Education

Thursday, January 8, 2009

More Danville residents call for new school construction

DANVILLE – Though Rickey Williams Jr. has fond memories of attending East Park Elementary School, he told Danville schools officials on Wednesday he would like to see it torn down and replaced.

"It's decrepit, and it's time to move on," the Danville resident said, adding the same goes for North Ridge and South View middle schools, which are in the same shape.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

$2 million arrives from state for Urbana schools

URBANA – Urbana schools got a long-overdue payment of more than $2 million from the state.

Carol Baker, the district's business manager, said at the Urbana school board meeting Tuesday that the payment came over the winter holidays. However, though the money brings the state closer to what it owes the school district, it's not yet even – and every month, the bills keep coming. In December, Baker said the state owed the district about $2.6 million.

Residents urge change at Danville school facilities forum

DANVILLE – Danville resident Dean Carlton still remembers feeling a draft in his North Ridge Middle School drafting class about 35 years ago, when the school would have been about 10 years old.

"They were poor designs and built on the cheap, and we've had to live with them," he said, also referring to South View Middle School and East Park Elementary.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Normal school district's culpability questioned in Jon White case

URBANA – The Normal school district may not have to pay any damages in a civil suit filed in federal court on behalf of one of the victims of former Urbana teacher Jon White.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David Bernthal of Urbana recommended that the allegations from one of White's victims – called Jane Doe-2 to protect the minor's privacy – against McLean County Unit 5 school district, its board and several employees be dismissed.

Shiloh school district looks for new superintendent

HUME – The Shiloh school board hopes to hire a new school superintendent by March.

The Catlin school board last month hired Shiloh Superintendent Gary Lewis to be superintendent in Catlin, after the resignation of Guy Banicki takes effect at the end of the school year.

Tax abatements for Monsanto discussed

FARMER CITY – Blue Ridge school district board members voted Monday to allow Superintendent Jay Harnack to start discussions with officials of Monsanto's plant in Farmer City on the topic of enterprise zone abatement.

Joan Steckel, senior tax manager, and Pat Geneser, site manager from the Monsanto Co.'s Farmer City plant, presented a proposal to board members. Steckel and Geneser wanted board members to vote to grant 100 percent property tax abatement to Monsanto for a five-year period.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Urbana school volunteering strong; more helpers sought

URBANA – Between September and December 2008, volunteers contributed about 9,000 hours of free labor to Urbana schools.

At the Tuesday meeting of the Urbana school board – held at 7:30 p.m. at 205 N. Race St., U – Barbara Linder, the school district's community connections coordinator, will talk about volunteering in the district.

Danville district officials seek opinions on school buildings

DANVILLE – For several months, Danville school officials have been discussing what to do with the district's most problematic buildings, including East Park Elementary and North Ridge and South View middle schools.

Now they're asking community members for their input at three public forums this week.

Board members are hoping for good turnouts.

Danville district offering free preschool screenings at mall

DANVILLE – The Danville school district will offer free preschool screenings Thursday for all 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds in Vermilion County.

The developmental screenings, which are funded by the state board of education, will be held at the Village Mall, 2917 N. Vermilion St., Danville.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Extension site offers financial advice online

URBANA – Have tough times put you in turmoil? Are you facing a financial bind, not knowing which step to take next?

Friday, January 2, 2009

University Primary School accepting applications

Applications for the University Primary School will be available after Monday.

University Primary is an early childhood gifted education program for preschool, kindergarten and first-grade students. Children must be 3 years old on or before July 1 for the preschool class and 5 years old before Sept. 1 for the kindergarten class.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

St. Joseph-Ogden board hears about damage to school building

ST. JOSEPH – More than $10,000 worth of damage was done to the St. Joseph-Ogden High School building last week when a car slid into the north side of the building on ice.

Superintendent James Acklin said the car knocked a hole in the wall and damaged a water heater beyond repair. The heater was valued at $10,000 to $12,000, Acklin said.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Spanish teacher's students to teach Latino community

CHAMPAIGN – When Montserrat Oliveras-Heras teaches Spanish at Parkland College, she wants to create as many opportunities for her students to speak the language as possible.

But the conversations in the classroom can be pretty artificial. She wanted to have her students talk with Latinos living in the community, in a way that would benefit both groups.

So next fall, one of her Spanish classes will teach basic computer skills to Latino residents of Shadowwood Mobile Home park in north Champaign. All the training will be done in Spanish, helping her students learn the language in a real-life situation. In addition to the training, residents will get computers and software to use.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Ex-Champaign educator developing program for administrators

DANVILLE – As a longtime principal and mentor to aspiring principals, Carol Stack knows both the pressures of the job and what makes a successful school leader.

