Lake County Gazette

Last weekend, the Marching Coalers took part in the Red and Black Fall Classic at Northern Illinois University. Competing in the 1A division with six other bands from the Chicagoland area, the students performed two movements from their field show "Rearrange," which included music by Jeff Chambers, "The Sound of Silence" by Disturbed, and "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap.

The band achieved second place for this performance, marking their highest placement since 2013. They also tied for first place in both Music and Visual General Effect captions.

Looking ahead, the Marching Coalers have two contests remaining this season: the Downers Grove South Mustang Bowl on October 4 and the Lincoln-Way Marching Band Invitational on October 18. This weekend, they will participate in the annual Grundy County Corn Festival Parade in downtown Morris.

Coal City Community Unit School District 1 serves Grundy and Will counties and includes several 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 (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). According to state data, there are 153 teachers in the district with an average salary of $69,297; about 78 percent are women. The district reports no teachers with more than ten absences annually (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). Demographically, approximately 87 percent of students are White; nearly 10 percent are Hispanic (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, per-student spending was $21,619 for a total expenditure of $47 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).