CHAMPAIGN – Champaign Unit 4 elementary school students will have the option to return to some in-person instruction at the end of this month. Unit 4 officials unveiled plans this week to bring students back into classrooms for shortened school days. The first day of in-person instruction is scheduled for Oct. 27. Parents can still
Twenty-one Champaign Unit 4 students were arrested during the 2013-14 school year — 19 of them were Black — according to documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request. During the 2015-16 school year, 17 students were arrested — of which 15 were Black. But the federal government thinks there were no arrests. That’s
Sierra is in a bind. She and her husband have two children — ages three and nine years old — and they live in Urbana. Sierra’s 9-year-old son is attending school remotely this fall, because the local school district has deemed it unsafe to reopen for in-person instruction. While she and her husband placed their
CHAMPAIGN – Some Illinois school officials are upset that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not extended waivers that would allow districts to continue serving free meals to all students under 18 years of age. In a typical school year, students must meet specific criteria to qualify for the USDA-operated National School Lunch Program. Families
CHAMPAIGN – In a change of direction, the Champaign Unit 4 school district has announced that fall classes will be held on a remote basis only, through at least mid-October, as a continuing precaution against spreading COVID-19. Unit 4 Superintendent Susan Zola said in a statement released Wednesday evening that the district will use Distance
CHAMPAIGN – The Champaign Unit 4 School District is changing their reopening plans for this fall. At a meeting this week, the district’s Board of Education asked school administrators to target special education, emergent bilingual learners and other vulnerable students for in-person instruction — with everyone else beginning the school year virtually. The district released
Champaign Unit 4 Schools Superintendent Susan Zola says the district is on track to meet the digital needs of its families as e-learning continues through the end of the school year. In general, she has a positive outlook on the remainder of the school year, as well as what might be in store for the
Champaign Unit 4 Schools Superintendent Susan Zola wrote in a message to families last Friday that the district will continue to ensure students have access to meals and learning materials while at home. The message came shortly after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade schools statewide would remain closed through the end
The Champaign and Urbana school districts are distributing Chromebooks to students who need the devices. Champaign schools have so far distributed about 1,000 Chromebooks to district families, according to Unit 4 spokesperson, John Lyday. Courtney Harmon, an Urbana District 116 parent, picked up a Chromebook for her six-year-old son last week. Her son attends Yankee