Normal Community High School’s Ricky King says he was blindsided to learn he’s Illinois’ new Bilingual Teacher of the Year. After all, the 2020 ISU graduate is only in his third year of teaching.
The natural playground rethinks the entire 16-acre grounds as a place for learning, exploration and play, according to Unit 5.
Colene Hoose Elementary School will soon be home to a “world class” natural playground with the project entirely funded by a donation from a Hoose alum.
Charlie Jobson, a longtime resident of Normal, offered the donation in honor of his parents. The Unit 5 school board on Wednesday night voted unanimously to accept the gift that totals about $5 million.
Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle said the project will be the first of its kind.
“When we say this is a world class natural playground, it is. I don’t think there’s any other U.S. public school in the entire country that will have something like what we have here in Bloomington-Normal,” she said.