First graders design pet rocks as part of reading program in Coal City

First grade students in Mrs. Strunga’s class at Coal City Community Unit School District 1 participated in a reading project centered on the Superkids curriculum. After reading about “Oswald’s Odd Pet Rock,” students designed their own pet rocks, created names and dialogue for them, and described what their pet rocks could do. The project included drafting blueprints before painting the rocks.

Mrs. Strunga said, “students had an amazing time designing and creating.”

Coal City Community Unit School District 1 includes schools such as Coal City Early Childhood Center, Coal City Elementary School, Coal City High School, Coal City Intermediate School, and Coal City Middle School across Grundy and Will counties. More information about the district can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

The district employs 153 teachers with an average salary of $69,297 prior to pension contributions; nearly 78 percent are women and no teacher has recorded more than ten absences per year according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Further details are available at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

Demographically, the student population is composed of approximately 87 percent White students, around 10 percent Hispanic students, with smaller percentages of Black and Asian students (0.6 percent each), as reported by ISBE: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

In fiscal year 2020, spending per student was $21,619 for a total district expenditure of $47 million: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.