Ariana and Andres Loor grew up in Champaign. Throughout their childhood, they were placed in dual-language classrooms to help them learn Spanish. Now a 20-year-old student at Parkland College, Ariana said she is still learning the language. “I am still trying to learn Spanish because I mean, you can only get better,” Ariana said. Even…
URBANA – The Urbana school board will reconsider in January how to establish a fully dual-language elementary school for Spanish and English. This comes after renewed pressure from dual language teachers and families. The district currently has two schools with partial-building, dual-language programs. “White privileged families and community members can and do fight for justice…
CHAMPAIGN – After parent backlash, the Champaign Unit 4 school board has a new option for further desegregating schools – keeping student placements mostly the same. Consulting firm Cooperative Strategies presented this new option to the Unit 4 Board of Education on Monday. The board hired the consulting firm to improve racial and class equity…
URBANA – According to many financial experts, you should spend no more than 30 percent of your gross monthly income on housing. For renters, that includes utility costs like heat, water, and power. But following that advice is a challenge for many people in Champaign-Urbana. Housing is the subject of a public discussion in downtown Champaign…
El consejo escolar de Urbana ha decidido no combinar sus dos programas bilingües de español en una sola escuela: Leal Elementary. El cambio hubiera movido a unos 170 estudiantes de las clases monolingües de inglés de la escuela primaria Leal a la escuela primaria Dr. Preston L. Williams Jr. y a otras escuelas cercanas. Aproximadamente…
The Urbana school board has decided not to merge its two Spanish, dual language programs into one school – Leal Elementary. The change would have moved about 170 students in Leal Elementary School’s monolingual English classes to Dr. Preston L. Williams Jr. Elementary School and other nearby schools. About 160 dual language students from DPW…
WASHINGTON — New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries has been elected House Democratic leader and will become in the new year the first Black American to lead a major political party in Congress. Democrats met Wednesday behind closed doors for the internal party elections as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside. House Democrats are…
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump is drawing criticism for dining with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. The meeting came days after Trump launched his third campaign for the White House. Trump had dinner Tuesday evening at his Mar-a-Lago club with West, who is now known as…
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The man suspected of opening fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs is being held on murder and hate crimes charges. The charges surfaced in online court records Monday, two days after the attack that killed five people and wounded many others. The charges were preliminary, and prosecutors had not…
URBANA – The deadly mass shooting at a Colorado nightclub was on the minds of Urbana churchgoers as they remembered transgender people who were violently killed. Nearly 50 people gathered Sunday night at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Urbana-Champaign. The vigil was already scheduled to remember transgender people murdered within the last year but had extra…
URBANA — State Representative Chris Miller of Illinois’ 110th district won re-election in last week’s midterms. He ran unopposed and will soon serve his third term in office. Miller, the Coles County Republican, attended the “Save America” rally in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, which preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. A…
URBANA – El Dia De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, originated in Mexico to remember those who have passed away. The holiday takes place on November 1st and 2nd. Although the holiday originated in Mexico, it has started to be developed in other countries. La Casa Cultural Latina was able to share a…
When immigrants arrive in Urbana-Champaign, local organizations ensure those without resources receive beds, baby clothes and diapers. The Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc. and I-CAUSE, a student organization that supports DACA students, hosted an event on November 2nd to educate peers about the immigrant community outside of campus. Visitors at the event were able…
DES MOINES, Ia. — Last spring, two pregnant women who had recently arrived from Myanmar showed up at Abigail Sui’s home in Des Moines, Iowa. They needed help finding prenatal care. Sui, a program director for EMBARC, an Iowa-based nonprofit that supports immigrants, figured she could help these women navigate the health care system. “Because…
SAVOY — The Savoy Village Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend the Champaign Unit 4 School District reinstate neighborhood schools. The Savoy Board of Trustees said they were reflecting concerns Savoy parents had brought to them. “I believe what you’re all saying is that you want to promote neighborhood schools with a goal of…