Location

District 88a is located north of I80 and east of I55 on Caton Farm Rd in Crest Hill, IL.

JavaScript must be enabled in order for you to use Google Maps.
However, it seems JavaScript is either disabled or not supported by your browser.
To view Google Maps, enable JavaScript by changing your browser options, and then try again.

Demographics

Crest Hill is a middle income suburban community located in Will County northwest of Joliet. Richland School District 88A currently has two buildings that are connected.  Richland Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through fourth grade and Richland Junior High School serves fifth through eighth grade. Its 924 students, along with children from six other grade school districts, feed into Lockport High School or one of several parochial secondary schools. The East half of Crest Hill is served by a separate grade school district that is fewer than five hundred students. Crest Hill, Joliet, and Lockport are old communities which are located along the river and have many buildings and houses dating back to the eighteen hundreds.

Enrollment

According to the 2009 Illinois School Report Card, enrollment in the District is comprised of 40.5% white, 15.4% black, 33.5% Hispanic, 6.1% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 4.5% Multi-Racial. 23.5% of Richland's students received free or reduced cost lunches as reported on the 2009 Illinois School Report Card, student mobility rate was 18.7%, attendance rate was 96.1% and there were 42 identified chronic truants.

Class Size

Class sizes as reported on the 2009 Illinois School Report Card were 21.9 in primary grades and 23.5 in upper grades.  It is the goal of the Board of Education to maintain class size to maximize the educational experience for all students.

Teachers

Richland's teachers are all highly qualified as measured by the No Child Left Behind Act. The average teaching experience as recorded on the 2009 Illinois School Report Card was 9.2 years. 60.7% have master's degrees. The average salary as reported on the 2009 Illinois School Report Card was above the State average.

Other Staff

The administrative staff consists of a superintendent, two principals, and a director of special education/ELL.  In addition to the superintendent the district office staff includes a business manager, assistant business manager, and secretary to the superintendent/registrar.  The District houses a full-time nurse, technology director, assistant to the technology director, attendance/lunch secretary, coordinator of transportation, media specialist, two psychologists and a social worker. There is a full time director of building and grounds, five full-time custodians and thirteen part-time bus drivers.  Each building operates its own office with the principal and full time secretary.

Parent Support

Richland is proud to have a very active Parent Teacher Club (PTC), and many individuals help with the library, class activities and field trips. As a District we were able to document parental contact at 100% last year.

Current Status

Richland School District 88A is a two school district with Richland Elementary and Richland Junior High separate, but joined campuses. The current facilities can accommodate up to 1,200 students.

Finances

Richland School District 88A has earned Financial Recognition (Illinois State Board of Education's highest ranking) for the past several years.  But given the current financial crisis in the State of Illinois there are many variables which are challenging to all public entities.  It is the directive of the Board of Education that we live within our means and will pass a budget only if it is balanced.  For the school year 2010-2011 we have been able to maintain all staff and programs and have been successful in balancing the budget with those line items which have the least impact on the students.  

Curriculum

The Board of Education has identified the areas of Literacy and Mathematics as high priorities. All curriculum areas are aligned with the Illinois Learning Standards, and all activities are designed to provide our students with a rich and diverse learning experience. In 2007-08 Richland began offering to its seventh and eighth graders Spanish as an elective. In addition to sequencing our curriculum K-8, we work closely with LTHS 205 in the development of our curriculum so our students are adequately prepared for high school and life.