For the first time on Dec. 11, the Montgomery County R-II School District held an informational presentation about its goals, successes and challenges.

Business leaders and county officials attended the We Are MC R-II Come Hear Our Story program, which was held at a Family and Consumer Sciences classroom at Montgomery County High School. The one-hour event was put together by district officials, administrators and teachers. Lunch was served afterwards in the classroom.

Assistant superintendent Dr. Jocelyn Schluss said the purpose was to share with the community about the school district, which has four schools.

“Often, the story that you hear is what’s on social media and wherever you see your fun tidbits,” Schluss said. “That’s not always the truth.”

A total of 22 people attended, including members from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and the Montgomery County Commission and other district officials and administrators. Schluss said she hopes the program will become an annual event.

“We hope to add people from our community business leaders, civic groups and anybody who can get involved,” Schluss said.

Schluss said a year ago, the high school staff members worked tirelessly in putting together a profile of a graduate, which includes lifelong learning, responsibility and integrity, communication skills and problem solving.

“We want them to be employable, we want them to be community-driven people and community-minded kids when they leave us as adults, we want them to give back to where they’re living and we want them to continue to grow and try to be responsible productive citizens wherever they land,” Schluss said.

The school district has many extracurricular activities in the middle and high schools. FFA is the largest organization with 100 members.

“We know that research tells us and our own experience shows us that when our kids are involved in activities outside of the classroom, their GPAs are higher,” said Julie Ellis, who works as a language arts teacher at MCHS.

MCHS has a high graduation rate. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school had a 97.5 percent graduation rate, up almost five percent from the previous years.

1st District Commissioner Dave Teeter, a former teacher at the R-II school district, said the high school is fortunate in developing some dual credit opportunities for students. There are currently 30 students who are taking dual credits.

“I feel our district as a whole really pushes kids not only on the college bound track but also in the vocational track,” Teeter said. “We got a lot of students who went to Linn Tech. When they graduated, they made a lot more money than what good old Mr. Teeter made here in the high school.”

MCHS also has a strong career and technical program that includes the FFA, FBLA, FCCLA and Project Lead the Way groups.

“They’re learning to compete, they’re learning to put their best foot forward, they’re learning interview skills and they’re learning how to shake hands,” MCHS assistant principal Jessie Cobb said. “They’re learning a lot of soft skills that we don’t teach in the classroom. But they’re still important.”

Despite all of the accomplishments, one of the district’s main challenges is keeping teachers. Out of its 95 teachers, 46 of them have taught five years or less. Ellis said 20 percent of the staff is approaching retirement, so it is important for the district to keep all of its teachers for a long time.

“We have a bunch of young teachers, which is awesome with their new skills and enthusiasm,” Ellis said. “But we need to work really hard as a community to make sure they feel welcomed and supported so they’ll stay.”

Also during the presentation, there were discussions on facility improvements paid for with bond proceeds, financial donations for school-related events, potential volunteers to mentor students and apprenticeships.

“The reason we feel like, as a rural school district, we have been pretty successful is we have a lot of community support and a lot of great partnerships with other people,” Schluss said.