Granite City Community Unit School District #9 announced on April 15 that it will hold a special meeting for parents of home-schooled students with disabilities on Wednesday, April 29 at 2 p.m. The meeting will take place at the James J. Greenwald Administration Building at 3200 Maryville Road in Granite City.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss plans for providing special education services to students with disabilities who attend private schools and home schools within the district during the upcoming 2026-27 school year. The district encourages parents residing within its boundaries whose children have been or may be identified with a disability to attend.
Parents seeking more information about the event are advised to contact Micki Watkins at 618-451-5800, Ext. 2419.
Granite City Community Unit School District #9 represents Madison County and includes Coolidge Junior High School, Frohardt Elementary School, Granite City High School, Grigsby Intermediate School, Maryville Elementary School, Mitchell Elementary School, Prather Elementary School, and Wilson Elementary School according to Illinois Report Card. The district serves grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade and enrolled nearly 5,990 students in the 2019-2020 school year according to Illinois Report Card.
The Illinois State Board of Education reports that there are currently about 320 teachers in the district earning an average salary of $67,898 before pension contributions; most are women (77.1 percent), while men make up about one quarter (22.9 percent). No teacher had more than ten absences in a school year according to Illinois Report Card.
Demographically, Granite City Community Unit School District #9 is composed of approximately 65 percent White students, nearly sixteen percent Black students, almost twelve percent Hispanic students and less than one percent Asian students according to Illinois Report Card. In terms of funding and spending per student during the year 2020, the district spent $17,739 per student for a total expenditure exceeding $106 million according to Illinois Report Card.
The issue of chronic truancy remains significant within this community: there were reportedly over seven hundred fifty chronically truant students enrolled during the same period—a rate higher than state averages—defined as missing five percent or more days without valid excuse as reported by Illinois State Board of Education.
For further details regarding programs or events hosted by Granite City Community Unit School District #9 throughout Madison County communities served by its schools—including Coolidge Junior High and others—families can visit www.gcsd9.net.
