Moline Rotary

Registration is now open for the World’s Largest Polio Walk in the Quad Cities!

Join Rotary members, families, friends and community members on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Vibrant Arena in Moline as we walk together to raise awareness and support the worldwide effort to eradicate polio.

The walk begins at 10 a.m. and registration is FREE at poliowalk.org.

We are also looking for Quad Cities-area polio survivors to be recognized during a special ceremony at 9:30 a.m. before the walk. Survivors interested in participating should contact Forrest Meyer at 319-530-1558 or [email protected] by Oct. 20.

Twelve Quad Cities Rotary clubs are joining nearly 40,000 Rotarians across 11 states and two countries for this special World Polio Day event.

Bring your family, invite your friends and help us show what our community can accomplish together!

Saturday, Oct. 24
Vibrant Arena, Moline
9:30 a.m. — Polio Survivor Recognition
10 a.m. — Walk Begins
FREE registration: poliowalk.org

Join the Moline Rotary Club for our Annual Club Picnic on Monday, September 28 at noon at Rotary’s Glenn Medhus Pavilion in Riverside Park!

It’s a great chance to enjoy lunch, fellowship and time together in one of Moline’s beautiful parks. Members, guests and friends of Rotary are welcome.

📍 Rotary’s Glenn Medhus Pavilion
Riverside Park
3300 5th Avenue, Moline, IL

We hope to see you there!

MOLINE — Moline-Coal Valley School District Superintendent Dr. Rachel Savage told Moline Rotary members Monday that the district is seeing continued progress while also facing ongoing challenges tied to attendance, mental health, school safety and growing student needs.

Savage said the district serves about 7,300 students and employs just over 1,000 full- and part-time staff members. The district includes 15 schools: 10 elementary schools, an early childhood center, two middle schools, Moline High School and Aspire, the district’s alternative school.

She said diversity continues to be one of the district’s defining characteristics, with more than 60 languages reported as being spoken in students’ homes.

About 62% of district students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Savage said that level of need requires the district to use its resources carefully and work closely with outside organizations to provide additional support to students and families.

“Our community partners help fill in all the different nooks and crannies and cracks of needs that our families have,” she said.

The district’s stated priorities include fostering student growth, creating safe and welcoming schools, strengthening community partnerships and helping students become more resilient.

Savage said one of the district’s strongest indicators is its teacher retention rate, which stands at about 95%.

She said Moline-Coal Valley has largely avoided the teacher shortage problems facing many other districts.

“Our teachers come and they stay,” Savage said.

Average elementary class sizes are about 21 to 22 students.

Moline-Coal Valley is the 26th-largest school district in Illinois and is a member of the Large Unit District Association, which connects larger pre-K through 12 districts throughout the state.

Savage also provided an update on several district construction projects.

At Moline High School, the district is renovating restrooms and developing a new trades suite in Room D101. The space will give students hands-on experience in areas such as electrical work, plumbing and other skilled trades.

Savage said the goal is to better prepare students who may later enter trade programs at Black Hawk College or other post-secondary institutions.

She also said a new right-turn lane at Moline High School has helped improve traffic flow during arrival and dismissal times.

The district’s largest current project is the construction of Ontiveros Elementary School at the Lincoln-Irving site.

The existing Lincoln-Irving building is being renovated, while a roughly 44,000-square-foot addition is being constructed.

Ontiveros School is expected to open next August and will combine students from Lincoln-Irving and Willard Elementary.

Students will become the Ontiveros Owls.

Savage said this will be the final school year for Willard Elementary, which is about 128 years old.

She said the district prefers to describe the building as being “retired” rather than closed.

Willard has served the community for more than a century, but Savage said the building has major limitations, including a lack of full ADA accessibility and the inability to fully air-condition the school.

Lincoln-Irving students are currently attending school in Buildings A and B at Western Illinois University’s Quad Cities campus while construction is underway.

Savage credited Western, MetroLINK, staff members, families and students for making the temporary move successful.

The district is also looking ahead to a possible future project involving the old Coolidge School site.

Savage said Coolidge will likely be torn down and the site could eventually be used for another larger elementary school.

She said the district has found advantages in larger elementary schools with multiple classrooms at each grade level because staffing and support services can be consolidated more efficiently.

Savage also addressed several areas where the district continues to struggle.

