Mayor William D. McLeod presented a proclamation at Thomas Jefferson Middle School on Oct. 1, 2025, declaring the day Thomas Jefferson Middle School Day in the Village of Hoffman Estates. The proclamation, read at a school ceremony attended by students, staff and village officials, celebrated the school's history, recent redevelopment and academic recognition.
The proclamation notes the school opened on Jan. 4, 1977, was originally built to serve the western portion of Palatine Township, and was converted from an elementary school after a transformative redevelopment completed in 2025. “This is huge, for the students here, the teachers and the parents to have your children be able to go to middle school in the community in which many of them live,” McLeod said while reading the proclamation.
School leaders stressed the school's long record of achievement. The principal urged the community to recognize the school’s “enduring spirit of hard work, innovation, and excellence” and thanked Mayor McLeod for the renewed proclamation. The proclamation text cited the school’s prior recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2001 and listed renovations in 1994 and 2025 that expanded capacity to serve more than 600 students.
After the proclamation the school held a ceremonial flag raising led by student representatives and the principal advisory committee. Attendees included village officials who joined school staff in presenting the recognition and celebrating the school’s role in the community.
The ceremony combined student performances, civic remarks and the formal reading of the proclamation; no legislative or regulatory actions were proposed or taken at the event.