Stack retired in 2007 after 31 years in education, almost all of it in the Champaign school district. But she hasn't left behind her interest in seeing talented educators take on leadership roles.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Retirees share their knowledge, experience with high schoolers

CHAMPAIGN – Teacher Barbara Lyon liked the idea of having another adult in her child development lab at Centennial High School, helping with her two dozen high school students and the preschool children they care for.

Volunteer Wanda Giddings was hoping to share her knowledge of teaching children and learn about the young people going to high school in her neighborhood.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Grant will help update DACC engineering department

DANVILLE – Engineering students at Danville Area Community College are getting a boost in the classroom, thanks to the Alcoa Foundation.

The Alcoa Foundation gave the DACC Foundation a $15,000 grant through its community-based organization grant program. The grant will be used to buy instructional programs, current technology and laboratory equipment for the engineering program.

Tuscola students receive gift from 'their' soldier

TUSCOLA – Some fifth-graders at East Prairie Middle School in Tuscola received a special gift this Christmas season: a U.S. flag that flew over a military base in Afghanistan.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Humane society advises how to protect your pets in winter

Keeping your dog or cat with you is humane society's primary advice

The humane society is urging pet owners to take extra precautions this winter to ensure the safety of their pets.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Shooting-event funds to go toward DACC scholarship

DANVILLE – Members of the Danville Rifle and Pistol Club recently donated $3,000 from a fundraiser to honor the memory of Vermilion County sheriff's Sgt. Myron Deckard.

Each year, the club holds a shooting event to benefit to the Myron Deckard Scholarship. Established in 2006 with the Danville Area Community College Foundation, the scholarship helps DACC students who are the dependent of a law enforcement officer.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Parkland working with high schools to offer dual-credit classes

For a year, Wes Veitch occupied two places at the same time.

Veitch, now a student at Illinois State University, started his medical career without leaving the halls of Mahomet-Seymour High School. He took a Parkland College medical careers and medical terminology class from Parkland teacher Mary Atteberry-Rogers. But he took the class at Mahomet-Seymour High School.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Danville Class of 2012: Before finals, familiarity has set in

Editor's note: This is the second of an occasional series about Danville High School's Class of 2012. The 431 students are the first to go through Freshman House, a new program aimed at boosting achievement, increasing the graduation rate and reducing the high dropout rate.

It's barely 40 degrees and pouring rain, and part of Matt Shaffer yearns to crawl back into bed.

But the Danville High School freshman and his classmates sit in first-period algebra working a problem the teacher has scrawled on the dry-erase board.

Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club facing negatives in cash flow

CHAMPAIGN – Every day after school, a bus takes Tyanna Jones' two kids to the hub of activity known as the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club.

There they can get help with homework, work with a tutor, make an art project or just unwind from the school day until their mom gets off work at 5 p.m.

The club is a godsend for Jones, a single mom with a full-time job. Membership is $5 a year, which she knows is an "incredible" bargain. She probably couldn't afford that much day care, and the club is so much more.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Weather postpones finals for at least three area districts

Colin Millin should have been taking finals in economics and anatomy Friday, and turning in a final paper.

Instead, the senior at Mahomet-Seymour High School started his winter break a day early. The school district joined most others in the area in canceling school Friday after freezing rain overnight.

GCMS students win first place again for safe-driving program

GIBSON CITY – Students at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School have won their second national first-place finish in three years for their safe-driving message.

The high school of 350 students encompasses five communities – from Foosland (in northern Champaign County) with a population of 90, to Gibson City (in Ford County) with a population of 3,400.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Danville school district hires familiar face as next superintendent

DANVILLE – Mark Denman feels honored to have been named the Danville schools' next superintendent and looks forward to the challenges the job will bring.

"In my view, it's the opportunity of a lifetime," said the associate superintendent, who got the news from school board President Randal Ashton early Thursday morning.

Five new courses will be offered next year at Monticello High

MONTICELLO – Monticello High School students will have five new electives to pick from next year.

The new courses include: business law, accounting 2, psychology, statistics and probability, and principles of engineering technology. These will be in addition to the two new advanced placement classes that will also be available next school year.

Heritage school board gets updates on upgrades

HOMER – Superintendent Andrew Larson presented Heritage School Board members with a construction update that shows the district's proposal for a $3 million project to upgrade the grade school and high school buildings could begin once the ground is thawed.

The plan calls for new kitchens in both buildings, additional classrooms and cafetoriums.

Next G-RF schools leader has experience in district

GEORGETOWN – School officials named Greg Irwin, an area administrator who has taught in the district, as the new superintendent starting July 1, 2009.

Georgetown-Ridge Farm School Superintendent Kevin Tate has announced his intention to retire as superintendent effective June 30, 2009. He has spent 27 years with the district, the last 13 of them as superintendent.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Mark Denman chosen Danville school superintendent

DANVILLE – Danville schools Associate Superintendent Mark Denman will step into the district's top job next year.

