Education and Schools

An Illinois Board of Education Teacher of the Year honor has landed in the hands of a Bloomington High School favorite. The Illinois State Board of Education named special education teacher Brandon Thornton its top teacher for the east central region of Illinois. 

Some Unit 5 and District 87 students going back to school in-person will have a different teacher than they’ve been learning with since August.

Even with COVID-19 case numbers falling in Bloomington-Normal in recent weeks, a lot of Unit 5 school district parents don't want their kids returning to the classroom.

The district has reported parents of 22.6% of students have chosen to stay with remote learning when Unit 5 goes back to a hybrid class schedule starting Oct. 19. That's about 2,829 students roughly evenly distributed across grade levels.

Education has been deeply impacted by both the COVID-19 pandemic and rising pressure to end racism. 

Local education administrators detailed how they’re responding to the concurrent issues during a virtual Bloomington-Normal NAACP town hall Thursday night.

Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle announced Wednesday night a planned return to in-person learning, saying the district hopes to bring students back to the classroom beginning in October “assuming that the metrics are such that we’ll be able to do so.”

“Gladly We Learn and Teach” has long been Illinois State University’s motto, a nod to its roots as a training ground for teachers. This semester, ISU’s education majors are doing a little less teaching and a little more learning, because of the pandemic.

Illinois State University admissions officials said pandemic-related fears of a precipitous decline in enrollment did not materialize, with total enrollment falling by less than 1% from the previous year.

Wednesday's Unit 5 school board meeting got off to an emotional start when some parents expressed their frustration with remote learning. 

The number of Illinois children entering kindergarten who are fully prepared to start school grew for the second consecutive year in 2019, a possible indication that the state’s increased spending on early childhood education is paying off.

Four Illinois Wesleyan University students tested positive for the coronavirus when they returned to campus for the start of the school year.

Unit 5 says government trade restrictions will delay the arrival of Chromebooks and tablets it planned to distribute to elementary students to help with remote learning.

District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly told school board members Wednesday night he wants to see substantial progress in the region’s COVID-19 response and caseload before he would consider reopening schools for in-class instruction.

The Illinois State University Lab Schools are following Unit 5 and District 87 in telling parents and families the fall term will start with online classes.

Now that Bloomington-Normal's public school districts have decided to begin the school year with remote learning, parents and educators have begun to scramble to arrange for child care for working parents.

Unit 5 canceled Saturday's long-delayed high school graduation ceremonies at the Corn Crib, citing inclement weather.

Illinois State University's largest-ever fundraising campaign surpassed its target by $30 million.

An annual back-to-school party for thousands of children in Bloomington-Normal won't happen this year.

At least not in the same way.