Christopher T. Spencer Superintendent | Coal City Community Unit School District 1
Christopher T. Spencer Superintendent | Coal City Community Unit School District 1
Three Coal City High School students commemorated the lives lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by participating in a stair climb event at the Coal City High School Stadium on Sunday, September 7. The students—Gavin Zeich and brothers Zander and Gavin Nicola—are cadets with the Braceville Fire Protection District, and Zander is also affiliated with the Mazon Fire Protection District.
Wearing their fire gear, they climbed up and down stadium stairs to replicate the 2,071 steps that New York City first responders took during their efforts to evacuate the World Trade Center towers. Each cadet honored a fallen firefighter by attaching a name and photo of one of the 343 firefighters who died on September 11 to their air packs during the climb.
Family and friends gathered at the stadium to support the teens' tribute. As cadets, they spend several hours each week training with their departments to learn life-saving techniques for serving their local community.
Coal City High School is part of Coal City Community Unit School District 1, which includes schools in Grundy and Will counties such as Coal City Early Childhood Center, Coal City Elementary School, Coal City Intermediate School, and Coal City Middle School (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). According to state data, this district employs 153 teachers with an average salary of $69,297; nearly 78 percent are women. No teachers in the district have recorded more than ten absences in a school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). The student population is predominantly White at nearly 87 percent, with Hispanic students making up almost ten percent (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, spending per student was $21,619 for a total district expenditure of over $47 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).
"Each of the cadets honored a fallen firefighter by posting their name and photo on their air packs during the stair climb."
All three continue to train regularly as part of their commitment to serve both local fire protection districts.
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