Last week, music educators from Zion Elementary School District 6 attended the Illinois Music Educators Association Conference in Peoria, Illinois. The event allowed participants to engage with colleagues from across the state and discuss teaching methods and ideas.
Zion Elementary School District 6 serves Lake County and includes Beulah Park Elementary School, East Elementary School, Elmwood Elementary School, Lakeview School, Shiloh Park Elementary School, West Elementary School, and Zion Central Middle School. More information about the district’s schools can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, the district employs 164 teachers with an average salary of $58,629 before pension contributions. Of these teachers, 83.3 percent are women and 16.7 percent are men. There were no teachers in the district with more than ten absences during a school year. Further details on teacher demographics are available at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.
The student population is diverse: 4.9 percent White, 36.6 percent Black, 50.9 percent Hispanic, and 0.2 percent Asian students attend schools in Zion Elementary School District 6 (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In the 2019-2020 school year, enrollment was reported at 2,483 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).
Financial data shows that in 2020 the district spent $27,927 per student for a total expenditure of $69,342,294 (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).
Chronic truancy remains below the statewide average in Zion Elementary School District 6; during the 2020 school year there were 179 chronically truant students—defined as missing five percent or more of required school days without valid excuse—representing a rate of 7.2 percent compared to a statewide average of 9.6 percent (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).
The conference provided an opportunity for music educators to learn new skills and share experiences with peers throughout Illinois.
