The mission of the Bloomington Area Career Center is to help educate students to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to become healthy, happy, and productive adults in their chosen career; become enthusiastic life long learners who are able to manage change; and perpetuate and improve the democratic process which have an impact on their communities, their country and their world.
The educational mission of Bloomington Public Schools is to assist, challenge, and enable each student to develop into a productive and constructive citizen in a global society. The emphasis of the educational program is the individual student.
The Regional Office is service oriented and provides support to schools and communities by offering the best possible educational opportunities to all students. If we can be of service to you please contact us at our office, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at (309) 888-5120 .
The Dewitt/Livingston/McLean County Regional Office of Education acts as an advocate for education by providing positive leadership, performing regulatory functions directed by the Illinois School Code and the Illinois State Board of Education, coordinating and delivering state and local services, and disseminating information for educators, school districts, and the community.
The Laboratory Schools have a very long and proud history at Illinois State University. On February 18, 1857 Governor William H. Bissell signed the bill creating Illinois State University. Less than three months later, Charles Hovey directed a committee that visited other normal and high schools. The committee reported that one of the tasks of the normal school was to:
Give students practical skill by actual service under instruction in the school of practice, or model school. They should here be taught that there can be no real success in practice without a rational theory to which such practice can, at every step, be referred. They should be made to see and feel that there must be a reason for every process in education as well as in medicine, or engineering, or mechanics.
Today, the Laboratory Schools, Metcalf and University High School, at Illinois State University continue to serve as clinical experience and practice sites for pre-service teachers and experimental teaching activities. The schools provide a "living laboratory" for research and applied practices to improve teaching and other educational practice. This tradition is reflected in the four-part mission of the Illinois State University Laboratory Schools, which states:
• Provide a school in which excellence in education theory and practice can be observed, studied, and practiced by teacher candidates and other pre-service school professionals.
• Provide an environment in which research and development activities may be conducted.
• Provide a comprehensive, high-quality academic program for Metcalf and University High School students.
• Promote effective, high-quality education throughout the teaching profession and to aid other educators in the process of improving the quality of education in their schools.
Both laboratory schools at Illinois State University, Metcalf and University High School, engage in multiple activities that support all parts of the stated mission.
The LeRoy CUSD #2 Board of Education will support and participate in the process of creating the best educational opportunity for all students of our school system.
The Lexington School District is located in and around a small rural community situated along Route #55 north of the twin cities of Bloomington and Normal. The city of Lexington has a population of approximately 1800 people. The school district is a unit district that encompasses 80 square miles around and including the city of Lexington. Most of the land use is agricultural with only a small portion used for public or commercial business.
Approximately 600 students in grades PreK-12 are housed at one campus located in Lexington. While the school population has remained stable of the last several years, additional programs and services have caused a strain on building usage. The main campus is landlocked with residential buildings on all four sides. Community support for the schools and high expectations for services provide interesting challenges.
The district employs 45 full time teachers, and 3 administrators with a total school budget of over $6 million. The operating expense per pupil for the 2005-2006 school year was $9137. District program initiatives include an outstanding Pre-school “At-Risk” program and excellent integration of technology into the curriculum beginning in Kindergarten. High school students are able to supplement their course work with Heartland Community College courses offered during the school day on our campus. Students whose special educational needs cannot be met in-district are bussed to neighboring districts. District Low-Income population is 12% of student enrollment. Student attendance rate is over 95% in the district. At the current time there are no Limited English Proficient students enrolled in the district.
Tri-County Special Education Association was established in 1967 to help school districts in McLean, DeWitt and Logan Counties meet the special education needs of students, parents, educators and administrators. Today, the association employs a staff of approximately 50 people as administrators, supervisors, social workers, psychologists, occupational or physical therapists or assistants, secretaries and speech-language pathologists. Tri-County maintains offices in Bloomington, Clinton and Lincoln.