Kewanee’s Sullens named ‘Superintendent of Distinction’
Illinois Association of School Administrators
Dr. Christopher Sullens, superintendent of Kewanee Community United School District 229, has been named the 2021 Superintendent of Distinction by his colleagues in the Blackhawk Region of the Illinois Association of School Administrators.
Sullens was honored at an awards luncheon May 5 in Springfield. State Superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala was the featured speaker, where 21 IASA regional Superintendents of Distinction were recognized.
“I have been fortunate to be able to work with board members who recognize the struggles that students in poverty incur, and they are willing to support students in all areas of academics, athletics and fine arts,” said Sullens, who has been an educator for 35 years and superintendent for 15 years.
Rapid testing, student vaccinations get local traction
Dave Clarke
The Star Courier
The Wethersfield School District now has a new tool in its toolbox which will help keep students in classrooms and sports now that they are back in school five days a week.
The Wethersfield School Board approved a rapid testing program at its April meeting Thursday night which will allow the school nurse to administer the test to students who exhibit COVID symptoms and know within minutes whether they test positive or negative for the virus.
Kewanee School Dist. 229 also is participating in the rapid test program, part of an Illinois State Board of Education pilot program. The state also announced late last week that it would be opening up vaccinations to 16-year-olds.
Will Kewanee schools have prom and homecoming in 2021?
Susan DeVilder
The Star Courier
Ever-changing safety rules are making it challenging for school districts to plan for the future, but for several upcoming spring events, both school superintendents are beginning to nail down the specifics.
After the emerging pandemic last year led to the two districts cancelling prom and in-person graduation, both superintendents see things going slightly different this year.
At Wethersfield School Dist. 230, Supt. Shane Kazubowski said he is still waiting for the newest guidelines to come out from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health before making any hard and fast decisions about the Wethersfield High School graduation, which is scheduled for May 23.
Anatomage 3-D anatomy table adds muscle to science learning
Susan DeVilder
The Star Courier
The Kewanee School District is the proud owner of a new teaching tool, a fully-segmented real human 3-D anatomy system allows students to visualize anatomy exactly how it would look on a fresh cadaver.
This cutting-edge piece of classroom technology allows students to rotate the human body 360 degrees, take it apart, identify specific structures and look at multiple views at the same time.
The Anatomage Table was added to the Kewanee High School science lab and purchased by the Kewanee Schools Foundation through the Dr. Frances Horler trust. Horler was a 1927 graduate of KHS, who left a $2.1 million bequest from her estate to the foundation to be used for academic excellence. Click here to read more about Dr. Horler.
Dist. 229 school board pauses in-person learning over holiday break
Star Courier
The Kewanee District 229 board of education approved for early January a schedule of remote learning in response to COVID-19.
Students will not return immediately after winter break, the board decided during at last week s December meeting. Instead, they will be on a remote-learning schedule Jan. 4 to Jan. 8.
The Illinois State Board of Education allows schools to enact what it calls an “adaptive pause” closing a school to in-person instruction as a COVID-19 safety protocol.
In this case, delaying a return to the classroom provides additional time to assess student and teacher health before entering the general school population.