Unit 5

A Unit 5 administrator hired this year to focus on educational disparities told the school board this week the district’s Equity Action Plan — approved this fall — is moving forward on several fronts.

The first female high school wrestler in Illinois history is asking Unit 5 schools to add girls coaches to the wrestling program.

Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle says one of the biggest challenges the district faces is staffing shortages, telling the school board Wednesday evening that even at the end of the first quarter of the year, there aren't enough bus drivers to run the full number of routes to get kids to school on time.

The Unit 5 school board Wednesday night adopted a $212.3 million budget for fiscal 2021-2022, and discussed a report detailing a decade’s worth of the district’s budget trends.

When school began in Unit 5 this fall, a lot of school buses were getting kids to class late. Too many, according to Chris Coyle, the area general manager for First Student, the company that has the Unit 5 bus contract.

COVID cases and quarantines are increasing in Unit 5 schools, as in the rest of Bloomington-Normal. The most significant bump reported last week was 14 cases at Parkside Junior High and 73 students being sent home to quarantine.

Teachers union leaders in Bloomington-Normal say they support Gov. JB Pritzker's vaccine requirement for all teachers. The governor made the announcement on Thursday, citing surges in COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Districts last year relied on metrics to determine whether to hold in-person learning. This year, the State Board of Education says schools will not go remote. That has a lot of parents worried.

Unit 5 schools recently rolled out a diversity action plan to address racial discrepancies and disparities, coupled with the release of a diversity audit of what the district already is doing.

Unit 5 schools recently rolled out a diversity action plan to address racial discrepancies and disparities, coupled with the release of a diversity audit of what the district already is doing.