Urbana SD 116 outlines $8.3M in grants and plans for early‑childhood, multilingual and school‑improvement funding

District grant staff presented a detailed Consolidated District Plan (CDP) and grant portfolio the board must approve to unlock federal funds. Tanya Deacon (director of grants and secondary leadership) said the district reviewed approximately $8,292,584 in grant awards and stressed the importance of blending and braiding funding to minimize a fiscal “cliff” after ESSER funds wind down.

Early‑childhood programming was a focal point. Kelly Russell, program coordinator for CU Early, described a home‑visiting ISBE‑funded prevention program that serves expectant families and children birth‑to‑three, is quality‑confirmed, bilingual where needed, and is funded for roughly 85 families and 95 children. Beth Lad, executive director for student services, noted the preschool‑for‑all program is free to families, supports inclusion, and is constrained by physical capacity (current building caps at 360 children in 12 classrooms); adding a fourth pod would allow growth and potentially unlock additional ISBE funding.

The board heard Title‑I allocation details (about $2.99M aimed at instructional materials, attendance/social supports, afterschool and summer programs, and a larger homeless set‑aside), Title‑IV purchases for band/choir instruments and a language‑interpretation pilot, and Title‑III multilingual funding used for newcomer supports, sealed‑biliteracy testing, and native‑language libraries in the sixth‑grade center. Yvanda Smith summarized ISBE school improvement designations and how American Institute for Research assessments supported targeted and comprehensive interventions at several schools.

Administrators said the CDP must be approved at the next board meeting to allow final grant approvals; board members were asked to advocate for continued state and federal support of these programs.