Welcome to Jacksonville School District #117.  Jacksonville is located 45 miles due west of Springfield, Illinois in a town of about twenty-two thousand.  Map it.

Jacksonville is home to two private four-year colleges, Illinois College and MacMurray College as well as two specialized educational facilities, Illinois School for the Deaf and Illinois School for the Visually Impaired.

Jacksonville has a rich heritage of cultural opportunities from community theatre to the symphony and orchestra.

School Information and Data

Pre-School Students:  190

Elementary School Students:  1,873

Middle School students:  553

High School students:  1,006

Total Students:  3,602

Facilities:

7 elementary schools (Kindergarten-6th Grade)

1 Junior High School (7th & 8th Grade)

1 High School (9th - 12th Grade)

Early Childhood Pre-K Program (for at-risk 3-5 year olds)

Administrative Center / Kindergarten Center (Administration and 6 Kindergarten classes)

Administrators: 17

Teachers: 291

Aides: 100

Total:  408

Highlights of the elementary programs include parent groups, computer literacy programs, attendance motivators, volunteer programs, field trips. parent/teacher conferences, enrichment activities extended classroom experiences, computer labs, musical performances and school/business partnerships.

The curriculum includes language arts, math, science, social studies, physical education and the fine arts including visual art, vocal music, dance and drama.  Band and orchestra are offered beginning in grade 5. 

The district has al all-day kindergarten program.  In the spring each year, kindergarten screening provides early identification of each child's learning readiness.  Special education, reading recovery/Title I, social work, counseling and health services are available for all children.  Speech services are also offered for those students who are identified as needing help in speech, language skills, stuttering and voice problems. 

Other programs offered in the district include a talented and gifted program for qualified students in grade four, five and six.

Educating over 1000 students annually, Jacksonville High School has the broadest curriculum in the area.  the departments offer a wide selection of courses to serve a diverse student population.

Career and Technical Education - Classes are offered in agriculture, business, family and consumer sciences, health occupations and trade and technical education.  These classes prepare students for direct entry into the job market or further education in these areas after graduation.

English - Courses in literature, writing, speaking and listening, and the use of technology are offered at a variety of levels.  Besides the four, full-year English classes, electives are offered in interpersonal communication, cultural studies, children's literature, and theatre productions.  English students are also involved in the production of the school newspaper, The Crimson Times, and the school yearbook, the Crimson J.

Foreign Language - Students can choose to take French, German or Spanish as well as American Sign Language offered through the cooperation of the Illinois School for the Deaf.  Students are encouraged to take at least two years of the same language.  Third, fourth and fifth-year Spanish and French, as well as third and fourth-year German, are offered as accelerated classes.

Mathematics - All students are encouraged to complete four years of math in a curriculum ranging from everyday applications through calculus.  An honors track begins with algebra in the 8th grade.  Students who complete geometry are encouraged to enroll in one or more up-to-date computer programming classes.  The curriculum offers a good balance between practical and technological mathematics.

Media Center - The Jacksonville High School Media Center offers both a traditional library and two internet-connected computer labs.  Students are welcome in the library from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.

Physical Development and Health - Jacksonville High School offers courses in both general PE and fitness PE.  In the general program, students learn to develop lifetime skills from a variety of team and individual activities.  The fitness program gives students the opportunity to work on their physiological development through cardiovascular exercises and weight training.  Students also take a semester of health, which included units in nutrition, growth and development, the cardiovascular and respiratory systems an physical fitness.

Science - In the science department, students start by studying physical science (chemistry and physics) to complete a three-year district program covering all areas of science.  Most students continue with studies of biology, chemistry and physics at several levels of comprehension.  A second year of biology and chemistry is offered as well as a semester course in astronomy which utilizes the school's planetarium.

Social Studies - World Cultures and geography are required as well as civics, world history and U.S. history.  Electives available to juniors and seniors include world history, psychology, sociology, U.S. History Through Film and Economic Survey.

Activities - Many activities are available as an extension of the academic program.  There are clubs for students interested in foreign languages, art, music, drama, science, business and computers.  Other activities enable students to compete interscholastically in speech, business, agriculture and scholastic bowl competitions.  Some clubs allow students to explore other interests and to perform community service.

Fine Arts - The Fine Arts Department offers a variety of activities in music, drama, and visual arts.  Students participate in various bands, vocal ensembles, and orchestra.  Each group presents concerts throughout the year and all combine talents for the Christmas Concert Performance.  Students participate in state-sanctioned jazz and concert festivals and contests as well as national events.  Music appreciation and music theory are also offered as non-performance courses.  Courses in fine arts encourage creative thinking and self-expression through a variety of course offerings.  Drawing, painting, sculpture and graphics are courses offered after completing a pre-requisite Art I class.  Pottery is offered after a semester of crafts.  Photography is limited to junior and senior students.

Theatre - The Theatre Department produces plays and a musical each year.  Students have opportunities to work behind the scenes or on stage for each production.

Jonathan Turner Junior High School staff along with its staff and students, has been recognized with local, state and national honors.  Turner is one of only thirty-three schools to be recognized as a lead middle school and is a recipient of the Museum in the Classroom Grant.  The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) selected Jonathan Turner Junior High School and its educational program, "The adolescent in West Central Illinois," as the 1999 recipient of the Social Studies Programs of Excellence Award.

Turner Junior High serves a diverse student population which comes from seven community-defined elementary centers.  Jacksonville's deep commitment to serving a large population of special needs students provides unique educational opportunities.  Inclusion is common in the school.  Special needs students are served utilizing co-teaching strategies. 

The organization structure at Turner Junior High facilitates staff empowerment through teaming, departmentalization, building committees, teacher mentoring, and staff inservice. 

Student activity programs, community service projects, and a lab school in conjunction with local colleges are also available.  The central focus of Turner incorporates student recognition systems, assemblies, and alignment of integrated state standards needed for learning in core/encore programs.

Athletic programs, alternative intervention systems and Fathers and Mothers Involved in Learning and Youth (FAMILY) are also included as part of the adolescent centered, staff driven curriculum.

Some students require specialized instruction to achieve their academic potential.  The Jacksonville School District is committed to providing the special educational services that meet the needs of all students.

After receiving parental permission, a thorough case study evaluation designed to identify needs and determine eligibility for services is conducted.  If the determination is made that a child requires specialized instruction, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is designed and written to deliver the special services a child requires.  Parental consent is required for placement of a child in specialized instructional programs.

Illinois state law provides the guidelines for the determination and delivery of a full continuum of special educational services delivered in the least restrictive environment.

In addition to classroom instructional and resource services, the Jacksonville School District offers school psychological and social work services.

The district is dedicated to providing the special educational needs of children, ages three to twenty-one.  In cooperation with the Four Rivers Special Education District, Jacksonville also provides early childhood screening, audiological services and other specialized evaluations.