URBANA – Students learn in both French and English at Yankee Ridge Elementary School on the south side of Urbana. Yankee Ridge hosts Urbana School District 116’s only French dual-language program. “It’s not just beneficial to our students who are learning English,” said Yankee Ridge principal Mykah Jackson. “It’s also important for our students who…
CHAMPAIGN – Students at Kenwood Elementary had a special visitor on Tuesday. Newbery-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly — a Filipina-American children’s book author — conducted a brainstorming session via Zoom with the students. She then spun a story out of the class’ brainstorm. Trevor Nadrozny is the principal at Kenwood Elementary School in Champaign. He…
DECATUR — Two Special Education programs housed at Decatur Public Schools are combining next year. Administrators worry that the change has prompted misinformation to spread. “We want our new students to feel welcome. It’s not a scary place. It’s not a jail. People have almost made those correlations,” says Social Emotional Alternative Program Principal Jessica…
URBANA — Urbana School District 116 is debating whether to keep police officers in its schools for another three years. Staff and students want them to stay, according to limited survey data and anecdotes from students, teachers and administrators. Taren Nance is the principal at Urbana High School. He says students trust the officer at…
CHAMPAIGN – A fourth grader takes the microphone at Booker T. Washington STEM Academy in Champaign, to cheers from his classmates. Professional hip hop artists – who go by the stage names Klevah and TRUTH – have set clear rules for the freestyling circle, or cypher, over the course of a week with the students….
CHAMPAIGN — A second grader asks the University of Illinois graduate student to test out the egg parachute he’s holding. It’s “Fab Friday” at Booker T. Washington STEM Academy in Champaign, where students spend half the day with visitors from various math and science careers. “I’ve got a lot of kids that don’t think they…
Registration closes Saturday for those wishing to select a school for their Champaign Unit 4 kindergartener. Families rank all 12 of the district’s elementary schools in the registration process. Then a computer algorithm places students based on the ranking and a few other factors, like where siblings attend. Orlando Thomas is the executive director of…
CHAMPAIGN — Teacher salaries in Illinois have not kept up with inflation. That’s true nationwide, according to new research by the labor union, the National Education Association. Champaign Federation of Teachers co-president Mike Sitch says he’s particularly worried about young teachers right now. “Those [young] individuals usually feel the pain of inflation more than the…
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign-Urbana nonprofits are using COVID-19 relief to help victims of labor and sex trafficking free themselves. To become free and independent, victims need a legal status via a trafficking – or “T” — visa. Lisa Wilson is the executive director of The Refugee Center in Champaign. She says T visa applicants need a…
CHAMPAIGN – Instead of practicing their swings, the baseball players were designing a remote-control car. The First String Little League coaches had decided to give the players a break that rainy afternoon. A handful still showed up to the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club in Champaign to build a small, Jackie Robinson-themed car. “They’re…
CHAMPAIGN – If the Champaign Police Department has enough staff, the Champaign Unit 4 School District Board of Education wants to reinstate resource officers – or SROs – at schools. Six school board members voted to renew the SRO contract at Monday’s meeting. Board member Elizabeth Sotiropoulos voted no. She said the board resolved to…
CHAMPAIGN — The Unit 4 Board of Education unanimously approved a new teacher contract on Monday. This ends months of negotiations with the Champaign Federation of Teachers. The disagreement over whether to add time to the elementary school day almost led to a teacher strike. School board member Gianina Baker says the conflict over the…
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign Unit 4 School District teachers voted 76 percent to 24 percent on Tuesday to ratify their new contract, rather than go on strike. The contract would lengthen the school day, something the Unit 4 Board of Education has pushed but teachers say will burn them out. Champaign Federation of Teachers co-president Mike…
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign Unit 4 School District teachers vote on their new contract on Tuesday, the day they had originally planned to go on strike. Illinois Newsroom obtained copies of the draft agreement and pay scale. Read those documents here and here. Unit 4 and the Champaign Federation of Teachers have tentatively agreed to lengthen…
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign Unit 4 teachers have a tentative contract agreement with the district. In an email to union members early Wednesday morning, Champaign Federation of Teachers leadership says there will be a vote for teachers to ratify the contract on Tuesday April 5th, the day teachers had planned to go on strike. Speaking at…