Superintendent Update:March 4, 2022
from USD116 Superintendent Dr. Ivory-Tatum
To view past superintendent updates, please visit District Updates on our website.
Greetings Urbana Families and Friends,
As a District, we continue the hard work to close gaps and find innovative ways to get our students the social-emotional support, mental health access, and academic recovery they need. We cannot let the pandemic overshadow our district's other outstanding initiatives and programs.
I want to update you on the ongoing conversations taking place on the Spanish Dual Language (DL) Planning Committee. Thus far in their work, the committee has identified several critical components that need to be addressed for the next school year.
The committee, especially the elementary team, has spent considerable time discussing a possible program design change for K-5. The team looked at several design options but has primarily considered the current program design (i.e., the strand model) and evaluated its successes and needs for improvement. The team has completed a cross-comparison of the strand model that currently exists at Dr. Williams and Leal versus a whole-school model that would house all Spanish DL classes in one school. The committee will gather additional input from families and students as part of a recommendation to the Board by the end of the year and spend the 2022-23 school year working through logistics with families and staff.
Other identified high priorities from the committee include:
Planning for additional space for a large number of multilingual incoming kindergarteners
Strategic planning time for dual language teachers to collaborate across the two elementary Spanish DL schools and across the different levels (i.e., K-8, 6-12)
Expanding the UMS schedule due to an increase in enrollment with a large 6th-grade class entering UMS
Planning for a culturally and linguistically responsive school community for multilingual learners and families at UHS
There is an ongoing need to return to a two administrator model due to the growth in the Spanish DL program and the addition of the French DL program. The second administrator would intentionally focus on the current needs at the secondary level (6-12) and support K-5 as needed.
Recruitment & Retention of new and current staff for multiple positions and levels
I would like to thank the 30+ staff members and parents that have been meeting twice a month to have these planning conversations.
There have been many spirited discussions and debates regarding masks these past two weeks. As a District, we are working to be reflective and responsive to the current needs of our community. If you missed the recent Board meeting on Tuesday, March 1, you can view the meeting here: BOE Update. During the meeting, the decision was made to continue masking. Administration will reevaluate community-level metrics and District positivity rates at the next Board meeting following Spring Break. We will revisit the masking conversation at that time.
Under the current community-level metrics, we are at the moderate/medium level. Under this community level, we should focus on protecting those at increased risk for illness, including our unvaccinated youth, children under 5, immunocompromised, and medically fragile students and staff. At this level, the CDC also recommends continued screening and surveillance testing for schools to identify people who have COVID but do not have symptoms.
We will continue to work with Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) to manage positives and quarantine periods. Contact tracing continues to be an essential strategy for our Test to Stay program; this has allowed us to keep hundreds of students who would otherwise need to quarantine the chance to stay in school for in-person learning.
As our District leader, I am thrilled we are moving in the right direction with significant downward trends in our positive cases. I am committed to leading us through this pandemic by fostering a culture of prevention and providing health and safety mitigations to all students and staff.
When making impactful decisions and planning the next steps, it will be impossible to please everyone when making impactful decisions. The ultimate goal is to continue in-person learning at a level where we feel comfortable and safe. I am confident that we will get there. We must respect everyone’s decisions and differing opinions and move forward together as one community.
In support of our students and staff,
Dr, Ivory-Tatum,
Superintendent
Dual Language Parent Forums
Spanish Parent Forum
- March 23
- 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Zoom:
https://usd116-org.zoom.us/j/96433968713?pwd=azJ0MHRBekU4aFV5eWpFOXEzU29kdz09
French Parent Forum
- March 30
- 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Zoom: https://usd116-org.zoom.us/j/92423504108?pwd=RzNvZnFqQ2RVMGgxdmZaWmhrMk5mdz09
Please see flyers below for more information.
P/T Conferences
Student led parent/teacher conferences are March 10 from 4-8 p.m. and March 11 from 8-11 a.m.
These conferences are an opportunity for you, the teachers and your student(s) to talk about their academic progress. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity. Contact your student’s building for more information on how to schedule your conference.
Scholastic Art Awards
The Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition for the Mid-Central Illinois Region consists of award-winning work by junior and senior high school art students within the 33 county region. Several UHS students received awards.
Ellee Ford received a Silver Key for Photography “Reset Zoom” and an Honorable Mention in photography for “Natural Conflict.”
Honora Hoey received a Silver Key for Art Portfolio “Agricultural Lines” and an Honorable Mention for Art Portfolio “Light Captures”
Adam Skousen received an Honorable Mention for Photography “Stool Refracted”
Jordan Tatum received an Honorable Mention in Mixed Media for “Cosmos”
Kylie Conde received an Honorable Mention in Mixed Media for “Dog Watches the World End”
Central Regional Art Exhibit
20 UHS students are represented in the Central Regional Art Exhibit. Click the link to see their work: https://ihsae2022.artconnected.org/show/art-connected-2022-central-regional-exhibition
Eleven of these students were selected to have their work displayed at the ISU gallery and 1 student, Cassandra Ty, was selected to show work at the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago as part of the Senior Scholarship Exhibition. #ProudofU
Upcoming art show
Save-The-Date
COVID Testing
COVID Testing
We have made some slight changes to our District Covid Testing Schedule:
- The Thursday morning testing at the Vine and Fairlawn location is once again the Binax (nasal swab) testing.
- The Thursday afternoon drive-thru site has moved back to Yankee Ridge and will once again be the Binax (nasal swab) testing.
Please see the updated flyer below.
USD#116 YouTube Channel
DID YOU KNOW: #USD116 has a Youtube Channel that we use to stream events such as band concerts and school performances.
Subscribe to the USD116 YouTube Channel today:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1OGr8Q6cBemFe4ZVJFm54Q
Sign Up For Text Alerts!
You can participate in this free service* just by texting “Yes” to 67587.
You can also opt out of these messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.
SchoolMessenger is compliant with the Student Privacy Pledge, so you can rest assured that your information is safe and will never be given or sold to anyone.
5Essentials Survey
Parents and guardians of USD116 students are invited to complete a survey about their child's school. The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to complete and is available in several languages. It is completely anonymous.
The annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent/guardian, this opportunity allows you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness.
The survey is open through March 11: https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/
ELEMENTARY COVID TESTING VIDEO
Urbana School District #116
Email: contactus@usd116.org
Website: usd116.org
Location: 1101 East University Avenue, Suite B, Urbana, IL, USA
Phone: 2173843600
Facebook: facebook.com/usd116
Twitter: @urbana116