Deer Creek-Mackinaw High School

In 1989, the high school facilities were expanded by adding a new gymnasium, cafeteria, and four classrooms.  The new gymnasium was dedicated as Virgil M. Jacobs Gymnasium in 1992, after retired (1990) superintendent, Virgil M. Jacobs.

The high school baseball field had dugouts, fencing, a water fountain and flagpole installed in 1995, and was named after retired (1988) principal, Joe Bratcher.  Mr. Bratcher died in 1997

Past principal was Rob Houchin, who started in the district as a teacher in 1970.  Enrollment has remained consistently in the 275-300 number for many years. Current Principal is Bill Lamb who started  in the district in 2003.

The Dee-Mack Chiefs football team has experienced great success under coach Jim McDonald, including a 2nd place finish in the 1988 state playoffs.  The team has won over 100 games under Mr. McDonald's leadership.  Coach McDonald retired in 2006.

During the 1991-1992 school year the Board of Education at Deer Creek-Mackinaw Community School District #701 voted to restructure the two grades schools in the district:   Deer Creek Grade School and Mackinaw Grade School.  Beginning with the 1992-1993 school year, all students living in the school district in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade attended school in Mackinaw.  All students in fourth grade, fifth grade, and sixth grade attended school in Deer Creek.  The former Mackinaw Grade School became known as Dee-Mack Primary and Junior High School.  In the spring of 2001, the very first class involved in the restructuring process graduated from eighth grade.  These students had attended school together since kindergarten; instead of attending school in each separate community.

For the 2001-2002 school year the student population of Dee-Mack Primary and Junior High School consists of 472 students.  Forty full time certified teachers are employed, as well as, sixteen educational support personnel.  Special programs offered to the students are physical education, vocal music, instrumental music, gifted education, special education, and computer concepts.  These programs are taught by specialists in each of the areas.

Dee-Mack Primary and Junior High School serves students in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade in its primary section of the building.  The seventh and eighth grade students are housed in the junior high portion of the building.  In addition, a pre-kindergarten class is offered for at risk students.  This program, which is funded through an early childhood education block grant, was started in the spring of 1992.  Eligible students ages three to five years are screened to be in this at risk program. 

Full day kindergarten was offered for the first time at the beginning of the 1995-1996 school year.  Since both half day and full day kindergarten programming are offered, parents have a choice of which type of kindergarten programming they prefer for their children. 

There was no construction completed at Dee-Mack Primary and Junior High School until 1989  when a new gymnasium, locker rooms, and coaches office were built to the east of the existing building.   The old gymnasium was converted into four classrooms.  At the present time, a referendum has been passed to construct new additions to the school.  This construction should began in the spring of 2002.   The new junior high wing, dedicated to former principal, Dr. Margaret England, opened in the fall of 2003.  Four new  primary classrooms, as well as, office space were also part of the 2003 addition.   Teachers and students enjoyed the addition of the new primary wing in the fall 2004.

Since the last printing of the Mackinaw Historical Society booklet, there have been two principals employed at Dee-Mack Primary and Junior High School.  Mr. Tom Avery was employed as principal after the retirement of Mr. Dallas Davis.  In the fall of 1997, Dr. Margaret England was employed as principal. Dr. England retired in 2003.  Mrs. Christina Brock-Lammers is the current principal.

Dee-Mack IntermediateSchool History

Construction

The original structure was built in 1921 and housed kindergarten through twelfth grade, serving the students of Deer Creek.  In 1956, an addition was completed that included a new gym, kindergarten room, PE office, cafeteria, locker rooms, bathrooms, and four classrooms.  At the time, students in kindergarten through eighth grade were served, who resided in Deer Creek.  A second addition consisting of four classrooms was completed in 1969.

In the fall of 1999, administration completed an evaluation of the building, which included an analysis of the square footage, student capacity, and an assessment of the physical plant.  The state of Illinois followed with an inspection and determined the functional age of the building to be 118 years old.  At that time, a Task Force was established to evaluate the feasibility of a construction project.  The Task Force was comprised of community members with District Board members and Administration serving in an advisory capacity.  The Task Force goals were to assess the financial status of the District, to identify the facility needs, and to make a recommendation to the Board.  In June 2000, the Task Force presented a two phase construction plan to the Board that consisted of removing the old structure (1921 building) and building an addition that included five classrooms, a kitchen, cafeteria, and five offices.  In considering this referendum, voters knew that the District would be debt free by January 1, 2001 and that the state of Illinois would pay 43% of the construction costs in order to replace the aging buildings.  In November 2000, the taxpayers of the district voted to approve the project. 

