Lake County Gazette

On September 15, student-athletes from Jackson and Jefferson middle schools took part in Willowbrook High School’s third annual Middle School Invitational cross-country meet. The event was held at Lombard Commons Park and included participants from other area schools such as Albright, St. John Lutheran, St. Pius X, and Trinity Lutheran.

A message of appreciation was extended to the organizers: "Congratulations to all, and thank you to Mr. Ed Sullivan and all our friends from Willowbrook High School for organizing another fun day for our student-athletes!"

Jackson Middle School and Jefferson Middle School are both part of Villa Park School District 45, which represents several schools in DuPage County including Ardmore Elementary, North Elementary, Schafer Elementary, Stevenson School, Westmore Elementary, and York Center Elementary (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

According to the Illinois State Board of Education data available at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/, Villa Park School District 45 employs 224 teachers with an average salary of $74,159 before pension contributions; about 83 percent are women and about 17 percent are men. No teachers have reported more than ten absences in a school year.

The district serves a diverse student population that is approximately 43 percent White, 8 percent Black, 35 percent Hispanic, and 8 percent Asian (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In the year 2020, spending per student was $23,216 for a total expenditure of $76.7 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).