Illinois State Board of Education

The Illinois State Board of Education voted Wednesday to approve a budget request for the upcoming fiscal year of nearly $11.4 billion, a 4.6% increase over this year’s budget, despite projections that the state will face a substantial revenue shortfall next year.

An after-school program at Bloomington Junior High School is now going back to the Boys and Girls Clubhouse on Illinois Street after federal funds that supported the program weren't awarded. The funding impact includes well over a dozen other clubs in the state.

Vision 2030 includes plans for keeping students safe, attracting high-quality educators, enhancing postsecondary success and improving how we evaluate schools.

Six Unit 5 schools have earned the highest rating on the Illinois State Report Card this year — the largest number of "exemplary" schools for the district since the current system began in 2017.

State test results released Wednesday show growth in reading and math and record graduation rates, but problems in math and chronic absenteeism.

YWCA McLean County has added a no-cost before and after-school care opportunity for low-income families with students who attend District 87’s Sheridan Elementary School. Meanwhile, parents and guardians get to take advantage of monthly educational seminars on topics like budgeting and finding employment.

Starting this fall, students who meet or exceed state testing standards will be automatically enrolled in the next most rigorous course. Think honors, and college-credit options such as AP and dual credit.

Elementary and secondary students in Illinois showed consistent improvements in their reading and math scores while the state’s high school graduation rate reached a 13-year high for the most recently concluded school year.

For Tony Sanders, becoming state superintendent was a natural career progression and a “longtime dream.”

The results on state math and reading exams mirror last year’s scores, showing the ongoing toll of COVID-19 and remote learning.