An attendance awareness campaign, classroom storytime events and a parent survey are some of the disparate ways Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201 officials have been working to strengthen communication in recent months.

Ellen Hodson of Mt. Morris was among over half of Belmont University’s undergraduate students named to the fall 2025 semester dean’s list.

DeKalb School District 428 has its finalist for new superintendent, and its a familiar face, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Ogle County students were named to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dean’s list for the 2025 fall semester.

Gwendolyn Baker and Paul Baker of Stillman Valley and Shawn Clinton and Alaina Haas of Byron were recently named to the fall 2025 dean’s list at Olivet Nazarene University.

The Rochelle Township High School Speech team competed in the Byron Christmas Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 20. The team placed third out of the 13 teams participating.

After the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Congress appropriated $1 billion to permanently bring 14,000 mental health professionals into the schools that needed it the most.

Under the direction of Joliet Central Welding and Electronics instructor Nicole Gubbins, students brought the decades-old teaching tool back to life.

The first of three public hearings regarding the proposed closure of Edison Primary School was held Friday.

Seneca High School named its November students of the month.

Illinois Valley Community College has begun accepting appointments for its low-cost dental clinic, which operates Jan. 15 through May 5.

The Illinois Community College Board has announced $9.3 million in Innovative Bridge and Transition grants to support initiatives that help Illinois residents transition more effectively into postsecondary education, job training, and high-demand careers.

Here are the honor roll students at Immaculate Conception School in Morris.

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is proud to be recognized by Community Colleges for Iowa with multiple honors as part of the 2025 Outstanding Community College Awards. EICC includes Clinton, Muscatine and Scott community colleges.

A federal nutrition program, SNAP-Ed, will end this year after losing federal funding, affecting local families in Kankakee and Will counties who rely on free healthy eating education.

Patricia Glade turns leftover bread into donations for Illinois Valley Community College’s food pantry through her program “Crumbs for a Cause,” according to an IVCC news release.

To be eligible for the dean’s list, degree-seeking undergraduate students must earn a minimum semester grade-point average of 3.4 while taking at least 12 graded credits.

The Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Spelling Bee will be Thursday, Feb. 19, at Dixon High School. Sponsors are the First National Bank in Amboy, Sauk Valley Media and Lee-Ogle-Whiteside Regional Office of Education.

Joliet Junior College will use the grant to fund summer science, technology, engineering, and math camps for students in grades 6-12.

Seventeen-year-old Diego Garcia-Barranco had never been outside the country, let alone flown in a plane, until last month. The DeKalb High School senior’s first flight took him to new heights during a school trip to perform in Prague, Czech Republic.

Kristin Wrobleski, a life skills teacher at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Spring Valley, has been named the November Teacher of the Year winner.

Torrie Nelson of Sterling was named to the fall 2025 dean’s list at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais.

A new 6-round competition (instead of seven rounds) will be introduced at this year's Stupor Bowl trivia event that will be Saturday, Feb. 7, at Reagan Middle School, 620 Division St., Dixon.

The Kishwaukee College Foundation awarded $124,250 in program enhancement funds to Kishwaukee College departments for the 2025-2026 academic year.

The new boundaries mean students in several subdivisions in Plainfield School District 202 will attend a new high school starting in the 2026-2027 school year because of current and projected overcrowding at Plainfield North High School.

The Illinois Valley Community College student newspaper earned top honors at the Illinois Community College Journalism Association annual conference in November.

The Dixon School Board approved new hires, a change of status, and several coach appointments Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Along with the construction of two new school buildings, the $275 million would pay for additions to Yorkville High School.

The Morris Community High School Board is inviting community members, students and staff to submit suggestions for a new mascot.

A Dixon native now serving as an elementary principal in Polo will be Dixon Public Schools' next superintendent after current Superintendent Margo Empen retires in July 2026.

DeKalb School District 428 has agreed to buy more Chromebooks for incoming students headed for first, fifth and ninth grade, as well as replacement devices for staff.

Superintendent Jason Harper said Monday, Dec. 15, that the 2026-27 schedule underwent no major changes from the previous year. Aug. 10 will be the first day of the 2026-2027 school year.

Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50 is accepting letters of interest and applications to fill two vacancies on the Board of Education.

For all of those years of giving and sharing, Troy School District 30-C recently honored Robyn Apgar with its “Troy High-Five Award.”

Levi Waddle, a senior at Rochelle Township High School, was recently named the December Rochelle Rotary Club Student of the Month.

From Capitol News Illinois: Illinois Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders cautioned members of the State Board of Education on Wednesday not to get their hopes up for any big increase in K-12 school funding next year

The Rochelle Rotary Club recently announced its November Student of the Month: Ashley Villanueva of Rochelle Township High School.

At the Dec. 17 Plainfield School Board meeting, board members are set to vote on changes to the high school student attendance boundaries.

Logan Thome plans to attend Sauk Valley Community College for 2 years then transfer to a 4-year university.

The Bradley Elementary School District is asking for a tax levy of $13.5 million, an increase of 4.95%, for fiscal year 2025.

The Rochelle Township High School speech team hosted the RTHS Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 13. Rochelle earned fourth place.

The Daughters of the American Revolution Illini Chapter honored recipients of the DAR Good Citizen Award from area high schools on Dec. 4 at the Reddick Mansion, according to a DAR news release.

A DeKalb commission, tasked with advising the City Council on planning and zoning matters, has voted in support of a pair of measures to allow a special education day school in town.

Prepping for a Constitution test, 7th graders at St. Patrick Catholic School in St. Charles were given the unique experience of engaging and asking questions with Illinois State Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Rochford and Mayor Clint Hull, a retired judge and former prosecutor.

Staff and teachers, from kindergarten to Sycamore High School, have begun receiving AI video training sessions, according to district documents. District 427 officials hope to begin implementing AI into the classroom during the 2026-2027 school year.

The Miracle on Jeffery Street holiday concert and art show will showcase the diverse talents of Kankakee High School students on Wednesday.

A Wheaton middle school teacher shares memories from her trip to Costa Rica's cloud forest with other educators

Storytime is a 30-minute drop-in program each Thursday evening designed for families with preschool through early elementary-aged kids.

James Cocar is planning to work toward a dual major in mechanical engineering and saxophone performance.

Palmer College of Chiropractic has campuses in Davenport and Port Orange, Fla.