Reed-Custer School District

Reed-Custer plans to bring all students back

Published by admin on Tue, 12/22/2020 - 5:23pm

The Board of Education for Reed-Custer Community Unit School District #255 met via zoom Dec. 16. All items on the agenda were approved unanimously including the official certification of the tax levy.

RCHS Second Semester Plan
Superintendent Mark Mitchell said some days in the 2021 calendar will need to be adjusted, but the plan is for all students to return to the classroom.

Local schools report high graduation rates

Published by admin on Tue, 11/03/2020 - 3:45pm

The Illinois State Board of Education released the 2020 Illinois Report Card, providing snapshots and academic information for public school districts across the state.

The COVID-19 pandemic made much of the student data from the 2019-20 school year either unavailable or unable to support year-to-year comparisons.

Some of the data may have been affected by the suspension of in-person instruction in March 2020, effectively ending all face-to-face learning across the state and making each district end the year in some form of virtual or distance learning.

New school policies helping to prevent quarantines at Reed-Custer

Published by admin on Tue, 10/27/2020 - 5:44pm

The Board of Education for Reed-Custer Community Unit School District #255 held their monthly meeting Oct. 21 at the Stephen M. Hanks Administration Center. Superintendent Mark Mitchell was not present due to a family emergency, so Danielle Valiente, Director of Teaching and Learning, presented the Superintendent’s Report.

COVID-19 Update

As of the meeting, the district reported a total of 16 positive cases including 10 students and six staff members. Valiente said new policy changes have helped to minimize the effect of positive cases at the schools.

RC staff learns to ‘stop the bleed’

Published by admin on Tue, 03/19/2019 - 5:43pm

Educators at Reed-Custer are already armed with the tools to provide their students with a quality education. Now, those teachers and faculty have also learned valuable skills that may help them save a life.

On March 13, teachers from RCMS and RCHS partnered with emergency medical technicians and healthcare professionals from the Morris Hospital and Healthcare Centers for a special “stop the bleed” training session.

RC students’ community service will increase

Published by admin on Tue, 01/29/2019 - 3:44pm

Students at Reed-Custer High School will soon give back to their communities even more, as part of their civics education.

The district administration said they’ll increase the number of community service hours each student must complete at RCHS, part of the district’s high school graduation requirement.

Director of Teaching and Learning Danielle Valiente said that the current community service requirement is 20 hours throughout their four years of high school.

Final school calendar gets the OK

Published by admin on Tue, 01/29/2019 - 3:37pm

The Reed-Custer School Board has given the official thumbs up for next year’s school calendar.

On Jan. 16, the board approved the final draft of the 2019-2020 calendar, after a few tweaks by the district administration. Among those tweaks over the previous proposal are plans for how parent teacher conferences are scheduled at the middle school and the high school. That change will place high school parent-teacher conferences in September and October, and middle school and elementary school conferences also in October.

Reed-Custer finances in top shape

Published by admin on Tue, 01/22/2019 - 7:15pm

The Reed-Custer School District remains in a strong financial position.

On Jan. 16, the district’s financial audit for the 2018 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, was presented to the members of the Board of Education.

The audit produced an unmodified audit opinion, the highest audit insurance the district can receive.

“Your financial statements present fairly in all the general respects,” said Nick E. Cavaliere, CPA, CFE, a partner with the district’s auditor Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP. “That’s what you want to hear, that you’ve had a clean audit.”

Students lauded for achievements

Published by admin on Tue, 01/22/2019 - 7:12pm

The Reed-Custer School Board took a moment this month to honor several Comet seniors who have gone above and beyond in academic and extracurricular achievement.

On Jan. 16, the board recognized RCHS senior Casey Cromp, who was selected to the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All State Conference, which meets this week in Peoria.

District to tweak guidelines for social media groups

Published by admin on Tue, 01/22/2019 - 7:09pm

The Reed-Custer School Board will consider a change to district policies with regard to how teachers and staff use social media to represent the school.

On Jan. 16, superintendent Mark Mitchell presented a draft of a change to the district’s policy on usage and conduct related to social media and personal technology. The change would add language designed to help district administrators keep up with the multitude of social media pages that serve as information centers for various groups, clubs, sports and activities.

Former teachers appear on same docket

Published by admin on Tue, 01/15/2019 - 7:32pm

Two former Reed-Custer teachers who are each facing charges related to sex crimes and minors were inside a Will County Court last week answering to felony charges.

On Thursday, Jan. 10, former educators Kevin Macha and Dayna Chidester appeared before Judge Dave Carlson on separate cases.

Chidester, 50, who was dismissed by the Reed-Custer School District earlier this month, was arrested on Jan. 3 by Manhattan police, for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old male.