Jaguars raise funds for charity with pie-in-the-face fun
The Builder’s Club at Jackson Middle School hosted a "Chuck-a-Duck" event, giving students the chance to win a prize by pieing a teacher in the face during lunch, according to an April 28 announcement.
The event raised more than $600 for Feed My Starving Children, which was selected as the beneficiary by students. The activity brought together students and teachers in a lighthearted setting and aimed to support charitable efforts within the school community.
Several teachers volunteered to participate, including Mr. Byrd, Mr. Ramsey, Mr. Aiello, Ms. Gafron from sixth grade; Mrs. DePasquale from seventh grade; and Ms. Jordan from eighth grade.
Jackson Middle School is part of Villa Park School District 45, which serves DuPage County and includes Ardmore Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School, North Elementary School, Schafer Elementary School, Stevenson School, Westmore Elementary School, York Center Elementary School as well as Jackson itself according to the Illinois Report Card. The district enrolled 3,306 students in the 2019-2020 school year and serves grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade according to state data.
Villa Park School District 45 has a diverse student body that is composed of approximately 43 percent White students, nearly eight percent Black students, about thirty-five percent Hispanic students and just over eight percent Asian students as reported by ISBE. In terms of staff demographics and performance: there are 224 teachers with an average salary of $74,159 before pension contributions; more than eighty-two percent are women; no teacher had more than ten absences during the school year according to ISBE data.
In financial terms for fiscal year 2020 Villa Park District spent $23,216 per student totaling $76 million dollars as noted by state records. The district also reported having one hundred nineteen chronically truant students in that same period—defined as missing five percent or more of required days without valid excuse—which represents a rate lower than statewide averages per Illinois State Board of Education figures.