The Danville District 118 School Board voted 4-1 during Wednesday evening’s meeting to follow Assistant Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Yacobi’s proposal to suspend extra graduation requirements for three years to allow students and the district to catch up from all the COVID hurdles. Dr. Yacobi said afterwards that District 118 has always had more strict requirements than what the state has, and motivated students will still be able to take extra classes. But with all the staff shortage problems right now, and students that need to catch up from last year; this, she feels, is what’s needed.
AUDIO: We still are mandating the necessary state requirements that absolutely need to be in place: Four years of English, three years of Math, two years of Science, two years of Social Studies, specifically Government Civics. But it allows flexibility for students who may be credit deficient, who are struggling, who really struggled last year, or are continuing to struggle; and it doesn’t make it a spiral that they can’t get over.
Meanwhile, a nice surprise for Meade Park Elementary principal Chris Rice, as he is now one of about a dozen “Principals of the Year” named throughout the state. This means that somewhere in District 118, a principal nominated Rice for the award.
AUDIO: I was contacted by Jason Leahy, head of the Illinois Principal’s Association, to notify me of the award. I was nominated, if would have been, by a fellow principal in the district……..They sent me a letter congratulating me on the award, as well as a plaque and certificate.
Mr. Rice has been with Meade Park for six years.
