Education
New Champaign Unit 4 superintendent brings back some former cabinet members into other leadership roles
Angela Ward, Mike Lehr and Henry Walker will become an interim high school principal, a secondary director and a principal supervisor.
U of I’s historic round barns set for renovations following $10M alum gift
The historic round barns on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus are being renovated thanks to a $10 million donation from Leah Wightman,
This large Chicago high school rarely suspends its students
Schools in Illinois suspend Black students at much higher rates than white students. Kenwood Academy High School on Chicago’s South Side stands out for bucking that trend.
This Springfield high school has one of the highest rates of suspensions for Black students in Illinois
There were fewer than 500 Black students at Lanphier High School in the 2024-2025 school year, but they received almost four times that number of in-school and out-of-school suspensions.
This Rockford middle school disciplines Black students more than any school in Illinois
Schools in Illinois discipline Black students at much higher rates than white students.
A Rockford middle school is an outlier for handing out the most discipline violations per Black student of any school in the state.
New Unit 4 superintendent hires new cabinet, one current member staying
On Monday, the Unit 4 school board approved three more members of Geovanny Ponce’s new cabinet.
KIDS COUNT data ranks Illinois 7th in the nation in education
The report looks at dozens of indicators including high school graduation rates, standardized test scores, and chronic absences.
Rantoul Township High School superintendent ‘pleased’ with state budget, hoping for more transportation funding
Rantoul Township High School Superintendent Scott Amerio said he is pleased with the increase to the evidence-based funding formula. But he would like to see additional funding for transportation services.
These junior high students championed the black and gold bumblebee. Now it’s the Illinois state bee
While most student research projects end up in a storage bin in the attic, one that 8th graders at Naperville’s Lincoln Junior High worked on is now state law.
Schools to get funding increase, but less than some had urged
Illinois lawmakers passed a budget Monday morning that includes a full $350 million increase in Evidence-Based Funding for public schools, money earmarked specifically for the neediest school districts in the state.
University of Illinois student struggles as family’s sole provider following his uncle’s deportation
Reynaldo Camas-Aranda grew up in a house with his uncle, aunt and mother in Cicero. His uncle’s arrest during Operation Midway Blitz has strained the family’s finances.
Yankee Ridge students head to Sola Gratia Farm for the last time this spring – with the program’s future uncertain
This week could be the last Friday on the Farm, because the grants supporting Urbana District 116’s Farm to School program run out at the end of June.