This event sends those interested in urban agriculture and communal gardening on a self-guided tour of more than 20 school, neighborhood and community gardens plus the rooftop garden at Maldaner’s Restaurant. The free tour requires no advance registration, and the self-guided aspect of the tour enables cruisers the opportunity to explore each garden to their […]
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Health insurance deadline approaches
James Hayes, Harvard Park Elementary principal, and Peggy Cormeny, family and community engagement coordinator for Springfield Public Schools, appear outside the school, which recently hosted an event helping families enroll in health insurance. Photo BY PATRICK YEAGLE A national deadline to enroll in health insurance looms at the end of March, and Springfield Public Schools […]
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Group pushing for school funding vote
A group of parents, teachers and volunteers is pushing the Springfield Public Schools board to place a school funding referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot. The group, Invest in 186, has proposed a plan that would raise between $8 million and $10 million. The money would begin to replace millions of dollars which were cut […]
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Meet Jennifer Gill
Jennifer Gill, who was voted in as superintendent of Springfield Public Schools this week, was educated in the same schools she’ll be overseeing in her new post. PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE For Jennifer Gill, this is a sort of homecoming. Gill was born and raised in Springfield, was educated in Springfield’s public schools and went […]
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School district seeks to rebound from years of cuts
Outgoing interim superintendent Bob Leming received a gift from the Springfield school board at his final meeting on Jan. 7. Dr. Robert Hill has now replaced Leming as interim superintendent while the board negotiates with Jennifer Gill to take over the post full time. Springfield Public Schools could ask taxpayers for a boost soon, but […]
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Batting a thousand
UIS athletic director Kim Pate (right) congratulates student-athletes who made the Dean’s List at a basketball double-header against the University of Missouri-St. Louis in February. PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT SPRINGFIELD Three years ago, the athletic department at the University of Illinois Springfield faced criticism from several angles. Scandals large and small hinted at […]
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Extreme school makeover
What would cause parents to be excited about sending their children to a 102-year-old school building where 82 percent of the students come from low-income homes? The answer is an outpouring of generosity from a community intent on seeing the school succeed. Ever since the summer of 2011, Springfield’s Harvard Park Elementary School has seen […]
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School district seeks to rebuild trust
The Springfield School Board took the first steps on Monday night toward rebuilding parents’ trust in the district, following the leak of test data from a besieged middle school. The board unanimously voted to accept the resignation of two district employees involved in the test score leak, providing a measure of closure for parents who […]
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Group pressing school board candidates on CCPA closure
A group of Springfield parents and educators is hoping to prevent the closure of a popular middle school, despite two unfavorable votes by the Springfield School Board. Their main tactic? Elect a different school board. Shelley Tulipana of Springfield spearheads the effort to keep Capital College Preparatory Academy open. Tulipana leads a group of about […]
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School closure questioned
Scroll to the bottom to see what the School Board cut and what it kept. In the wake of a controversial decision to close a popular and successful middle school in Springfield, the divided school board continues to field questions about the reasoning for the closure and its estimated savings. About 200 “scholars” at the […]
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Education in Illinois not getting any better
More than two thirds of Illinois students won’t earn a college degree. In the modern economy, that’s not good enough to compete, says education advocacy group Advance Illinois in a recent report on the state’s public school system. While Illinois does have changes in the works, Robin Steans, executive director of Advance Illinois, says performance […]
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Enos School replacement plan under fire
A Springfield nonprofit is asking the state to put the brakes on a plan to replace an elementary school building located north of downtown. Jerry Jacobson, spokesman for the nonprofit historic preservation organization Save Old Springfield, sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Education on Monday, asking the state to reevaluate whether it’s […]
