CHAMPAIGN – As Champaign teachers prepare for a possible strike, a Unit 4 School District Board of Education member explained the district’s side of contract negotiations. The board has otherwise declined all interview requests and provided generic, written statements instead. Board member Bruce Brown spoke at Monday’s meeting. He emphasized that elementary school teachers would
CHAMPAIGN — Schools should change to fit their students’ cultures, not the other way around. That was one theme at Illinois Public Media’s News, Brews and Beatz conversation on Monday night. “Like we all know, if you’re a person of color, you are constantly reprocessing what you’re saying to make sure it fits in,” said
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign Unit 4 teachers have voted to authorize a strike rather than accept a recent contract offered by the district. If negotiations falter over the next month and teachers do strike, families may suddenly need to find childcare. One place families can turn for help is the Child Care Resource Service. Based on
CHAMPAIGN — Two weeks after Champaign teachers voted to allow a potential strike, one parent is experiencing déjà vu. Amy Dunn was in sixth grade in 1986 when negotiations broke down between Homer teachers and their school board. Teachers went on a strike that lasted eight months – possibly the longest teachers’ strike in U.S.
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign teachers are willing to strike to protest Unit 4’s latest contract offer. That contract would extend the elementary school day by 50 minutes, starting in the fall of 2023. On Wednesday, about 700 Unit 4 teachers gathered at Jefferson Middle School in Champaign. 91 percent voted to authorize their union to strike.
CHAMPAIGN – More than 350 Champaign teachers rallied on Monday over contract negotiations, and they will vote on Wednesday about authorizing a strike. At issue — whether Unit 4 should extend the elementary school day. Contract negotiations between the Unit 4 School District and the Champaign Federation of Teachers have stalled in recent weeks. The
Students and staff at Urbana public schools only need to isolate for five days after testing positive for COVID-19. District 116 made the change on Monday, after federal, state and local public health agencies all greenlighted the new quarantine guidance. District 116 Superintendent Jennifer Ivory-Tatum said students and staff who are still sick with a
CHAMPAIGN — The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has halved the number of days of isolation recommended for those sick with COVID-19. Illinois school districts have not made that change – yet. The difference has caused enough confusion among parents that the Champaign Unit 4 School District superintendent had to email out a
CHAMPAIGN — The first pandemic-era standardized test results are out. Student achievement dropped all over Illinois, including in local school districts. Champaign Unit 4 fifth grade teacher Kim Tate sees pandemic stress as one reason behind the test score decline. “There’s that element of, ‘I have other priorities and concerns and even trauma.’ Because I
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign substitute teachers will now earn at least $140 per day – $30 more than they were making before. The Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education approved the raise on Monday evening, following a similar move from neighboring school boards. “We’ve reviewed our rates and determined that we are no longer competitive with
CHAMPAIGN — Learning did slow last year during pandemic school – especially for the state’s most vulnerable students. The Illinois State Board of Education dropped this information on Friday morning in its annual report card. “We need to recognize that for our Black and Hispanic children, remote learning was not very effective, particularly for English
CHAMPAIGN – Chicago-based security company AGB will continue to guard Champaign public schools this year. The company won out against the other bidder for the work — Stockholm-based Securitas. The Champaign Unit 4 School District Board of Education unanimously approved the contract on Monday, with questions about how the company has done so far. “There’s
CHAMPAIGN – A Champaign Unit 4 school bus was struck by gunfire Thursday while transporting students home. No students or staff were injured. A statement from the Champaign Police Department says officers responded to the area of Neil Street and Arcadia Drive just before 3 pm for the report of shots fired. Police found a crash involving
CHAMPAIGN — The Champaign Unit Four School Board is set to review a new program aimed at narrowing the racial achievement gap at its April 26 meeting. On April 20, the Champaign City Council renewed its support for the program, which is called LIFT Champaign. The city and school district are working together to launch