Reorganization

In 1991, the district formed the School Improvement Committee comprised of Board members, faculty, and parents to dialogue about strategies to improve learning for the students in the district.  From that committee, George Stimeling, a retired Superintendent, was commissioned to study the grade alignments in the district.  At the time, students in kindergarten through eighth grade were served in their neighborhood schools.  The enrollment in Mackinaw was significantly higher than that of Deer Creek, creating student-teacher ratios of 35:1 in Mackinaw, and 15:1 in Deer Creek.  In November 1991, the Board passed a realignment plan that called for all students in the district to attend in Mackinaw for grades pre-kindergarten through third grade, in Deer Creek for grades fourth through sixth, and in Mackinaw for seventh and eighth grades.  The high school continued to serve students in ninth through twelfth grade.  This action did serve to equalize class sizes throughout the district.  The name of the school was changed to Dee-Mack Middle School and we retained our school colors (blue and white) and mascot (Deer).

Principals

Over the past 50 years, six principals have served the communities: Ralph Wantland (????-1952), William Spencer (1953-1979), Bryan Heiser (1979-1983), Ralph Marshall (1983-1984), Tom Avery (1985-1991), Steve Yarnall (1991-2005.)  Yarnall was alsothe Special Education Coordinator for the district.  In the fall of 1997, Dr. Margaret England was employed as principal. Dr. England retired in 2003.  Mrs. Christina Brock-Lammers is the current principal.  When Mr. Yarnall was appointed to the position of Superintendent in 2005, he was replaced by Frank Reliford for the Intermediate School Principal postion and Mrs. Meg Thurman as the District Special Education Coordinator.

Students, Faculty, and Staff

Currently, the middle school in Deer Creek serves 204 students from Deer Creek, Mackinaw, Lilly, and Allentown that attend grades four, five, and six.  There are three sections of fourth and sixth grade, as well as, four sections of fifth.  The middle school employs eighteen certified teachers and eight non-certified support personnel.  There are ten classroom teachers, two special education teachers, a gifted teacher, a speech and language therapist, a physical education teacher, an instrumental music teacher, a vocal music teacher, a school counselor, a classroom aide, a computer lab aide, a library monitor, a secretary, two cooks, two custodians, and a principal.

Curriculum and Activities

Over the past ten years there have been many changes in the curriculum and activities offered to students at the middle school.  Our state test scores have consistently been high in Science, Social Science, and Mathematics.  Although scores in Writing and Reading have been at or above the state average, these are areas that we have targeted.  In Writing, we have trained teachers in a systematic approach to student writing.  In Reading, we implemented a school wide computerized assessment program that emphasizes sustained, silent reading called Accelerated Reader.  In the two years that we piloted the program, there were significant gains in Reading achievement by students who participated.

We have expanded the talented and gifted programs to full time between the two elementary schools.  Fifth graders receive Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) in cooperation with the Mackinaw Police Department.  We have employed a full time school counselor in the two elementary buildings, who has implemented a citizenship program called Operation Respect Each Other (OREO), as well as a Student Assistance Program to target students who have difficulty with homework.  A full time library monitor and computer lab aide assist with Accelerated Reader, as well as implementing the building technology curriculum.

Middle School students may choose to participate in Student Council, Speech, Basketball, Volleyball, Band, or Choir.  Since the reorganization in 1992, the basketball and volleyball teams have hosted and participated in tournaments.  The sixth grade basketball team placed first in 1994, 1995, and 1996 and second in 1993 and 2000.  The sixth grade volleyball team took championships in 1995, 1999, 2000, and 2001.  The fifth grade team has hosted a tournament since 1997, placing second in 1999 and first in 2001.  The Middle School name was changed to the Intermediate School in 2005. 

Over the past four years, the middle school sixth grade choir has participated in the
America Sings Festival.  This is a non-competitive music performance that teaches students to use their talents to benefit others, who are less fortunate.  This experiences has allowed students to travel to Nashville (1998), Washington DC (1999), Chicago (2000), and Nashville (2001).

Pancake Supper

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the Pancake and Sausage Supper.  This event began as about a dozen men from Deer Creek ground sausage and cooked pancakes to raise money for the school.  Last year, the supper served over 2600 people and raised over $10,000 with the help of around 300 volunteers.  In 2000, the village of Deer Creek was awarded the Governor’s Hometown Award for youth involvement.

Future Plans

As we look to the immediate future, we are excited about the coming changes in the physical plant.  The expansion of the school not only replaces the existing, aged facility, but also adds needed classroom space with three additional rooms, a computer lab and library, a secured entrance to enhance safety, and addresses the question of building accessibility.  Planned improvements to the school site include fenced grounds, updated playground facilities, and a bus drive for the safe loading and unloading of students.

This year we will be replacing twenty-five computers in the lab and moving the existing machines that are three years old into classrooms.  This will allow each teacher to have four computers, all Internet accessible, in the room.

We continue to target Reading and Writing as part of our School Improvement Plan, emphasizing those areas across all grades and all subjects.  Another area of planned improvement is aligning our curriculum to the Illinois Learning Standards.  Each month this year we will be working to identify which standards are not addressed and how we assess the standards.

Superintendents of Deer Creek-Mackinaw   

Virgil Jacobs  (????-1990)

Ken Cox  (1990-1994)

Ron Blakley   (1994-1997)

Jerry Bauersachs  (1997-2005)

Steve Yarnall  (2005- Present)