Sam Banks and Mark Holm selected to join Champaign Unit 4 school board after months of turmoil
The Champaign-Ford Regional Office of Education announced the selection Friday, after months of turbulence on the Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education.
The Champaign-Ford Regional Office of Education announced the selection Friday, after months of turbulence on the Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education.
Eight candidates showed up to the Champaign Unit 4 school board meeting Tuesday to interview for two empty seats. Because board members Amy Armstrong and Betsy Holder were absent in protest, there weren’t enough members to hold the meeting.
CHAMPAIGN — Two school board members walked out of Monday’s Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education meeting, preventing the others from taking any action. This follows the resignation of two other board members, including Jamar Brown, earlier in March. “After my first term, I dubbed that experience as the best thing that I never wanted
Sen. Tammy Duckworth has been introducing her School Bus Safety Act since 2018. It would require all school buses be equipped with seat belts, automatic breaks and other safety features.
The Unit 4 School District decided to add grades to both Garden Hills and International Prep Academy last year. The rationale was to decrease pre-kindergarten and middle school overcrowding, as well as promote socioeconomic diversity.
Some sessions focused on how to teach amidst political backlash, while others helped attendees learn which children’s books were helpful and which promoted stereotypes.
Governor J-B Pritzker and other state officials visited Champaign’s International Prep Academy Wednesday, part of the governor’s tour of the state to promote education spending in the new state budget.
Current Franklin STEAM Academy Principal Sara Sanders was asked by Champaign Unit 4 Superintendent Shelia Boozer to take on the role.
Over 75 percent of Illinois students with disabilities would see reduced supports, according to the US Department of Education.
Betsy Holder, Amy Armstrong, Jamar Brown and Mark Thies have won the largest share of votes.
About three-quarters of districts in Illinois are struggling to hire bus drivers, cafeteria workers and teachers’ aides. Workers in Champaign want to know how future board members will help them.
Six candidates say students should learn African American history and the history of racism. The seventh, business owner Mark Holm, declined to be interviewed.
Unlike initial plans, no students will have to switch schools next year – except the 13 students who live west of Champaign in Bondville.
“A lot of research suggests that that attending a high-socioeconomic status (SES) school kind of rubs off on you – more than your own SES even. It’s kind of amazing,” Palardy says.
The Unit 4 school board hired a consulting firm to figure out how to further desegregate its schools. But after months of parent pushback, both the company and the district superintendent are recommending keeping the current schools of choice system, with some tweaks.