A student farming program is expanding in urban schools. Here’s what city kids get out of FFA
Program advisors say students are learning skills that can help them work in a wide range of industries — from biotech to cosmetology.
Tag: schools
Enrollment at Illinois public K-12 schools is down 10% over the past decade. Will some schools have to close?
Schools closing isn’t super common, but it does happen. Data WNIJ obtained from the Illinois State Board of Education shows 72 public schools have closed in the past five years.
Rural schools face unique challenges filling positions
Districts finding creative solutions to persistent shortage.
Illinois schools turn to retirees, substitutes, outsourcing & state grants to combat prolonged teacher shortage
Annual educators’ survey showed lack of applicants, salary issues and poor working conditions among main causes.
Midgets no more? Bill would require Freeburg High School to change its mascot
A bill introduced in the Illinois General Assembly would prohibit public schools from using discriminatory references to disabilities as mascots — requiring Freeburg High School to phase out Midgets by 2028. Little people with dwarfism consider the term to be dehumanizing and derogatory. “We don’t want to erase history,” said Shelby Holloway, co-director of Mascots Matter, a national
Illinois switching to ACT exams for state assessments
High school students to start new exams in spring 2025.
Closings, delays and remote days for January 25
Illinois Public Media is tracking a winter storm system. Forecasters expect it to bring heavy snow to Central Illinois on January 25. This story will be updated. Closed Decatur Public Schools: no school for students on January 25. All athletic and school activities are also canceled. This ‘snow day’ will be made up at the
A Chicago private school defends LGBTQ sex ed after right-wing viral video
CHICAGO – An elite Chicago private school tightened security and disabled its Twitter and Facebook accounts after a video of its dean of students secretly recorded by a conservative group went viral on Wednesday. The video captures the dean talking last week about a visit to Francis W. Parker School by an LGBTQ health organization to
Schools, students still recovering from pandemic learning loss, state report card shows
SPRINGFIELD – Student test scores continued to fall last year but new data shows Illinois’ students are on the path to recovering from the learning loss that occurred during the pandemic. Numbers from standardized tests administered last spring show steep declines in the percentage of students who met or exceeded state standards in English language
Educators talk candidly about students and violence at next News, Brews & Beatz forum
CHAMPAIGN – Illinois Public Media is committed to discussions about decreasing gun violence in Champaign-Urbana. Last year, we launched our News, Brews, and Beatz series of conversations. Our next event is Monday, February 21 at 6:00 p.m. Illinois Public Media News Director Reginald Hardwick, who co-moderates these discussions, previewed Monday’s conversation with Morning Edition host
Ask The Newsroom: Child Care, Gyms, Restaurants
The Illinois Newsroom team is answering questions to help Illinois residents navigate this unprecedented time. Have a question you want answered? Ask here. Below you’ll find answers to questions about child care, businesses and schools. Please note: This information is accurate as of Feb. 12, 2021. Child Care and Schooling Q: Is there going to
Illinois Students Fear Missing Out On College Experience As Universities Brace For Losses
URBANA – Dennis Austin is frustrated. Austin, 26, transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earlier this year. He has kidney disease and high blood pressure, and is quarantining at home with his immunocompromised mother in Chicago. He says he felt like he put himself and his family at risk when he traveled from
Former Urbana Substitute Teacher Accused Of Abusing Students
URBANA – Police in Urbana say a former substitute teacher is accused of abusing several 10-year-old students at an elementary school. In a press release on Tuesday, police identified the suspect as 36-year-old Clarence Walker of Champaign. He is scheduled to be arraigned on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on Wednesday. As of late
What’s Closed In Illinois Due To The Virus
STATEWIDE Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ordered the state’s residents to remain in their homes except for essential needs, March 21 at 5:00 p.m.-May 31. Starting May 1, there will be major modifications to the plan, click here to read about them. All schools — Gov. JB Pritkzer’s order closing all schools in the state has
News Around Illinois – April 18/19, 2020
Pritzker Orders Illinois Schools Closed For Rest of Semester CHICAGO — Illinois’ governor has ordered schools throughout the state to remain closed for the rest of the semester because of the threat of the coronavirus. J.B. Pritzker announced the action Friday during his daily coronavirus briefing in Chicago, extending school closures past the April 30