There were some tough days for Alanna Barber’s kids in remote learning the past year.
Barber’s third-grade son, Sean, lost patience at times. She had to juggle Sean’s classes with her kindergartner’s first year in school. Barber ended up leaving her job as a school cafeteria manager in another district to stay home with her children.
So when Chicago Public Schools classrooms reopened this spring with safety protocols she felt comfortable with, Barber sent both kids back to in-person learning.
But through it all, was Barber ever concerned about this being a lost school year for her children?
Illinois tied for 19th place with Texas among states with the best public schools.
The rankings were compiled using data from the 2018-2019 school year, meaning COVID-19 did not have an impact. The list is based on metrics around college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates.
In addition to the national rankings, U.S. News & World Report also listed the top schools by state and metro area. The list of the10 best schools in the Chicago-area and Illinois are identical, with Walter Payton and the other CPS schools comprising the top 5.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker today signed into law a sweeping health care reform bill that he and the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus hope will remove the “inequities and obstacles” that often keep Black and Brown communities from receiving the medical care to which they are entitled.
“Health care is a right, not a privilege, but for too long, too many Illinoisans have been denied that right, whether through healthcare deserts, inexcusable delays in Medicaid applications, through lack of access through high premiums, through doctors untrained to recognize symptoms on black skin,” Pritzker said before signing the bill.
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