Superintendent Update: Feb 12, 2021
from USD116 Superintendent Dr. Ivory-Tatum
To view past superintendent updates, please click here. To view weekly updates online, please visit our District Updates archive on our website.
Greetings USD116 Friends and Family,
Congratulations to all of our schools for your successful National African American Parent Involvement Day activities (NAAPID). I was able to join several virtual activities that were thought-provoking and enlightening for our students and families in attendance. I witnessed so much pride in the rich heritage of African American culture. I saw the commemoration of Black History and the lived, shared experiences of local African American leaders and student ambassadors. As a result of them sharing their gifts and talents with us, we can see how learning from one another and understanding others' lived experiences can be an enriching experience that continues to shape and strengthen our communities and our country.
Today was our annual Winter Institute Day! I want to thank the planning committee and leadership teams for putting together such a robust, rich day of learning for our District. We were truly Stronger Together: From a Distance. Our presenters planned interactive, creative, and engaging activities in a completely virtual format. I am so proud of the work that over 100+ USD teachers and staff, your colleagues, and our special guests put into planning these new virtual learning options. Our featured speaker, Dr. Tommie Mabry, was phenomenal. We thank him for sharing his personal story of grit, persistence, and resilience. It was very powerful! Dr. Mabry, we agree, “Leaving a Legacy” for our students does matter. I applaud everyone’s efforts in sharing their expertise and wisdom with our school community. I’d like to thank Mrs. Yavonnda Smith for her coordination and planning efforts. It was a great day to be part of Urbana School District.
I wanted to update the Urbana High School community regarding a couple of noteworthy UHS announcements. As I’ve shared at recent Board meetings, we have been working with the University of Illinois for the past several weeks to participate in a grant opportunity to bring SHIELD testing to UHS at no cost to the District. I want to reassure the UHS family that we are still moving forward with our participation in the SHIELD program. SHIELD Illinois offers a PCR screening testing program utilizing the University’s saliva test protocol. We are anxious to get started but are still working through final logistics with the University. As soon as we finalize a few more details, we will be sharing an informational letter and consent forms for students and staff. Once this information is final, the process will move fairly quickly, so please continue to check your emails and the UHS announcements.
I have received a few inquiries regarding progress for our search for the UHS principal. The position is still posted as we are conducting a national search to fill the position. We have received interest from candidates both in and out of state. We will keep the position posted for a few more weeks. Once we are ready to close the posting, we will ask for volunteers to help screen candidates and participate in formal interviews. Thank you for your interest, and there will be more news to come!
Enjoy your 3-day weekend!
Stay safe and be well,
Dr. Ivory-Tatum,
Superintendent
LATEST NEWS
No School on Monday, February 15
In recognition of President’s Day, there will be NO school on Monday, February 15. There will be no synchronous or asynchronous activities assigned, and all USD116 schools and buildings will be closed.
Pandemic Benefits Program
The State of Illinois has been approved to provide new Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer Program (P-EBT) benefits to all eligible Illinois students. The purpose of P-EBT is to provide food assistance to families with students who would have received free or reduced lunch while attending school but are not receiving these meals in school due to COVID-19 restrictions. Our district’s families may qualify for P-EBT because we participate in the National School Lunch Program’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). You do not need to complete an application to receive these benefits. Please note that citizenship status does not affect eligibility. Right now, families only need to ensure that your mailing address in the Skyward Family Access file is current. A current mailing address will be required to receive the P-EBT benefits. For more information on receiving your benefits, please read the letter linked here:
English PEBT-Parent Letter, Spanish PEBT-Parent Letter, or French PEBT-Parent Letter.
February 25 and 26 Remote Learning ONLY! -- No In-Person Learning
On Wednesday, February 24, and Thursday, February 25, about 70% of the USD116 staff will be receiving their 2nd vaccination dose. After getting the vaccine for COVID-19, a few common side effects may impact some of our staff. These side effects are normal but may affect our staff’s ability to follow through with their in-person activities. So out of an abundance of caution for our teachers and support staff, we are scheduling Thursday, February 25, and Friday, February 26 as Remote Learning ONLY days. Both February 25 and February 26 will still be considered student attendance days. All students still need to log on for their synchronous learning activities at their regular times. Please contact the main office of your child’s school for more information.
CU Farm to Table Program
The Urbana School District community is invited to contribute ideas to a new Farm to School project that is being developed to bring agriculture education opportunities and fresh, locally-grown foods to Urbana schools. The project is a collaborative effort between Urbana School District 116, Sola Gratia Farm, and Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, with support from a USDA Farm to School Planning Grant, and is being informed by school district members and other local partners. The organizations are launching this project this month and intend to spend the next six months soliciting ideas and planning, with implementation to begin in late 2021. Students, parents, school staff, local producers, and community members are all encouraged to share their ideas for this project with the Farm to School Coordinating Team through surveys accessible on the project website, https://cufarmtoschool.weebly.com, or by reaching out to them by email at cufarmtoschool@gmail.com.
2021 CUSF Honorees
Congratulations to UHS Alumni Meg Zucker and Ben Manns for being recognized in this year’s Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation annual awards! Meg Zucker was named a 2021 CUSF Distinguished Alumni Honoree and Ben Manns was awarded the 2021 Local Business Community Impact Award. Thank you for your dedication to our community! #ProudofU116 #UrbanaBetterTogether
Urbana School District #116
Email: contactus@usd116.org
Website: usd116.org
Location: 205 North Race Street, Urbana, IL, USA
Phone: 2173843600
Facebook: facebook.com/usd116
Twitter: @urbana116