Community Pulse: Coal City schools ‘off to a great start’

Coal City School District 1 is off to a great start! Starting the year without restrictions and exclusions has created the most normalcy we have seen in the past two years. It has certainly helped the entire school community have a more positive outlook on the school year.

The fall is always an exciting time for schools and this year is no different. We have had many fun and exciting things happening this fall. High school students are preparing for homecoming week and all of the activities that go with it. For the second year in a row, we will have our Homecoming Parade at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30. The district Wellness Committee, led by Assistant Principal Rodney Monbrum, held a Bike to School day on Wednesday, Sept. 21. We were very pleased with the participation level of our students and parents. We hope that this becomes something that we do more often.

Our theater department held auditions for the high school fall play, “Holes,” in late August and they are currently preparing for performances on Oct. 13, 15 and 16. Early September marked tryouts for the middle school musical, “Newsies Jr.” The middle school musical will take place Nov. 10, 12 and 13. All shows will be held in the Dr. Kent A. Bugg Performing Art Center located in the high school.

The Board of Education is about to finalize the 2022-23 Strategic Plan for the district. The board gathered input from faculty, staff, parents and community members to help develop the goals for the plan. One of the main subjects that came out of the strategic planning meeting was to work on a facilities improvement plan. Since the board recognized that facilities were such an important topic, they immediately requested feedback from our administration, faculty, staff and our architects to create an updated facilities improvement plan. Over 50 faculty and staff were asked for input on what improvements they would like to see in the district’s facilities. The architects will create and submit a report from these meetings to the board. The board will sift through these suggestions and then determine which improvements they feel best fit the needs of our district.