No new ground about charter schools was covered at a meeting last week, but some new voices were heard.
The meeting, held by the Peoria Charter School Initiative, featured students, parents and teachers from the Chicago Math and Science Academy, a charter school.

Terry Knapp delivered an ultimatum to the District 150 School Board concerning the planned closure of Woodruff High School at last night’s meeting.
Knapp — a retired District 150 teacher and former president of the Peoria Federation of Teachers — reading from a letter  said the board is being asked to provide a copy of the plans to close the  high school to the public by Oct. 19.
“If such a plan is not presented by the deadline, we will seek an injunction to stop District 150’s efforts to close Woodruff,” Knapp said.

All North Peoria District 150 schools made adequate yearly progress in 2008, except Mark Bills Middle School and Richwoods High School.
“This was a particularly challenging year for some schools,” said, Bryan Chumbley, director of research testing and assessment for District 150

Glen Barton said this morning he thinks a charter school could help stem the tide of people moving out of, or avoiding living in Peoria.
“I think the district (District 150) will be a net winner. We believe this will attract back some of the students who left,” Barton, former chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, said.
Barton added, later, “It’s as simple as choice. The hospitals say it is hard for them to recruit people and get them to stay in Peoria because of the schools.”

Northmoor-Edison students and families experienced multiple cultures at their "World Tour" May 28.

If annual spring cleaning includes getting rid of old personal documents or broken computers, Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy Office has some advice: Do not put them at the curb.
“One of the easiest was for someone to steal your identity is by ‘Dumpster Diving,’” said McCoy.

There is a more economical way to set up school districts, says former Tremont School District Superintendent Brock Butts.
However, says Butts, now serving as controller for District 150, it would require an abundance of political will in Springfield.
“Personally, I think the whole structure of schools has to change. We have far too many school districts,” Butts said.

Two District 150 consultants say the anger being directed at superintendent Ken Hinton and the school board for the district’s recent financial meltdown is misplaced.  
Former Morton School District Superintendent Norm Duflinger, serving as treasurer, and former Tremont School District Superintendent Brock Butts, serving as controller, said the reason District 150 finds itself in such a monetary quagmire is, in large part, the failure of the state and federal government to provide the funding they are responsible to provide.

Dunlap Bright Futures students, last week met the Tooth Fairy at Maple Shade Dental Group.

Concordia Lutheran School has been selected for the 2008 Best of Peoria Award in the Private and Parochial Schools category by the U.S. Local Business Association.

Kelsey Clemson of Dunlap has been named to the dean's list in the University of Notre Dame's First Year of Studies for outstanding scholarship during the Fall 2008 semester.

The American Cancer Society is accepting applications for the Summer High School Research Program.
The deadline for applications is March 16.

District 150 has released a template they will use to seek public input about school consolidation.

Click on the title to see the template.

   St. Jude Catholic Church will be opening a school in Fall 2009 offering full-day kindergarten and first grade. Come check out a classroom, curriculum materials, meet the principal, pick up registration packets, and take a virtual tour of the new school building.

The new year is not happy so far for District 150 superintendent Ken Hinton because he has the responsibility of trying to find ways to cut millions from this year’s and next year’s budget.

Hinton met with reporters Monday afternoon to go over budget cutting considerations he presented to the school board last night. The school district is facing a $2.8 million deficit for this school year and a deficit expected to grow to $7.5 million for the 2009-’10 school year without serious cuts.