Lake County Gazette

Students in Mr. Hutchings’ Fitness Concepts class at Coal City High School are learning about creating healthy lifestyles to improve their quality of life both now and in the future.

The class is currently focused on Skill-Related Fitness Components, which include speed, agility, power, coordination, balance, and reaction time. Students are studying how these components can be used in daily activities.

To help students understand reaction time, the class has been participating in a competitive game that tests listening skills and quick reflexes. In this activity, students race to grab a cone as quickly as possible when prompted.

Another activity uses mini hurdles to help students work on agility. By moving laterally and vertically over the hurdles, students have practiced making quick changes in direction and improving movement control throughout the week.

Coal City High School is part of Coal City Community Unit School District 1, which includes schools across 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/). The district employs 153 teachers with an average salary of $69,297 before pension contributions; nearly 78 percent of these teachers are women. There are no teachers with more than 10 absences per year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). The student population is primarily White at almost 87 percent; Hispanic students make up about 10 percent while Black and Asian students each account for less than one percent (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, spending per student was $21,619 for a total district expenditure of $47 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).