Coal City High School students explore camera-less photography techniques

Photo 1 students at Coal City High School are working on photography projects that do not require the use of a camera. Art teacher Mrs. Brus has introduced two alternative techniques to her class: photograms and cyanotypes.

Cyanotypes involve placing items on sensitized paper, exposing it to ultraviolet light, and then rinsing it to produce blue-toned images. Photograms are created by arranging objects on light-sensitive papers, which are then exposed to light to make images without a camera.

Coal City High School is part of Coal City Community Unit School District 1, which serves Grundy and Will counties and includes several schools in addition to the high school. More information about the district can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

According to the Illinois State Board of Education, the district employs 153 teachers with an average salary of $69,297 before pension contributions; 77.9 percent are women and 22.1 percent are men. The report also notes that none of the teachers have more than ten absences in a school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

Demographic data from ISBE shows that Coal City Community Unit School District 1 is predominantly White at 86.9 percent, with Hispanic students making up 9.6 percent, Black students at 0.6 percent, and Asian students also at 0.6 percent (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

In terms of finances, the district spent $21,619 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $47,021,825 (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).