Local Education Roundup

Local education and government updates were in the paper for Urbana's District 116 and eliminating the Deans for a restorative system, a summary of the UIUC Board of Trustees Meeting, and the Parkland Board were all in the paper today. First an excerpt from the Urbana schools:

Urbana school officials find a change in disciplinary approach is in order
Plans to continue implementing new disciplinary systems in Urbana secondary schools have the blessing of school board members.

During a marathon meeting that started Tuesday night and lasted until early Wednesday morning, Urbana High School Principal Matt Stark detailed new plans for his building, which he said are part of a district-wide effort to focus more on restorative practices and less on punishments that send students out of class.

The shift is intended to create a culture that is less punitive in nature, school officials said.

"The purpose of school discipline is not to punish," Stark said. "It is to change behavior."

To help that behavioral change, Stark requested and received permission to hire a new assistant principal, a student engagement advocate and a clinical professional. The assistant principal would deal with "exclusionary" punishments, such as suspensions, that deans did in the prior system.

While the dean positions are being eliminated under Urbana's new structure, those who held the positions would have an opportunity to transition into newly-created "student interventionist" jobs, officials said...

In other board action

— Members approved an increase in substitute pay rates. Daily rates will go from the current $105 to $110.

The plan the board approved also includes a four-level system that provides higher rates of pay to substitute teachers and teacher's aides who work more frequently throughout the quarter.

— Also OK'd: an expansion of the district's dual-language program. It will add a French program at Yankee Ridge Elementary.

Full article here.

And the UIUC Board of Trustees Meeting (with an updated list of issues voted on available here):

UI has five-year hiring plan in works
The University of Illinois plans to hire hundreds of new professors over the next five years to keep pace with rising student enrollment and make up for slow faculty growth during the state's two-year budget crisis.

The university is developing an ambitious hiring program for its three campuses, though specific targets are still being developed, top administrators said Wednesday.

UI President Tim Killeen planned to announce the initiative at today's UI Board of Trustees' meeting in Springfield...

Killeen said UI leaders were conservative in their hiring during the two-year state budget impasse, which ended last year and delayed hundreds of millions of dollars in state appropriations while reducing funding for day-to-day activities. UI faculty were also targets of aggressive recruiting by other universities.

As a result, the UI saw a net gain of only 139 professors over the last five years, or about 2 percent, even as systemwide enrollment grew by 7 percent, he said.

Full article here. More items voted on by the board listed here.

And the Parkland Board:

Parkland College's board approves new faculty contract
Parkland College faculty have a new contract, and the college has a new vice president.

On Wednesday night, the Parkland College Board voted 6-0 to approve a collective-bargaining contract with Parkland Academic Employees, the union representing its faculty.

Under the three-year contract, which affects 162 employees, base salaries for faculty members will increase a minimum of 2.75 percent.

Parkland may add as much as a half-percent increase to the base salaries at a later date, depending on what happens with the state budget and the State Universities Retirement System...

In other business:

— New police officers join force. Jason R. Metzelaars of Charleston and Alex M. Osterbuhr of Bloomington were sworn in as the Parkland College Police Department's newest officers.

— Financial adviser hired. The board voted 6-0 to hire Naperville-based PMA Securities Inc. as the college administration's financial adviser. The firm is expected to evaluate Parkland's options for restructuring its bond debt and analyze opportunities for refinancing...

— Parking lot work approved. The board voted 6-0 to award a bid to Cross Construction of Urbana to upgrade the M2 and M3 parking lots on the Parkland campus for $1,150,692.

Full article here.