Attendance remains one of the biggest concerns.

She said attendance rates have not rebounded as quickly as district leaders had hoped following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students who attend school regularly are significantly outperforming students who miss school frequently, Savage said.

The district’s chronic absenteeism rate declined by 16% last year, although she said more improvement is still needed.

Savage also discussed school safety, saying planning for physical, mental and psychological safety is ongoing.

“That work is never done,” she said.

The district continues to update safety plans and practices while adapting to changing technology, staffing and other circumstances.

Mental health is another growing concern.

The district has counselors, psychologists and social workers and also works with organizations including the Youth Service Bureau, Robert Young Center and local hospitals.

Savage said those resources are important but still do not meet the full level of need seen among students.

She also described social media as a major challenge for schools.

While social media can be used to promote positive events and student accomplishments, Savage said it can also contribute to bullying, threats and conflicts that carry into school.

Savage said the district is making progress in other areas, including results from the Illinois 5Essentials Survey.

The survey measures five areas: involved families, collaborative teachers and staff, ambitious instruction, effective leaders and supportive environments.

The district has set a goal of earning strong ratings in all five categories by 2028.

Savage said she is also proud of the district’s Board of Education, calling members dedicated volunteers who give their time to the district.

She said the board currently includes parents of district students and praised members for taking on what she described as a difficult but important role.

Savage said the district remains proud of its progress, but acknowledged that many of its greatest challenges cannot be solved by the schools alone.

She said continued cooperation among families, educators and community organizations will remain an important part of the district’s work.

Join the Moline Rotary Club on Monday, September 21 at noon as we welcome Dr. Rachel Savage, Superintendent of Moline-Coal Valley CUSD, for a New School Year Update.

Dr. Savage will share an update on the new school year, discuss key priorities and initiatives for students and families, and look ahead at opportunities and the future of our local schools.

The meeting will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1330 13th Street in Moline.

We look forward to an informative program and a great conversation about education in our community.

Service Above Self

Quad Cities Marathon Founder Shares the Heart Behind the Race

We enjoyed hearing today from Joe Moreno, founder and race director of the TBK Bank Quad Cities Marathon, who shared how an idea to bring a marathon to the Quad Cities has grown into one of the region’s signature events.

Next year will mark the marathon’s 30th anniversary, and Joe is still leading an effort that now includes approximately 1,000 volunteers, a 60-member committee and a nine-member board.

Joe likes to describe the weekend as five races through four cities, over three bridges, in two states and through one island. While the word “marathon” can sound intimidating, the weekend also includes a half marathon, 10K, 5K and five-person relay, giving runners of many different abilities a chance to participate.

The event has earned recognition as the No. 1 marathon in Illinois outside of Chicago, and this year the Road Runners Club of America selected the TBK Bank Quad Cities Marathon to host its national marathon championship.

But Joe made clear that the event is about much more than running. Proceeds support ZERO Prostate Cancer, and the marathon’s Shoes for Kids program provides more than 500 local children each year with new ASICS shoes, with school nurses and staff helping identify children who need them most.

Through its Charity Bib Program, runners can also raise money for local organizations, with 100% of those funds going directly to the participating charities.

Perhaps the most meaningful part for Joe comes at the finish line. For nearly 30 years, he has stood there high-fiving finishers—seeing the tears, excitement and sense of accomplishment from runners completing their first marathon, a bucket-list goal, or sometimes their final marathon.

Thank you, Joe, for sharing the story behind an event that has become such an important part of the Quad Cities community!

Moline High School welcomed a new group of Student Rotarians during a recent Rotary meeting.

Moline High School Principal Jeff Whitaker introduced the six seniors selected to participate: Enzo Gomez, Mya Johnson, Connor Morel, Max Gentry, Rylee Thompson and Calla Graham.

The Student Rotarian program gives local students an opportunity to learn more about Rotary, community service and leadership while meeting and interacting with community members throughout the school year.

Reminder: Moline Rotary will not meet on Monday, September 7, in observance of Labor Day. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing you at our next meeting!

Morrissey Shares Lessons from the Gridiron with Moline Rotary

Moline High School Head Football Coach Mike Morrissey joined Moline Rotary Monday, offering members an inside look at the Maroons’ football program, the challenges facing this year’s team and the values he hopes his players carry with them long after their playing days are over.

