The KSD 140 Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble performed during “An Afternoon of Jazz” on May 2 at Harmony Square in Tinley Park. The event featured student musicians from Central Middle School, Tinley Park High School, and Andrew High School.
The performance was part of a celebration for Jazz Appreciation Month, bringing together young musicians to showcase their skills and dedication. Organizers highlighted the collaborative nature of the event and encouraged the community to attend the final KSD 140 jazz performance scheduled for May 6 at Grissom Middle School.
Kirby School District 140 represents several schools in Cook County, including Christa McAuliffe School, Fernway Park Elementary School, Helen Keller Elementary School, John A. Bannes Elementary School, Millennium Elementary School, Prairie View Middle School, and Virgil I. Grissom Middle School according to the Illinois Report Card.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, Kirby has a total of 258 teachers with an average salary of $68,179 before pension contributions; women make up more than ninety percent of teachers in the district and there are no teachers with more than ten absences per year.
The district’s student body is composed of approximately eighty percent White students, eight percent Hispanic students, four percent Asian students, and three percent Black students as reported by the Illinois Report Card. Kirby spent $20,628 per student in 2020 with total expenditures reaching over $74 million according to data from the same source.
Chronic truancy rates remain low in Kirby compared to state averages: only eighteen chronically truant students were enrolled during the 2020 school year—a rate well below Illinois’ statewide average—according to figures provided by the Illinois State Board of Education. The district serves grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade with enrollment reaching over three thousand six hundred students during that period.
