Viking Drama will present its spring play, Influence(rs), on March 13 and 14 at 7 p.m. and March 15 at 2 p.m. at the Viking School auditorium, located at 4460 Old Grand Ave., according to a Mar. 11 announcement. Admission is set at $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors.
The event highlights the ongoing activities within Gurnee School District 56, which serves Lake County and includes Prairie Trail School, River Trail School, Spaulding Elementary School, and Viking School according to the Illinois Report Card.
Gurnee School District 56 employs a total of 153 teachers who earn an average salary of $63,616 before pension contributions; women make up 86.3 percent of the teaching staff while men account for 13.7 percent. The district reports that none of its teachers have more than ten absences in a school year according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
The student population in Gurnee School District 56 is diverse: it is composed of approximately 21.7 percent White students, 21 percent Black students, 45 percent Hispanic students, and six percent Asian students according to the ISBE. In terms of spending, the district allocated $21,128 per student in the year 2020 for a total expenditure of $41,537,628 according to the Illinois Report Card.
Chronic truancy remains below state averages in Gurnee School District 56; there were 132 chronically truant students enrolled during the 2020 school year—a rate of about 6.7 percent—compared with a statewide average of nine point six percent according to the Illinois State Board of Education. The district enrolled a total of 1,966 students in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade during the same period according to the Illinois Report Card.
As community events like this weekend’s play continue to take place within Gurnee School District 56 schools, they reflect both educational engagement and demographic diversity across local elementary education.
