Featured News Archive - March 2006
Free tutoring activities
[featured 3/14/06 - 4/3/06]
The district has a 30-day free trial subscription from "Getting Parents Involved" for parent-friendly learning activities which you and your child can do at home.
These activities work on essential building-block skills for grades K-8 in Language Arts, Math, Reading and Science.
Try it out (activities in English | Spanish) and email website@usd116.org to tell us what you think.
This special trial offer will end on April 9.
Laura Taylor to be new UHS Principal
[featured 3/3/06 - 3/14/06]
Urbana High School will have its first female principal, and we believe the first to have been a product of Urbana schools as well. The Urbana School Board approved naming UHS Assistant Principal Laura Taylor to the post being vacated by retiring principal Dr. John Woodward at its February 21 meeting.
In making the administrative recommendation to the board, Superintendent Gene Amberg described Taylor as an "advocate for improvement." He said she has tremendous classroom sense, great rapport with students, and she is not a lone ranger, but a team player. He cited her tireless work ethic - she's often in the building before 6:30 a.m. and there well into the evening hours. He also said that few people want the job as an urban high school principal, and Taylor has the courage to take on this responsibility.
Taylor joined the Urbana High School staff almost three years ago, coming to us as a special education teacher from Champaign Unit 4.
Yankee Ridge Fine Arts Fair
[featured 2/24/06 – 3/3/06]
Yankee Ridge Elementary School fine arts staff will travel to Springfield March 9 to receive the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education “Creative Ticket” Award in the Capital Rotunda.
The award goes to a school that utilizes all four fine arts mediums – music, dance, drama, and art – in its curriculum on a consistent basis. All of Urbana’s elementary schools utilize the same fine arts curriculum as Yankee Ridge.
Research has proven repeatedly that students who receive a fine arts education are better at problem-solving, creative thinking, personal expression, and even mathematics. All elementary students receive fine arts as part of their curriculum from the minute they walk in our doors as kindergarteners.
Thank you, Urbana fine arts staff, for broadening the horizons of our children and contributing to their lifelong academic success.