New research shows remote learning spurred the enrollment declines plaguing public schools. Schools with more in-person instruction lost fewer students.
School board members in rural Illinois said district consolidation will ease staff shortages made worse by the pandemic. A statewide look at district consolidation could cut administrative overhead and put $732 million more into classrooms.
“I’ve made it a priority that my children could access good educational options, so they wouldn’t turn to the streets."
“It has been a great blessing for us because we are a low-income family, and we needed the help from the scholarships.”
Jerry Valdivia’s children were scarred in a fire that killed their mom. They avoided bullying and found a nurturing private school thanks to Illinois’ school choice scholarship program.
SAT math scores dropped nearly 15%, and reading scores dropped 9% from 2019 to 2021 among Illinois high school juniors. Low-income and minority students saw bigger losses.
When her son’s public school couldn’t stop the bullying, this Joliet mom took an administrator’s taunt about switching schools to heart. Illinois’ Invest in Kids tax credit scholarships have let them choose a private school despite COVID-19 hurting family finances.
Chicago Public Schools’ top administrator told parents a mask-optional model for students and staff is coming soon. A Chicago Teachers Union dictate has kept students in masks despite the statewide mandate being lifted.
Invest in Kids tax credit scholarships give opportunities to minority families and stability to students when hard times hit. Tough choices await when the scholarships dry up.
“The scholarships help us a lot because I am self-employed, and I don’t always have a fixed income. On my own, it would be very difficult to afford the tuition and fees at our local private school. The scholarship has helped me to keep my kids in a good school.”
“Because of the Invest in Kids scholarships, my boys are thriving in schools they love in a community that has really supported us."
Illinois’ tax credit scholarship program for low-income families helped these three single moms and their children. Education during COVID-19 is failing low-income students, but the program can help if state lawmakers back bills to save and expand it.
The governor’s maintenance of statewide school mask mandates without benchmarks for their removal makes Illinois an outlier.
Half of Illinois’ school districts serve one to two schools. Consolidating school districts, but leaving schools alone, would decrease administrative costs and yield more money for classrooms to boost student achievement.