her. She's certainly missed."
Russell said she envisions the Peterson family being an integral part of the school.
"It's beyond the structure," Russell said. "It's the dedication behind it that she exhibited that really is the framework for everything we do here."
With a camera in hand, Rudy Bacani watched as her two children got off the bus. She said she is relieved that all Wheatland students made the switch to Peterson together.
"It's nice to have the whole community here in a brand new school which is great for the kids," Bacani said. "And everybody's so excited. We're all starting new and all starting fresh."
Lora Gardner, president of the Parent Teacher Association, stood outside with her fourth-grade daughter Hannah and called Peterson a beautiful building for the students.
"Wheatland was nice and quaint but this is nice for them to be able to spread out," she said.
At Wheatland, the library doubled as a computer lab, art and music shared a classroom and the gym served as a multipurpose room and lunch room.
"I think it will be really cool to be at Peterson," fourth-grader Patricia Baumgartner said as she waited in line to enter. "It's a new school and it's really big."