When Waubonsie Valley High School students walk through the front doors on Monday, August 17, they'll enter through a brand-new secure vestibule and find a fully renovated Technology Engineering Education suite waiting for them down the hall.
Those are two of the changes underway at the nearly 3,000-student school on Route 59, where Indian Prairie School District 204 is spending part of a $125 million summer construction push that touches all 34 campuses in the district.
Superintendent Dr. John Price toured the Waubonsie Valley construction site Wednesday, July 29, alongside Principal Jason Stipp. The district published a video of the walkthrough showing active work on the Tech Engineering Education suite, backstage auditorium updates, and a stadium upgrade that includes a new artificial turf field and concession stand.
The cafeteria and atrium are also being overhauled. That work won't finish until winter break.
Districtwide scope
The Waubonsie Valley projects are the most visible piece of a broader summer blitz funded by the $420 million Safer, Stronger 204 bond referendum voters approved in 2024. As we reported July 14, Price told the board at his first meeting that bond-funded construction was "on schedule" across the district.
The district's July 29 update puts numbers to that progress:
- Secure vestibules at 11 schools
- New flooring at 7 schools
- New playgrounds at 5 schools
- Solar panel installations at 5 schools
- LED lighting retrofits districtwide
All three District 204 high schools — Waubonsie Valley, Neuqua Valley, and Metea Valley — are getting new artificial turf fields before the 2026 football season. Secure entrance vestibules are also being installed this summer at Scullen Middle School, Still Middle School, and Metea Valley.
At Neuqua Valley, a separate $96 million renovation continues, with freshmen expected to return to the main building from the Birkett Center for the 2027-28 school year.
Special education access
The district has not published details on how the 11 new secure vestibule designs will affect visitor and service-provider access for students with IEPs or 504 plans. Families can contact the District 204 Special Education department or submit a FOIA request through ipsd.org for vestibule design specifications.
Waubonsie Valley at 50
Waubonsie Valley opened in September 1975 and draws roughly half its students from Aurora and half from Naperville. "We are very proud to be kind of the center of bringing those two communities together," Stipp told NCTV17 in December 2025, when the school celebrated its 50th anniversary. The comprehensive renovation is expected to continue through 2030.
School Dates Ahead
- Tuesday, August 11 — District 204 Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. (board.ipsd.org for agenda)
- Thursday, August 13 — District 204 institute day for staff
- Monday, August 17 — First day of school, District 204
