S.E. Gross renovation dazzles District 95

Ask anyone in business – it’s always good when a project finishes on time and on budget.

Such was the $2.2 million building renovation at S.E. Gross Middle School that started literally the day school ended May 30, with substantial completion by Aug. 11 – 10 days before the 2025-26 school year began. The school is at 3524 Maple Ave. in Brookfield.

The project, which was paid for through the district’s general operating fund, renovated four early childhood classrooms and relocated the school’s Family and Consumer Science (FACS) lab. 

Color new District 95 Supt. Ryan Evans pleased. He replaced former superintendent Dr. Mark Kuzniewski on July 1, deep in the throes of the work that was coordinated by construction management firm Executive Construction Inc. of Hillside.

“The middle school kids are raving about the FACS lab,” Evans said. “It’s a showstopper. Those that worked in the previous (room) know what a massive upgrade it is. There were a lot of jaws dropped.”

The former FACS lab, which was renovated in 2003, became a fourth early childhood classroom and is now part of a section that is sealed with doors on either end of the hallway to contain the school’s three- and four-year-old learners.

Dean Pappas, director of student services who oversees early childhood programming, said the dedicated wing for his students and teachers has had a big impact so far.

“We have our own hallway,” he said. “We’ve seen a calm start to our school year.”

The new FACS lab is a significantly larger space and includes six workstations, refrigerators and freezers and electric induction ovens. Since S.E. Gross was built in a triangle design, it also provides a nice view of the internal courtyard. 

Additionally, a new entrance with double doors, compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, was built within the contained space, so the early childhood students won’t intermingle with middle school students.

 “I very much appreciate that the early childhood program has its own space to thrive in, rather than an open program in a middle school,” Evans said. “This needed to occur so we could bring our staffing together, not split between two buildings.”

The project didn’t feature any major glitches, though Evans said Executive Construction did run across minor issues due to the building’s age like a pipe in a certain area or electrical that was run in a place that didn’t make sense.

But he said construction superintendent Anthony Martz kept everything moving smoothly.

“He was with us on the last one,” Evans said of a $35 million project a few years ago. “He had people working 10-hour days six days a week, and that is common in school construction projects. The doors need to open the day we say.”

Concrete bumpouts on Maple Avenue at Lincoln Avenue to help make for safer crossings for students and pedestrians are likely to come next summer, when the village of Brookfield repaves Maple Avenue. The village painted curbs to help prevent parking where the school’s buses stop. 

The renovation completion also coincided with a major award, the Gold Circle of Quality from the Illinois State Board of Education, which honors the district and the early childhood program for meeting and exceeding quality benchmarks on learning environment, instructional quality and program administrative standards.

“District 95 has been the recipient of the Preschool for All Grant for many years, and as part of that grant, districts are monitored to make sure they are meeting the high standards of the grant, which is monitored by ISBE,” Evans said.

The district received the award prior to the renovation, he added.

“The teachers and the staff are the heartbeat of the program,” Pappas said. “Knowing they design a curriculum that meets these levels, we’re very excited.”