The pre-K through 8 students in the DPS 61 Extended Day program had higher attendance, higher reading scores and fewer disciplinary issues than their peers, according to the district.
While the focus of federal COVID-19 relief money for schools was on recovering from the pandemic, districts were allowed to use some for construction. For many districts, it was a once-in-a-lifetime infusion of cash.
URBANA – The Urbana City Council is expected to officially award almost $10 million in federal pandemic relief money on Feb. 27. Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin said the proposed plan includes investing in improvements to community health, access to food and recreation. “These funds were distributed to cities to help cities themselves recover from COVID-19,
Final vote on funding to come in lame duck session in January SPRINGFIELD — On the final day of their fall veto session, Illinois lawmakers on Thursday advanced a pair of bills that would infuse $1.8 billion into the state’s unemployment trust fund, which was depleted during the economic shutdown brought on by the COVID-19
CHAMPAIGN — Cities across the United States saw a spike in violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration encouraged cities to turn to one-time, relief dollars for help. While Champaign signed contracts with grassroots, violence prevention groups, many places instead invested in traditional policing – even when they reported spending the money on alternatives.
CHAMPAIGN — A new coalition of small nonprofits aims to tackle gun violence in Champaign County. Called H3 for “harm,” “healing” and “hope,” the coalition is the brainchild of FirstFollowers. The non-profit group helps formerly incarcerated people with their re-entry into society. “Although my organization’s name is on it, it’s not a FirstFollowers initiative,” explains FirstFollowers
CHAMPAIGN – School districts in Illinois will receive $7 billion in federal funding over three years for kindergarten through high school education. The influx of cash comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, the latest federal COVID-19 stimulus package, which Congress passed earlier this year. This funding is in addition other monies provided by the