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Mendota Township High School District 280 is a single-school district, and it is a real benefit that we are small enough to know one another but large enough to offer a wide range of classes and extracurricular opportunities.
Our school enrollment this year has dipped below 500 students. However, the students are working harder than ever.
With the support of our families and community, students are finding success. The MHS walls are honoring 11 Illinois State Scholars and 16 Illinois State Seal/Commendation of Biliteracy students.
It is important that our students’ impressive skills and talents can thrive in an inclusive environment. We are very fortunate to have several community partners that make education a priority.
We thank Illinois Valley Community College and the Regional Office of Education #35 for their partnership with our high school.
A new and exciting grant opportunity that our district has received is the RISE Network/USDA Distance Learning Grant. IVCC is the lead applicant on this grant, and it has collaborated with Mendota High School, ROE #35 and eight other local high schools.
We will all join the Rural Illinois Shared Education Network. The RISE network has been in existence for many years, and the goal is to develop a K-12 distance learning and telehealth network. We are planning this program now, along with the “smart technology” classroom.
We hope to offer more opportunities in the future with mental health support, substance abuse prevention, dual-credit courses, shared courses between high schools, professional development, adult education and workforce development.
What a great opportunity!
Recently, the city of Mendota received a youth substance prevention grant. The city will receive $375,000 a year for the next five years. At this point, a community coalition is developed to assess needs and create a plan.
Again, what a wonderful opportunity for our high school students. We are looking forward to partnering to provide substance prevention opportunities for our students and community.
All schools are working on improving attendance rates. The past three years have been very difficult when considering good school attendance.
Illinois law defines “chronic absentee” as a student who misses 10% of school days within an academic year with or without a valid excuse. Per the Illinois Report Card, that is 18 days of an average 180-day school year.
Students need daily instruction in order to succeed. When a student is a chronic absentee, he or she is at risk of academic and social problems.
On the Illinois Report Card this year, our district’s percentage of chronic absenteeism is lower than the state average, but we can all agree it needs to improve. MHS had a chronic absenteeism rate of 23.4%, and the state of Illinois had an average of 28.3%.
One area that has improved for MHS is in the number of chronically truant students. Illinois law defines a “chronic truant” as a student who misses 5% of school days within an academic year without a valid excuse.
Per the Illinois Report Card, that is nine days of an average 180-day school year. The count of chronically truant students does not include students with excused absences.
MHS showed 8.8% of chronic truant students, and the state of Illinois had more than twice that amount at 19.9%.
We are always working to provide additional support to lower this percentage. We especially rely on our ROE truancy officer Dave Lawson and school resource officer Chad Hochstatter to assist students, parents, teachers and administrators in supporting students and families and encouraging more regular school attendance.
We could not do what we do without the partnership of the ROE and Mendota Police Department.
Please continue to consider Mendota High School as a good employer if the opportunities meet your needs. We are actively seeking to hire a science teacher, potential business/social studies teacher or social studies teacher, coaches and bus drivers.
Our district owns our buses and welcomes drivers who want to work in a small school environment. We are always accepting substitute applications in all areas, including teacher, paraprofessional and cafeteria staff.
Mendota is home to Reimagine Mendota, a community Heart and Soul grant town, the Mendota Sweet Corn Festival and the Mendota High School Trojans. Everyone works together in a diverse community to build a thriving home for students and families to live, work and learn.
Visit Trojan Town for a trip on the Amtrak train, watch a high school game, shop, or enjoy beautiful Lake Mendota and Kakusha. #GoTrojans!
Denise Aughenbaugh, superintendent of Mendota Township High School District 280, is one of the NewsTribune’s community columnists. The NewsTribune has invited leaders to write about their organizations to give insight into the community and further educate readers about happenings within their groups. If you are interested in sharing information about your community organization, email dbarichello@shawmedia.com.