Education and Schools

District 87's superintendent said the new higher limit on school board member expenses is not directly connected with last year's pricey trip to a conference in Chicago.

The Promise Council is one of 40 organizations receiving a $25,000 grant from State Farm Neighborhood Assist.

District 87's final budget approved Wednesday night shows increased revenue in the education fund due to the state's new evidence-based funding model for K-12 schools.

Students at one Bloomington grade school are getting a healthy start to the day.

Like most states, Illinois is struggling with a severe teacher shortage. And, also like most states, that shortage is felt most profoundly in the area of special education. There is, however, an army of teacher assistants already on the job. Could they help relieve this shortage?

After hearing substitute teachers’ concerns, Unit 5 officials want them to join the conversation.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has a vetoed bill that would have given public school teachers an annual minimum salary of $40,000 over the next five years.

A veteran Unit 5 substitute teacher said the district doesn’t pay in a timely manner, let alone enough for the job.

Classrooms might not be quite so crowded in Bloomington-Normal public schools this year.

Illinois is creating a new merit-based scholarship aimed at getting more high school graduates to attend in-state colleges and universities.

Bloomington High School (BHS) welcomed this year’s freshman class Monday with a cookout and game day.

Many Central Illinois school districts are struggling to fill an unprecedented number of teaching vacancies just weeks before the school year begins.

“Incredibly amazing,” “brilliant” and “very gifted” are just a few ways an Illinois Wesleyan University professor described her three students who recently won a $5,000 grant to start up their business.

Ten days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public sector employees who choose not to join unions no longer have to pay reduced fees to cover collective bargaining. And already, a crusade to persuade teachers to drop union membership has hit Illinois.

Illinois State University’s Mennonite College of Nursing (MCN) is launching a new program that will teach student nurses about preventative practice.

Heartland Community College is set to become the first community college in the state to offer counseling services to its students by video.

Chuck Bleyer is worried the southern Illinois school district he heads won’t be able to fill an open teacher position by the time classes start this fall.

In the Farrington school district, near Mount Vernon, a new teacher makes less than $29,000—even with a master’s degree. Farrington is one of the lowest-paying districts, but state officials say some 7,000 teachers statewide makes less than $40,000.

The Town of Normal is outsourcing its crossing guard program.

2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion Karthik Nemmani lists his home as McKinney, Texas. Until last year, though, he lived in Bloomington-Normal.

Starting teachers in the Unit 5 school district will do a little better next year under a new contract approved by the school board.