About Us

Jefferson Middle School, established in 1958, is named after Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. Jefferson was a public official, lawyer, architect, farmer, author, and one of the Founding Fathers of our country. He valued learning and education, amassing thousands of books in his Virginia home. Jefferson believed that the success of the United States and its democracy depended on a government led by ordinary, educated, and freethinking citizens. The Jefferson Middle School community continues to embrace his love of education and its power to empower students to become great citizens.

The Jefferson Middle School mascot is the J-Hawk, chosen due to its proximity to West Aurora High School, home of the Blackhawks. The "J" in J-Hawks stands for Junior, making Jefferson Middle School students known as the Junior (Black)Hawks or J-Hawks.

Jefferson is the only two-story middle school in the district and has undergone several renovations since opening. Mobile classrooms were once used to accommodate the growing student population. However, with the latest addition, all classrooms are now within the building, and the mobile units have been removed. This expansion also allowed for the creation of a prairie at the front of the school, designed and constructed by Jefferson and West High science students in 2017.