Bicycle advocates Jane Healy and Elizabeth Adamczyk spoke at GoodSpeed Bicycles to community cyclists Feb. 15 about bicycle safety, raising kids as cyclists and how parents can ride bicycles to school with their kids. Angela Thomas, co-owner of Thomas’ Photogenic Services and the mother of a preschooler at Willow School, raised her[Read More…]
Education
Pritzker touts higher education investments in FY24 budget
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s announced his proposed FY24 budget on Wednesday, Feb. 15, and highlighted the higher education budget of $2.47 billion, an increase of $219 million (9.7%) compared to the previous fiscal year. Notable highlights from the budget include a $100 million increase for the Monetary Award Program (MAP), an $80.5[Read More…]
District 233 will consider updating security doors
A new security system that will limit door access at Homewood-Flossmoor High School got the green light from members of the District 233 Finance Committee at its meeting Feb. 7. The full board is expected to review the proposal at its Feb. 21 meeting. The switch will eliminate pass keys[Read More…]
H-F teacher scholarship winner joins the H-F faculty
Amanda Fieramosca is a 2018 Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumna, an H-F teachers’ union scholarship winner and now a full-time H-F faculty member. “Teaching is a hard profession, and I know there are a lot of teachers who are leaving the field,” the first-year teacher said. “Some people are very hesitant to[Read More…]
District 233 getting ready to solicit bids for culinary, science building projects
With construction costs stabilizing, the Finance Committee of the District 233 school board is ready to accept bids for culinary and science construction projects at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. The culinary project, which was bid in October, was put on hold because the projected cost was about $1 million over the[Read More…]
Kindergarteners ‘turn 100’ to mark 100 days of school
On Wednesday, every kindergarten classroom at Willow School had a “grannie” or “grandpa” marking the 100th day of the school year. It’s become a tradition at the school for the youngest to dress up as senior citizens as they and their teachers try to emulate someone 100 years old. Wigs,[Read More…]
Pre-K mini bus lease contract increases 400% in District 161
At its Jan. 23 meeting, Flossmoor School District 161 board members discussed a sharp increase in the district’s cost to lease two mini buses. The district received a new lease proposal from Midwest Transit, as its four-year contract with the company is set to renew. The cost to lease two[Read More…]
Free jazz concert Feb. 17 at PSC
Prairie State College invites the public to a free jazz concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, as part of the 34th Annual Jazz Festival. The performance will be in the Barnes & Noble College Auditorium in the PSC Conference Center, 202 S. Halsted St., Chicago Heights. The concert will[Read More…]
Incident brings District 153 parents before board asking for greater transparency
Parents of students in Homewood District 153 addressed the school board Monday, Feb. 6, asking that school administrators do a better job at communicating with them when incidents arise. About a dozen parents spoke about their concerns after learning that a fourth grader was injured in class. Students told parents[Read More…]
Handful of football recruits highlight H-F signing day
National signing day is more than the final step in a high school athlete’s college recruitment. On Feb. 1, seven Homewood-Flossmoor High School students joined the exclusive club that is being a college athlete. “These are exciting times for everyone,” Athletic Director Matthew Lyke said. “The journey begins in the[Read More…]