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Parents, teachers and advocates urge board to preserve K–5 CARE support program amid proposed cuts
Summary
Multiple CARE staff, a CARE teacher and community advocates asked the board to retain the CARE K–5 support program as the district considers at least $1 million in reductions. Teachers and TAs described CARE's role supporting students who struggle in regular classrooms and recommended at minimum a reduced staffing model rather than elimination.
Several staff and community members urged the board to preserve the CARE program for K–5 students during public comment on Feb. 19. Devine Thompson, a teaching assistant at CARE, described how the program "changed his outlook on everything" and said it is helping lives in the community. Laura Fondia, a CARE teacher and parent with 14 years at RCS, said removing the program now "would interfere with how RCS serves it students" and proposed reducing staff to one teacher and one TA rather than eliminating CARE entirely.
Candance Johnson, a CARE TA and social work intern, said working in CARE motivated her to pursue a master's degree in social work and expressed gratitude for district support. Community advocates from the Rantoul Family Advocacy Coalition—Sabrina Rivera and Chez Bennet—asked the board to be more present in schools, to review how incident and bullying reports are handled, and to move from meetings to concrete actions with the district.