Morrissey acknowledged that Moline has opened the season 0-2, a start made more difficult by a number of injuries, including several to returning all-conference players. Despite the adversity, he said the program’s approach remains the same: the next player has to be ready to step up.

Rather than viewing an injury simply as a setback, Morrissey said it also creates an opportunity for another young man to compete and represent the football program, Moline High School and the community.

The Maroons have faced quality competition and had opportunities in both of their opening games, Morrissey said, but were unable to capitalize and finish. As Moline moves into its conference schedule, he remains optimistic about what the team can accomplish.

“We have some really good kids, some really tough kids,” Morrissey told Rotarians.

Much of Morrissey’s message, however, went far beyond wins and losses.
He discussed the principles emphasized throughout the Moline program, including effort, blocking, tackling, attention to detail, discipline and ex*****on. While some of those concepts are obviously connected to football, Morrissey said the most important lessons apply almost anywhere.

Detail, discipline and ex*****on, for example, are qualities young people will need in school, their careers and throughout their lives. They become particularly important, he said, when adversity arrives and a person is “pushed against the wall a little bit.”

That philosophy is also why Morrissey does not want his players to define themselves solely as football players.
The Moline coaching staff encourages students to participate in other sports, clubs and activities and to take advantage of everything high school has to offer.

“It’s your experience,” Morrissey said. “We want you to get out there and we want you to be a part of other teams and other clubs and other activities.”

Morrissey has also become a respected voice in the coaching profession beyond the Quad Cities. He told Rotarians he has had opportunities to speak at coaching events in Indianapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Detroit and Chicago.
He currently serves as a vice president of the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association and is in line to become president of the organization in two years. That work has provided opportunities to participate in the association’s Hall of Fame banquet and coaching clinic and to spend time with University of Illinois Head Coach Bret Bielema and the Illini program.

Morrissey also shared a little family football humor. He grew up an Iowa Hawkeye fan and his father played football at Iowa, but family connections to the University of Illinois — including former Moline standout Matthew Bailey and Morrissey’s brother-in-law working with the Illini football program — have shifted loyalties in the Morrissey household.
For Rotary members, Morrissey’s presentation offered a reminder that while Friday nights may be measured on a scoreboard, the larger goal of high school athletics is preparing young people for everything that comes afterward.

Moline High School Interact Launches Feed Moline Initiative

Members of the Moline High School Interact Club visited Moline Rotary to share an ambitious new service project designed to support families throughout the Moline-Coal Valley School District.

The initiative, called Feed Moline, grew out of the club’s work developing the Maroon Market at Moline High School. What began as an effort to provide food to students has expanded into a broader program aimed at helping families across the entire school district.

Feed Moline’s mission is to create “a Moline where every family has enough to eat, every neighbor feels supported, and every table has room for one more.”
The program provides much more than food. Families can also receive hygiene products such as shampoo and conditioner, household necessities and other resources through the pantry.

Interact members spend time each week packing food boxes and preparing items for distribution, turning the project into both a community service effort and an opportunity for students to build friendships through their shared commitment to helping others.

Now, the students hope to take Feed Moline another step forward by beginning a community meal program.
Their goal is to host at least one larger meal each month where families from throughout the Moline-Coal Valley School District can come together for a free meal. Families attending would also be able to receive food boxes and learn more about additional resources available through Feed Moline and the school district.

The Interact Club hopes to hold its first community meal toward the end of September.

To make that possible, the students are currently seeking food and monetary donations. As the community meals begin, they also anticipate needing volunteers to help prepare and serve meals.

Donations to Feed Moline also support free family meal nights, food storage and distribution through the Maroon Market, hygiene and household resources, and holiday meal kits for local families.

Suggested sponsorship levels include $50, $100, $250 and $500, although support at any level can help the students continue building the program.

For Moline Rotary, it was an opportunity to see our Interact students putting the Rotary principle of Service Above Self into action. Their goal isn’t simply to distribute food — it is to build a bigger table, bring families together and create a lasting network of support within the Moline community.

Join us Monday at Moline Rotary as we welcome Mike Morrissey, Head Football Coach at Moline High School! Coach Morrissey will preview the 2026 Moline Maroons football season, talk about this year’s team, and share what’s ahead for Moline football.
Monday, August 31 at noon at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1330 13th Street in Moline. Guests are always welcome!