Teacher, custodian unions grill candidates for Champaign Unit 4 school board on shortages, Black Lives Matter
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.
Some school board candidates this year are pushing to limit lessons on Black history. Where do Champaign Unit 4 candidates stand?
Six candidates say students should learn African American history and the history of racism. The seventh, business owner Mark Holm, declined to be interviewed.
Parkland raises tuition after end of COVID-19 relief
For the average Parkland College student taking classes full-time, tuition and student fee increases will add up to an additional $225 more a semester.
Illinois physician writes children’s book on how to be a first responder
The idea for “Ava Saves The Day” occurred to Breyanna Grays while working with stroke and heart attack patients in emergency rooms.
What does National African American Parent Involvement Day mean in Urbana schools?
For Briesha Jackson, the day is an intergenerational commitment.
University of Illinois continues to house over 800 Native American ancestral remains
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is one of many universities behind in repatriating Native American ancestral remains — as required by law.
University of Illinois designs social media platform to connect to high school students
Associate Chancellor Christopher Span is modeling the platform on sites like Instagram and TikTok, because that’s where teens spend much of their time.
University of Illinois grad student starts Asian American history workshops for teens
Graduate student Yingying Han wants students to understand their history within the United States. She hopes this will help them understand and combat racism they may experience themselves.
Champaign school board keeps schools of choice, modifies middle school assignments
Unlike initial plans, no students will have to switch schools next year – except the 13 students who live west of Champaign in Bondville.
Champaign Unit 4 parents asked: does desegregation help close achievement gaps? Here’s what five education researchers say.
“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.
How will ten Champaign County high schoolers continue Dr. King’s dream? Through environmental, health and housing justice.
“I want to help as many people as possible get the mental health that they need and deserve,” says scholarship winner Halie Thompson.
Champaign Unit 4 superintendent recommends keeping current schools of choice system
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.
Urbana’s school board paused its vote for one Spanish-English school. Now, dual language parents and teachers are setting a deadline.
URBANA – The Urbana school board will reconsider in January how to establish a fully dual-language elementary school for Spanish and English. This comes after renewed pressure from dual language teachers and families. The district currently has two schools with partial-building, dual-language programs. “White privileged families and community members can and do fight for justice […]
Parent backlash delayed school desegregation plans in Champaign. What are the options now?
CHAMPAIGN – After parent backlash, the Champaign Unit 4 school board has a new option for further desegregating schools – keeping student placements mostly the same. Consulting firm Cooperative Strategies presented this new option to the Unit 4 Board of Education on Monday. The board hired the consulting firm to improve racial and class equity […]
Urbana decide mantener las clases bilingües de español en las escuelas primarias Leal y Dr. Preston Williams
El consejo escolar de Urbana ha decidido no combinar sus dos programas bilingües de español en una sola escuela: Leal Elementary. El cambio hubiera movido a unos 170 estudiantes de las clases monolingües de inglés de la escuela primaria Leal a la escuela primaria Dr. Preston L. Williams Jr. y a otras escuelas cercanas. Aproximadamente […]
