Dear Gates Families,

Welcome back to the 2025-2026 school year! I am honored to continue as your Gates Principal and excited to be receiving our Gates Tigers back. We welcome those new to our school. Moving into the new year, we can’t wait to see our students thrive in academic areas and take advantage of the many opportunities provided by the Gates staff. We will continue to focus on growth in the areas of social and emotional learning, math, and literacy.

Over the summer, Gates teachers and I have been learning about our new literacy curriculum and revisiting best teacher practices to ensure our classroom instruction meets the needs of all our students. Here at Gates, we want our staff and students to always work towards reaching their full potential!

We look forward to working with all our Gates’s families with an emphasis on their child’s educational needs. We are working towards a new school year with regular student attendance, increased homework completion and class participation, and an overall positive school experience with staff and friends.

As I move into my 27th year serving the district, I will continue to use my vast educational background to continually improve Gates School with my multiple degrees from leading universities and my years of experience, I will continue to work with the Gates staff to provide the best educational experience for all students

Lastly, I am reminded by our Gates Vision: “Gates students, families, and staff will collaborate to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment that empowers all to achieve their personal best.” I committed to this belief that we can make John W. Gates Elementary the best school.

I am looking forward to a wonderful new school year. Please feel free to call the office at 630-299-5600 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Fatima Ballesteros
Principal
Gates Elementary School
630-299-5600
fballesteros@d131.org