COVID-19 has been hard on students, but Unit 5 has plans to help.
The district expects up to $13 million in federal funding in July from the American Rescue Plan. Parents and educators in Unit 5 are interested in having at least some of that money directed toward mental health, according to Superintendent Kristen Weikle.
Multiple committees are considering possible ways to direct the new money. Among these are the Pandemic Advisory Committee, Citizens Advisory Committee, and educators. Weikle said Unit 5 was discussing increased support of student mental health even before the pandemic.
“We know relationships with students are important. Having someone at the schools that students feel connected with and who they can go to should they need something is so important,” Weikle said on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
One option could be to hire personnel who focus on student well-being.
"To help hire additional academic and social emotional interventionists and additional family coordinators, knowing that they are grant-based," said Weikle.
ISBE resolution
Weikle said the district won't have to adjust much to meet the State Board of Education resolution requiring students to return to in-person instruction in the fall.
Weikle said Unit 5 already was planning for roughly what the state board asks for, though there are wrinkles. She said the district is looking at the details of the resolution to see how it affects students with particular needs and whether the services and support Unit 5 has offered both in the classroom and through remote learning will meet those requirements.
Weikle said Unit 5 had been planning for largely face-to-face instruction in the fall even before the ISBE resolution.
Not every district is on board. The Large Unit District Association, of which Unit 5 is a member, has opposed a blanket return to the classroom, saying district-specific factors need to be taken into account. Weikle said that does not necessarily conflict with Unit 5's position. She said her district has begun to return to the classroom and has experience and well-developed protocols for it. She said some other districts have remained remote-learning only, and may have a longer ramp-up time to comply with the state board ruling.
One unknown factor for the fall term is state funding.
May 31 is the deadline for the Illinois House to pass a budget for the coming fiscal year. There is no clear signal yet on what that might mean for Unit 5, though Weikle said she is not optimistic the state will make progress toward adequate funding of schools under the evidence-based funding formula.
“I don’t recall a time that we have ever been fully funded by the state of Illinois,” said Weikle, adding her instinct when considering new appropriations from Springfield is to not hold her breath.
