Select 58 Awards

The Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58 invites all 8th grade students to apply for the 2026 Select 58 Recognition Award. This award is a longstanding District 58 tradition and serves as a meaningful way to conclude our students' middle school experience!

The Select 58 Award honors students who demonstrate outstanding service, leadership, and citizenship within their school and community. All Herrick and O’Neill eighth-grade students are eligible to apply, provided they are passing their classes.

The online Application will open on Monday, Feb. 9.

To apply, students must complete two steps by Friday, March 13:

  1. Submit the online Select 58 Award Application.

  2. Ask a non-relative to write and email a letter of recommendation to Community Relations Coordinator, Julie Relihan at jrelihan@dg58.org. 

 

Please see additional details below:

Student Application

The 2026 Select 58 Award Application must be completed online in one sitting by the student, by Friday, March 13. It asks students to provide the following information:

  • Basic student contact information and a photo for the Select 58 video 
  • Examples of the following projects completed in seventh and/or eighth grades: 
    • A list of 1-5 school service and/or community service projects that the student participated in during seventh and/or eighth grades, along with the impact these projects had on the student and/or the student’s school/community
    • A list of 1-3 school and/or community projects or activities (non-service-related) that the student participated in during seventh and/or eighth grades, along with the impact these activities had on the community.
  • A short essay answering the question, “Why is service to your community important to you?” 
  • Basic parent/guardian contact information and consent

Parent Permission Required

Before a student submits his or her Select 58 application, the application will ask the student’s parent or guardian to review it and confirm that the information is accurate, to the best of their knowledge, and that the application was completed by the student independently. The application also requests parent/guardian permission for District 58 to use the student’s photo in the celebratory Select 58 video, should the student receive the award.

Letter of Recommendation

In addition to applying, all Select 58 applicants must also ask someone who is not related to them to provide a short letter of recommendation for them. The reference must answer the following question: "Why do you feel this student should receive a Select 58 recognition award honoring outstanding school and community service?" 

The reference must email their letter to Community Relations Coordinator Julie Relihan at jrelihan@dg58.org, by Friday, March 13. Mrs. Relihan will share the letters, with student names redacted, with the Select 58 Committee.

Select 58 Awards

A panel of judges unaffiliated with each middle school will evaluate applications using a rubric. Student names will remain confidential and will not be visible to judges. The top-scoring applicants for each middle school will receive the Select 58 Recognition Award.

Award applicants will receive notification by Monday, April 20, informing them of whether they received the Select 58 Award. Award recipients will also receive an invitation to the 2026 Select 58 Award Ceremony, which will take place on Wednesday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m at Herrick Middle School. Event details will be included in the invitation.

In addition, all Select 58 recipients will be celebrated in a video, and later they will be highlighted in the Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony program. 

Questions?

For questions about Select 58, please contact Herrick Principal Dr. Steve Perkins at 630-719-5810 or sperkins@dg58.org or O’Neill Principal Lauryn Humphris at 630-719-5815 or lhumphris@dg58.org.