Eight pressing headlines highlighting education in metro-east schools
This collection of stories explores the factors shaping education in Belleville high schools. Local schools have taken steps such as equipping high school staff with panic buttons to address safety and adjusting to severe weather by shifting to e-learning days during winter storms.
The articles also describe plans for major upgrades in District 118 schools, including security cameras and improved playgrounds, and highlight ongoing funding questions as home values rise and school tax rates change. The set discusses the options local leaders consider for cellphone policies in response to a possible state ban, and how addressing the teacher shortage leads some districts to use retired educators and alternate staffing models. Other stories follow new administrative appointments in Belleville schools and how leadership promotes belonging through parent engagement, along with proposals to use federal funding for full-service community school models in neighboring East St. Louis. Read the stories below.
'It has great promise. It's proven: kids do better. They learn better. Attendance is better, the whole nine yards.' | Published October 9, 2024 | Read Full Story by ksmits@bnd.comKelly Smits
The same system was used at Apalachee High School in Georgia, which law enforcement officials said likely saved lives. | Published October 23, 2024 | Read Full Story by Kelly Smits
'I think in the 18 years I've been up here, that is the largest projected increase in our equalized assessed valuation,' one superintendent said. | Published November 21, 2024 | Read Full Story by Kelly Smits
From 'locked' pouches to exceptions for educational purposes, southwestern Illinois schools' cellphone policies are diverse. Could proposed legislation change that? | Published March 14, 2025 | Read Full Story by Madison Lammert
'We are probably going to be able to get more things done this summer for the amount of money we are spending than ever before,' Superintendent Ryan Boike said. | Published March 25, 2025 | Read Full Story by Madison Lammert
'She's always just had an amazing heart for kids,' Principal Monet Webster said of the new assistant principal. | Published April 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Madison Lammert
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
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