School officials on Thursday announced he was selected to replace Superintendent Nanette Mellen, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

Parkland College trustees declare intent to issue funding bonds

CHAMPAIGN – The Parkland College Board of Trustees passed a resolution declaring its intention to issue $34.7 million in funding bonds to pay for construction and remodeling work in the first phase of its campus master plan.

The resolution was the next step in obtaining funding for the projects.

Pilot arts program spurs students' creativity, social skills

CHAMPAIGN – Kavyasri Deevi decided to try something different in her after-school art class at Franklin Middle School. She loves fashion, so she spent the last couple of months making a dress.

The blue strapless silk dress she sewed was on display in Franklin's library Wednesday evening, along with drawings, paintings, clay sculpture, and a stuffed animal. The Franklin students who created them were part of a pilot arts education program, the After School Arts Program, or ASAP.

Rantoul school board adopts tax levy

RANTOUL – The Rantoul City Schools board adopted a $4.11 million property-tax levy that includes an increase more than twice the size of the increase the district is likely to receive.

"Do we think we'll get $4.11 million?" Superintendent Bill Trankina asked. "Just the opposite. This is a fudge factor because the tax year isn't over."

DACC foundation taking applications for 2009-10 scholarships

DANVILLE – Applications are now available for more than 200 scholarships to Danville Area Community College offered by the college's foundation for the 2009-10 school year.

This year, the foundation awarded more than $230,000 in scholarships to full- and part-time students.

Westville school officials approve tax levy

WESTVILLE – School officials approved a $2.26 million tax levy for the upcoming year on Wednesday, an increase of about 1 percent over the current levy.

Superintendent Jim Owens said the levy would generate about $71,000 more than the current, $2.19 million levy.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Sales tax for schools will be on spring ballot

URBANA – Voters will once again decide whether to approve a 1-cent sales tax to help pay for school building improvements or new construction.

The Urbana school board on Tuesday night approved putting the countywide sales tax question on the ballot in April. The Champaign school board passed a resolution to do so last week.

Danville schools superintendent finalists grilled at forum

DANVILLE – Finalists for Danville schools superintendent took questions from a panel of community members, students and staff on Tuesday. Afterward, the panel met with school board members to discuss the finalists.

Board President Randal Ashton said other members of the public have until 5:30 p.m. today to call or e-mail a comment to board members. That's when the board is scheduled to meet in closed session at the Jackson Building to consider the position. No action is expected to be taken.

Teachers in Little Okaw Valley Conference join forces

For the last few decades, student athletes from neighboring schools have competed together on co-op teams.

Villa Grove school board proposes increase in tax levy

With the county assessor's office projecting a slight increase in farmland and residential assessments, the Villa Grove school board is proposing a tax levy of $2.5 million, an increase of about 4.8 percent from a year ago.

Villa Grove Superintendent Steven Poznic said the news is better than last year, when the value of farmland dropped 15 percent in the county.

GCMS school district's final levy proposal increases slightly

GIBSON CITY – The Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley school district changed its annual levy before giving final approval because of some good news: The district's assessed valuation turned out to be $5 million higher than projected.

Superintendent Chuck Aubry said he had estimated total assessed valuations from portions of the district's four counties to be $90 million, but the final total exceeded $95 million.

Delay in state aid could force tough choices for Blue Ridge officials

FARMER CITY – Superintendent Jay Harnack is concerned that Blue Ridge school board members will have to make choices soon about state-funded programs because the district is behind $388,000 in state aid.

Harnack specifically cited the state's $35,000 late payment to the prekindergarten program. The transportation fund is also a concern because the district does not carry a significant balance in this area, Harnack said.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Tuscola school board approves higher tax levy

TUSCOLA – Property owners in the Tuscola school district can expect to pay a little more for their school taxes in 2009.

The Tuscola school board voted 7-0 on Monday to approve a 4.99 percent increase in the district's property tax levy.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Urbana board to consider upgrades to high school auditorium

URBANA – Greg Chew walks through the Urbana High School auditorium with a sense of nostalgia. As drama teacher and often director, he has used this space for decades, from back when those '70s orange-upholstered seats were cool.

But they haven't been cool in a while, and some are visibly worn out, their metal bottoms dented and dinged from thousands of tapping high-schooler legs.

When it was built, the space was designed to be "a touch of luxury on the prairie," Chew said. "There's an implied promise when you come into a theater that it's going to take you somewhere, and the stage is going to take you there."

At Tuesday's Urbana school board meeting – held at 7:30 p.m. at 205 N. Race St., U – the beginnings of a renovated theater may be hatched.

