Murphysboro High School, part of the Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186, highlighted a student achievement in a recent series of social media posts. On March 28, 2026, the school announced that Jonas Schaldemose set a new personal record in pole vaulting.
In its post on March 28, Murphysboro HS wrote: “Jonas Schaldemose got a PR today at 13’-7.25″. Video courtesy of Julie Schaldemose. https://t.co/vDwNkoE2kj”. The following day, March 29, the school’s account shared two additional posts containing links: “https://t.co/k2E7k2CwYh” and “https://t.co/Dr4iPxxxPo”.
Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186 serves Jackson County and includes several schools such as Carruthers Elementary School, General John A. Logan Attendance Centre, McElvain School, Murphysboro High School, and Murphysboro Middle School (source). The district had an enrollment of 1,947 students during the 2019-2020 school year and provides education from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade across Harrison and Jackson counties (source).
According to data from the Illinois State Board of Education, the district employs 147 teachers with an average salary of $53,770 before pension contributions; nearly three-quarters are women. There were no teachers with more than ten absences in a school year (source). The student body is composed of approximately 69 percent White students, with Black and Hispanic students representing about 16 percent and seven percent respectively (source). In terms of spending, the district allocated $19,142 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure exceeding $37 million (source).
Chronic truancy was reported at a rate of 6.7 percent for the district in the same year—below the statewide average—amounting to 130 students classified as “chronically truant” by state standards (source).
