Education

The Morris City Council and Mayor Chris Brown honored Grundy Area Vocational Center student Mackenzie Enger Monday night for her second place finish in the national SkillsUSA competition for Advanced Teaching Methods.

The University of Illinois Extension will offer a hands-on food preservation workshop, “Make & Take Canning Class: Fill Your Pantry,” from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 9, in the Illinois Valley Community College Culinary Kitchen, 815 N. Orlando Smith Road.

Plainfield School District 202 is one of only 12 districts in the state to earn the Heart Safe Schools designation.

The scholarships were presented by Kendall County Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Phelps, chairman of the council’s scholarship committee, at the July 15 Kendall County Board meeting. Scholarship funds can be applied to the cost of tuition, books and fees.

Four Lockport Township High School students received medals at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference this summer after winning state championships this spring.

Monotropa uniflora, also known as Ghost Pipe or Ghost Plant, a plant that is more vampire than ghost. A perennial plant, it grows in wooded areas in small clusters that only reach about 4- to 8-inches tall.

University of St. Francis President Dr. Ryan Hendrickson invites the greater Joliet community to two special events hosted in partnership with local organizations.

Sterling students also have been named to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee dean’s list.

Three 2025 graduates of Plainfield North High School have earned national recognition for their entrepreneurial innovation.

District 308 in Oswego is proposing a 2.9% increase to all district facility rental fees, based on the Consumer Price Index.

The DeKalb School District 428 Board took a first look at its Fiscal 2026 budget this week.

The Board also approved a tentative budget, which includes $42.7 million in revenues and $46.9 million in expenditures, and scheduled a public hearing for August 19.

Jacob Cimino, an incoming senior at Coal City High School, was recognized by the Unit 1 School Board last week for achieving a perfect score on the ACT.

Dixon, Sterling and Rock Falls students also graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and were named to the university's chancellor's list.

Tyler Plank’s academic record is no less than sterling. Outside of helping Yorkville High School's robotics team to their most successful campaign, Plank achieved one of the school’s highest ever GPA with straight A’s throughout high school and dating back to grade school.

The Education Department will release $1.3 billion in previously withheld grant money for after-school programs, days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the Trump administration to allow frozen education money to be sent to states

Joliet Public Schools District 86 has named new principals for three of its elementary schools.

Seats are still available for the 2025 class, which takes place July 28 to August 1, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Information and an application form are available through ivcc.edu/readysetgo/.

To better serve students and families in a space of their own, DeKalb School District 428 this week finalized the purchase of Mitchell Elementary School just in time for the start of classes this fall.

Will County schools could face complications funding some of their programs in the coming months following a grant funding freeze by the Trump Administration. The State of Illinois has joined a lawsuit demanding the release of the grant money.

A roundup of accomplishments from area students at various colleges.

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School is now on the third phase of a six-phase process of its planned $70 million facilities overhaul.

State Rep. Patrick Sheehan of Lockport is hosting a back to school supply drive to provide in-need students with essentials for the start of the school year.

Illinois Valley Community College’s Get Set program is a free, one week course designed to help new and returning students build college readiness through skills like time management, note-taking and using campus technology.

The Oswego Community Unit School District 308 Finance Department will host a series of presentations to share about the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

The City of Lockport has released an online survey for community members to offer feedback for the city's strategic plan.

As Sauk Valley Community College marks its 60th anniversary in 2025, its founders, leaders and supporters are reflecting on how a grassroots movement built a thriving institution from the ground up while continuing to shape futures across northwest Illinois.

On July 10, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Trump administration will restrict immigrants from enrolling in in the federally funded Head Start preschool program if they are in the United States illegally.

They include Luis Guerrero, Danae Palmer and Carter Schlegel.

Kaylee Johnson and Michael Ely have been awarded this year’s Judy M. Thome Memorial Scholarships.

In an effort to assist displaced workers, KCC Workforce Services is offering resume building workshops.

The new owners of Kiddie Academy of New Lenox want to bring the academy to Lockport.

Heading into the upcoming school year, some new faces will be greeting students at Yorkville School District 115, including a new principal at Circle Center Grade School and an assistant principal at Grande Reserve Elementary

Joliet West High School junior Calloway Walsh earned a gold medal at the 2025 SkillsUSA Illinois State Championships.

Through trauma-informed systems, family case management, home visits, and referrals, Nexus offers a bridge between families and resources in the community that they may not otherwise access.

The building served as the original Traughber Junior High School until the current Traughber Junior High School was built in 2008.

A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines how green spaces and outdoor activites near the family residence influence functioning in early childhood.

Students must pay in full, arrange a payment plan or notify the college they will be using financial aid to prevent being dropped from the roster and having to re-enroll, according to a news release.

Valley View Community Unit School District 365U will host a job fair for the upcoming school year on July 22 at its district office.

Prospective nursing students will have the opportunity to apply for a new scholarship after the friends and family of Kathy Dungan donated more than $20,000 to endow a scholarship in her memory.

St. Mary’s Catholic School in Sycamore will offer tuition grants for students in first through seventh grade.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said coordinated efforts with health departments across the state helped prevent further spread of the measles outbreak this spring.

A fan being used to dry freshly cleaned carpet at Geneva Middle School North caught fire early Friday morning, officials said.

Dixon Public Schools will kick off a new transitional kindergarten program at the start of the 2025-26 school year. The program was developed in response to kindergarten students’ increasing behavioral issues at Washington Elementary School.

A list of local college students and their accomplishments.

Prospective students can explore Illinois Valley Community College during a summer open house from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22, in the Dr. Mary Margaret Weeg Cultural Centre.

DeKalb District 428 could close early and under budget on a purchase agreement to secure the ownership to Mitchell Elementary School just in time for the start of classes this fall. The building used to house NIU's School of Nursing.

Woodland District 50 has announced new leaders joining the team in support of the learning community.

Kankakee County school leaders react to the $6 billion federal education funding freeze and what effects it may have on local schools. The withheld funds include an estimated $240 million that was expected to go out to Illinois K-12 schools on July 1.

This upcoming school year, a new director of security will be serving Yorkville School District 115. Waldemar Alvarez previously served 25 years in law enforcement and federal service.