Waukegan Public Schools announced on March 12 that it will hold a free meal distribution event for families ahead of Spring Break on Friday, March 20, at the Waukegan High School Brookside Campus, located at 2325 Brookside Avenue. Meals will be available from 5 to 7 p.m.
The event aims to support students and their families by providing essential nutrition during the school break. Families can pick up meals by driving through the designated area behind the Brookside Campus. Organizers ask that families remain in their vehicles, and students do not need to be present to receive meals.
Each student will receive a five-day meal pack containing breakfast, lunch, fruit, and snacks. Meals will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.
Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 serves Lake County and includes schools such as Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School, Carman-Buckner Elementary School, Clearview Elementary School, Daniel Webster Middle School, Early Learning Center, Glen Flora Elementary School, Glenwood Elementary School, Greenwood Elementary School, H.R. McCall Elementary School, Hyde Park Elementary School, Jack Benny Middle School, John S. Clark Elementary School, Little Fort Elementary School, Lyon Magnet Elementary School, Miguel Juarez Middle School, North Elementary School, Oakdale Elementary School, Robert E. Abbott Middle School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Washington Elementary School, Waukegan High School and Whittier Elementary School according to the Illinois Report Card.
The district is composed of approximately 3.2 percent White students, 13.2 percent Black students, 79.5 percent Hispanic students and 1.3 percent Asian students according to the Illinois State Board of Education. In the 2019-2020 school year it enrolled about 15,332 students across grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in Waukegan and Lake County according to state data.
District records show there are a total of 1,014 teachers with an average salary of $63,524 before pension contributions; women make up about 71 percent of teachers while men account for nearly 29 percent according to official figures. No teacher had more than ten absences in a school year.
In terms of spending and attendance challenges: The district spent $23,429 per student in the year 2020 for a total expenditure of $359 million as reported by state education officials. That same year saw a chronic truancy rate of about 21 percent—meaning over three thousand students missed five percent or more days without valid excuse—compared with a statewide average of just under ten percent according to ISBE data.
As Waukegan Public Schools prepares for its upcoming meal distribution event on March 20th at Brookside Campus from five to seven p.m., families are encouraged to arrive early as supplies are limited.
