CHMS Cares event engages Clarendon Hills Middle School students in community service
Clarendon Hills Middle School (CHMS) recently hosted its annual CHMS Cares event, where students from all grade levels participated in community service projects. The event, now in its third year, is supported by the CHMS Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), which covers field trip costs and supplies.
The initiative aims to show students how they can make a positive impact on their communities and beyond. Sixth graders created no-sew blankets for local Neonatal Intensive Care Units and wrote cards for hospitalized children and military veterans. Seventh graders visited Feed My Starving Children, packaging 156 boxes that provided 33,696 meals to children globally. Eighth graders worked on campus projects supporting organizations such as Project Cure, the Humane Society of Westmont, Reclaimed 13, and assembled essential kits for DuPage Pads to assist people experiencing homelessness.
CHMS PTO Co-Presidents Megan Brotschul and Gabriela Garcia highlighted the importance of teaching empathy and service through these activities. Principal Dr. Levi Brown and Assistant Principal Erick Jones commended students for their involvement. Dr. Brown said, “this event is truly the heart of this PTO’s work.”
Clarendon Hills Middle School is part of Hinsdale Community Consolidated School District 181, which serves DuPage and Cook counties and includes several elementary schools as well as Hinsdale Middle School. More information about the district can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, District 181 employs 282 teachers with an average salary of $94,227; ninety percent are women and ten percent are men. The district reports low teacher absenteeism rates.
Demographically, District 181 is composed of approximately 69.8 percent White students, with Asian students making up about 15.4 percent, Hispanic students at 6.8 percent, and Black students at 1.1 percent.
In terms of spending, the district allocated $31,308 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $117 million.
District data also shows a chronic truancy rate of just 0.1 percent during the 2020 school year—well below the statewide average—reflecting strong attendance among its nearly 3,743 enrolled students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve.