East St. Louis SD 189 recognizes early-childhood centers and high school scholars; Beta Club heads to nationals

During the meeting the East St. Louis School District 189 Board of Education recognized two early-childhood programs and several student achievements.

Vivian Adams Early Childhood Center and the Dr. Katie Harper Wright Preschool were recognized with the Gold Circle of Quality, the highest distinction awarded by Accelerate Illinois, the state's quality recognition and improvement system for early learning. The superintendent noted the recognition reflects teaching quality, supportive learning environments and family and community partnerships. The district also noted that there are still some enrollment slots available at the indicated preschool center.

The board congratulated 33 East Saint Louis Senior High School students recently inducted into the National Honor Society, the largest chapter the school has had in recent history, according to the board remarks. The students were acknowledged for meeting or exceeding a 3.5 cumulative GPA requirement and for involvement in extracurriculars including Beta Club, band, basketball, cheerleading, football and wrestling.

The district also celebrated a Beta Club team that earned a spot at nationals in the “collaborative connections” category after competing at a regional leadership summit at Southeast Missouri State University. The six students named in the transcript who helped qualify the team for nationals are Darion Millender, Javani Winters, David Castillo, Janila McDaniel, Janila Hill and Demaya Ward. District staff said the nationals event will be held in June in Nashville, Tennessee.