DACC trustees to vote on new strategic plan Tuesday

DANVILLE – Over the next three years, Danville Area Community College officials are looking to upgrade technology across the campus, add on to the Mary Miller Center and find new revenue streams.

Those goals and others are outlined in a newly updated strategic plan, which college trustees will vote on Tuesday.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Lincoln's Challenge cadets humble, thankful at end of journey

Desmond Battles happily played the piano as he rehearsed a song for Saturday's Lincoln's Challenge Academy graduation ceremonies.

Battles has lost more than 35 pounds since the day he arrived on campus, and the teen from the South Side of Chicago considers himself a big winner.

Friday, December 12, 2008

'Upper houses' for Danville High School students taking shape

DANVILLE – Danville High School freshman Tatiana Atcher said she's been able to make the leap from middle to high school without much problem, and she credits that to being part of a small learning community.

Under the new Freshman House program, all of her core classes are on the first floor. Many of the same students are in those classes. And her four teachers can keep a close eye on them and intervene when they need help.

"It's almost the same as middle school," Atcher said, referring to the close-knit environment. "You just feel comfortable."

Gates Foundation program is model for tech house

Danville High School's upper house focusing on technology is being modeled on New Technology High School in Napa, Calif., said Kathy Houpt, director of secondary education.

"New Tech High," funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was the result of local business people's frustration that students were coming out of school educated but lacking work skills, she said.

Catlin school board hires new superintendent from Shiloh district

CATLIN – School officials voted Thursday to hire a new superintendent to take over for the retiring Guy Banicki after June 30, 2009.

Gary K. Lewis, who is currently serving in his second year as superintendent of the Shiloh Community Unit School District, will start as superintendent of the Catlin school district on July 1, 2009. He was offered a three-year contract by the Catlin school board on Thursday.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Danville schools narrow superintendent pool to three

DANVILLE – Danville schools' associate superintendent and two school chiefs from southern Illinois are the three finalists to replace retiring Superintendent Nanette Mellen.

The Danville school board selected Associate Superintendent Mark Denman; Superintendent Yvonne Mack-Bullock of Meridian School District in Mounds; and Superintendent Colleen A. Legge of Jersey School District in Jerseyville from a pool of six candidates who were interviewed last week, board President Randal Ashton announced Wednesday.

Geek Squad helps kids learn about computers

CHAMPAIGN – Edison Middle School students were working, bent over tables filled with computer parts, after school Wednesday.

They were installing motherboards and power supplies and adding video cards and CD drives with the help of members of the Geek Squad, who troubleshoot and repair computers.

UI chemists carry on holiday tradition

URBANA – Five University of Illinois chemists ushered in the holiday season with a big explosion and a "kaboom" – after all, what's December without a fire sizzling?

They turned fire red and green, lit what looked like snowballs and snowmen on fire (and juggled them) and expanded and deflated marshmallows designed to look like Santa. They completed the tricks using chemistry at the department's Holiday Magic show at Noyes Lab in Urbana on Wednesday night.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Unity East students collect pennies for school-building program

PHILO – Unity East Elementary School students are doing their part to fund school construction in war-torn areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Through the Pennies for Peace program, students are collecting coins to help educate children who have nowhere to learn.

Champaign extends funding for Garden Hills youth program

CHAMPAIGN – A program to help Garden Hills youths will continue for a second year.

City council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to direct city staff to continue the Garden Hills youth pilot program through at least June 30, 2010. The program provides both academic support and recreational opportunities for children from kindergarten age through high school.

Contract talks delay work at Rantoul Township High

RANTOUL – Correction of ventilation problems at Rantoul Township High School has been delayed further as the district's attorneys haggle over the contract with the engineering company.

Superintendent David Requa told school board members Monday that the contract and bid specifications should be ready for their approval next month.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Champaign school board OKs compromise on 'Kite Runner'

CHAMPAIGN – The novel "The Kite Runner" once again can be read for class by sophomores in the Champaign school district.

The Champaign school board unanimously adopted a compromise position Monday night to allow the novel to be used along with another selection. Students will be able to choose which book to read. "The Kite Runner" has been used as a summer reading assignment for sophomores in honors English.

Danville school board to vote on $20.5 million tax levy

DANVILLE – The Danville school board on Wednesday will vote on whether to adopt a 2008 tax levy that would increase the amount of property taxes the district brings in next year.

Under the proposal, the district would raise a little more than $20.5 million in property taxes, which would be collected next year. That's an $849,524 increase over the 2007 levy, which brought in a little under $19.66 million.

Georgetown school board approves 'modest' tax levy hike

GEORGETOWN – School officials adopted a $2.68 million tax levy for the upcoming year on Monday, a $53,000 increase over the current levy.

Superintendent Kevin Tate said he expects the assessed value of property in the school district to remain at its current level of about $55.7 million, or to increase by no more than 1 percent.