House Bill 2827 fails to pass Illinois House. Some Democrats spoke out against bill regulating Illinois homeschool practices while the sponsor says, "it is necessary to ensure homeschool children are protected."
Photo: Steven Weirather/Pixabay
By Greg Bishop .::. Associate Editor
The Center Square
The fight isn’t over for opponents.
Tens of thousands of opponents filed witness slips against the measure since it was introduced earlier this year. Some Democrats spoke out against the measure, saying it could criminalize homeschool parents raising and teaching their children how they see fit. Republican state Rep. Amy Elik said the bill was “doomed from the beginning.” “A simple form was not so simple was it? It created burdens on families across Illinois, our entire school system,” Elik said, “and nobody seems to care that that was going to cost our schools and our families valuable resources that could be spent instead of fixing our public school system that often fails children.” Elik said she’s glad the measure is being held, but she said the fight isn’t over for opponents. “I can tell you our families still feel like they are under attack and walking on eggshells in Illinois,” she said. “That happens all the time in this chamber.” The measure will be held, but could come back up in some fashion before the scheduled end of session May 31. Legislators are off next week. The House returns April 22. The Senate returns April 29.
The students named below earned recognition for their academic performance and attention to excellence at Unity High School. Congratulations to each on their exceptional scholastic effort in the first semester.
ST. JOSEPH - At the end of October, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the recipients of the first quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll. To be recognized on the Honor Roll at SJO, students must achieve a grade point average (GPA) of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Those with a GPA exceeding 3.74 are honored as 
CHICAGO -- Illinois educators are investing millions of dollars to accelerate the learning recovery process for students who fell behind their grade level during the pandemic.
The State Board of Education is implementing the Illinois Tutoring Initiative, a high-impact instruction program targeting the state's highest-need school districts.
Post-pandemic test data show only 30% of Illinois students read at grade level, and 75% are not proficient in math.
Jennifer Kirmes, executive director for teaching and learning at the Illinois State Board of Education, said the goal is to bring students up to speed as quickly as possible.
"The bottom line is so that students who weren't able to progress at what would have been the expected pace, as a result of the disruptions from the pandemic, are able to grow faster now as a result of this program," Kirmes explained.
So far, they have trained almost 500 so-called "high-impact" tutors to provide learning recovery instruction in 45 school districts statewide, and the department has distributed grant funds to an additional 27 districts to design and implement their own programs.
The initiative is funded by a $25 million grant from federal pandemic relief funds. Kirmes pointed out districts are chosen based on funding levels, their number of low-income students, and the impact of COVID-19 on lost, in-person instructional time.
"High-impact tutoring really works intentionally on the skills and competencies that students need to succeed," Kirmes noted. "Certainly with their homework, but also in classroom assignments and on assessments, with additional content."
She added as many as 45 additional districts will launch high-impact tutoring in early 2023 as the state expands the initiative.
ST. JOSEPH -- St. Joseph-Ogden High School will introduce four new inductees to the St. Joseph-Ogden Hall of Fame during the Spartan football team's Homecoming game against Nokomis. The distinquished group includes 1960 graduate 
Last week, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced their list of students who earned high honor roll status during the 4th quarter. Forty-nine members of the junior class were the among the 173 that achieved a high level of academic achievement.
To receive honor roll recognition at SJO students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.
Unity Junior High School announced the names of 95 students who achieved high honor roll status during the third quarter. Congratulations to all 186 students who earned the requisite grade point to qualify for honor roll recognition during this period. Honor Roll students that did not qualify for high honors can be found 
Malia Fairbanks, Phillip Hartke and Grace Renfrow are three of 32 members of the junior class who achived a grade point average of 3.75 or better at Unity High after the first semester. Forty-eight students from the class of 2024 will also be recognized as high honors students on January 26 along with the entire list of students below who made the honor roll or attained high honors status from their efforts between August 19 and December 22.
Students earning a GPA of 3.20 to 3.74 are recognized as honor students.
