Chicago rap duo Mother Nature brings mental health skills to Unit 4 school
CHAMPAIGN – A fourth grader takes the microphone at Booker T. Washington STEM Academy in Champaign, to cheers from his classmates. Professional hip hop artists – who go by the stage names Klevah and TRUTH – have set clear rules for the freestyling circle, or cypher, over the course of a week with the students. […]
Booker T. Washington students focus on ‘fun science’ on Fridays
CHAMPAIGN — A second grader asks the University of Illinois graduate student to test out the egg parachute he’s holding. It’s “Fab Friday” at Booker T. Washington STEM Academy in Champaign, where students spend half the day with visitors from various math and science careers. “I’ve got a lot of kids that don’t think they […]
Unit 4 tentative teacher contract includes longer day of 35 minutes for elementary students, 5 minutes for teachers
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign Unit 4 School District teachers vote on their new contract on Tuesday, the day they had originally planned to go on strike. Illinois Newsroom obtained copies of the draft agreement and pay scale. Read those documents here and here. Unit 4 and the Champaign Federation of Teachers have tentatively agreed to lengthen […]
C-U administrators: Schools can be places of refuge, if done right
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 […]
Despite CDC changes, Illinois students still quarantine for 10 days — for now
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 […]