Hinsdale Middle School students presented their research projects on March 25 during the school’s annual “Call to Action” Day. Seventh-grade students showcased a range of topics, aiming to identify community needs and propose practical solutions.
The event is designed to encourage responsible citizenship among middle schoolers by allowing them to explore issues that matter both locally and globally. Students selected topics with approval from parents and teachers, covering subjects such as food dyes in foods, daylight savings time, school lunch improvements, social media algorithms, artificial intelligence in the military, executive branch powers, and plastic pollution in oceans.
During the day’s activities, students set up their projects in the Hinsdale Middle School cafeteria while family members were invited to view presentations. The program emphasized both thorough research and clear communication skills as key components of student learning.
Hinsdale Community Consolidated School District 181 includes schools across DuPage and Cook counties such as Clarendon Hills Middle School, Elm Elementary School, Madison Elementary School, Monroe Elementary School, Oak Elementary School, Prospect Elementary School, The Lane Elementary School, Walker School as well as Hinsdale Middle School itself according to the Illinois Report Card. The district had an enrollment of 3,743 students for the 2019-2020 school year and serves grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade according to state data.
District statistics show it spent $31,308 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $117 million as reported by the Illinois State Board of Education. There are 282 teachers employed by District 181 with an average salary of $94,227; ninety percent are women and ten percent are men. No teacher recorded more than ten absences during a school year according to official records.
The district’s student population is composed of approximately seventy percent White students; other demographics include Black (1.1 percent), Hispanic (6.8 percent), and Asian (15.4 percent) populations as detailed by ISBE. In terms of attendance rates for the same period there were four chronically truant students—a rate far below the statewide average—defined as missing five percent or more of mandated days without valid excuse according to state education authorities.
Organizers said that events like “Call to Action” Day demonstrate how middle schoolers can be active contributors within their communities.
Why are we citing 5-year-old statistics? Surely more recent stats are available. Bravo to the students, teachers, and schools!