Rameen: Coming up on City Spotlight.

It's the start of season nine, and in this first episode of season nine, we're talking all about education in Charleston.

First, we talk about Charleston schools with Superintendent Dr. Todd Vilardo and assistant superintendents, Chad Burgett and Kristen Holly.

We'll go through the many physical changes in the Charleston school district, and the excitement of a new school year in Charleston.

Then we talk with Dr. Stephen Lucas of Eastern Illinois University.

Stephen reflects on the impact of COVID 19 on education over the past two years.

We're talking education in Charleston, as we kick off season nine of City Spotlight.

[music plays] City Spotlight is supported by Consolidated Communications.

CCI is honored to salute the cities and their leaders in the area, as well as providing TV, Internet, and phone service for the local homes and businesses.

We live where we work, and are proud to support the communities we serve.

More information available at consolidated.com.

And welcome to another edition of City Spotlight.

As you can see, we are on location and we are kicking off season nine of City Spotlight, and we are on location in Charleston.

This whole episode is going to be on education in Charleston.

And in this first segment, we're going to talk all about Charleston schools and there is a lot to talk about and to help me out, I have three returning guests to the program.

We have Dr. Todd Vilardo.

Todd: Rameen.

Rameen: Hello, Todd.

Kristen Holly.

Kristen: Hi Rameen.

And Chad Burgett.

Chad: Hi.

Rameen: Glad to have you guys on, excited to be here at Charleston High School.

I'm an alumnus, so I'm a little biased, so a little more than excited to be here.

And we're in a kind of a renovated room.

We'll reveal where we are in just a second, when we talk about all the new things that are happening physically in the district and programs as well.

I just want to get your general comments on the new school year, since we are taping a week after Charleston schools got going here on August 25th.

Start with you Todd.

Todd: Sure.

Thanks again for making the long trip over here to Swikard Auditorium.

Rameen: Tough three minutes.

Todd: Yes.

We're glad that you can join us.

And personally, I'm very excited about this school year.

There are so many things happening in our district.

I mean, just look at this, for example.

This is one piece of many improvements that are happening in our school district this year.

Swikard Auditorium is being renovated.

Our ag building is being renovated.

The drives, lots, and walkways are being resurfaced and all new drainage underneath.

And let's not forget about the elementary school playgrounds, all redone.

Not only that, but in my 30 plus years in Charleston schools, I have never seen more teachers in the summer engaged in training, getting ready for a school year.

So staff are back.

Students are back in our schools.

Students are back at EIU, the city blossoms back to life.

It is really exciting and we're in day five of our school year, and it's incredible.

We've visited all the schools.

We're seeing the students and staff engage in learning from day one, loving it.

Rameen: Kristen.

Kristen: Yeah, there's definitely a different buzz this year.

I think with all the things Dr. Vilardo mentioned, all the excitement around some of the changes, but also just a little feeling of getting back to some normalcy in the schools has been a real positive.

We did have teachers working a lot over the summer on some really exciting initiatives.

We had a teacher institute day, the first day, and we had our whole staff in the high school cafeteria and it was just really heartwarming and really just kind of a fun spirit in there to see everybody back together and lots of excitement, so we're happy to be back.

Rameen: Beautiful.

And Chad?

Chad: I think we're off to a great start this year.

Dr. Vilardo mentioned the facilities improvements, and it's just nice to hear the comments we're getting from the community on that.

Getting back to school this fall, sports are in season right now.

So we haven't had our first football game yet, but we've had tennis and soccer.

We've got middle school softball/baseball going on, cross country, lots of activities.

And then last Friday evening, we had Meet the Trojans night, so that was good to see everyone out to support the Trojans.

Todd: And our tennis courts are under construction as well.

So we want to also thank EIU for partnering with us to allow a high school tennis team to use their courts as well.

Rameen: I like the running, looking through all the athletic fields.

I have an athlete in my household that's a freshman here in Charleston High School.

And we'll talk about why those tennis courts were moved and where the new location is.

But let's first talk about where we're taping at.

Dr. Vilardo mentioned Swickard Auditorium, still the same name, but it looks a lot different.

Tell us what's going on with this project.

Todd: I'm going to let Chad tell you about it.

He has really been instrumental in working with our architects.

I just want to thank the public, once again, for approving, years ago, the 1% sales tax, which in part supported this project, as well as Charleston area charitable foundation.

This is a state of the art facility that's coming our way in September.

Chad?

Rameen: It's a lot brighter.

Chad: It is.

It looks a lot different.

So basically this whole area was gutted.

They literally took out the concrete below the floor, poured concrete in, we'll have new lighting, new sound, new seats.

You can see the clouds over the ceiling to help with acoustics, new air conditioning.

Everything's brand new.

As Dr. Vilarda mentioned, it was a combination of the 1% sales tax.

We're fortunate to have a donation from the charitable foundation.

And then the board, our school board, had decided to go ahead and borrow money to tackle a lot of these things that frankly really need to be done.

So the students haven't been in here yet.

We're hoping that the students will have access on September 9th, but they're still going to have to wait a little bit on the lighting and the sound, and then they're going to have some training for the students and staff on that.

Rameen: I mentioned my freshman is an athlete.

She's also very much looking forward to performing in this room for all four years.

She did say she peeked in here.

Chad: In here.

Did she?

Okay.

Rameen: She just said, let's peek.

So very good.

So September 9th is when people... Chad: That's our target date right now.

Rameen: And so what's left?

When can the public- Chad: We're looking at the end of September to hopefully have all the electronic pieces in with the sound and the lighting and those things.

Rameen: And so Doudna Fine Arts Center has been the generous, nice host, for the CHS musicals the last few years.

Todd: We're hoping this will be operational.

And I know Mrs. Sharp is very excited, and the teachers had a lot of input on all the decisions we made.

When you pick a color and you pick a color scheme, you hope it works, because you're stuck with it.

Rameen: You gotta' live with it.

You can't redo it.

Chad: Right.

So we're pretty happy with the way things are going.

Rameen: Let's talk about new buildings, renovated buildings outside of CHS, the ag building and the greenhouse.

Chad: Yes, that was also partly funded through a donation for the charitable foundation.

Those have been gutted.

I walked through the other day.

It's really starting to come together.

We're hoping to get in there September 9th as well, but not only are the buildings new, but the equipment's new.

So new planers, new joiners, new band saws, new welding base, new lighting.

Everything's new in there.

The addition of the greenhouse is really going to open up a lot of possibilities.

Rameen: That's a new addition, whereas the ag building has been kind of like this room.

Chad: And that is going to open a lot of possibilities.

I know that the science teacher has already contacted Mr. Oakley, the ag teacher, to say, hey, can we do some projects in there on plants and how they grow?

So it's good to see that.

And I'm anxious to open that up this fall to the community.

I talked to Mr. Oakley about having maybe a pancake breakfast or something just to have the community come in and see that.

Rameen: I want to go through all the physical changes, but I feel prompted if I don't ask now, I'll forget.

Kristen, for new things like the ag building to be renovated, greenhouse, this offers new things for the students.

Kristen: Absolutely.

And everything fits together.

This has been part of our plan for many years.

We have a competency based education initiative that's very well underway here.

We're making big changes with curriculum and instruction at the high school level, we're looking at career opportunities for students, getting kids more hands on experiences, getting them learning by doing, having them out working with local businesses, and the ag building and the greenhouse are a major part of that.

We want kids to have more engagement in their learning and practice doing what they think they might want to do when they graduate from high school.

Rameen: Thank you very much.

Another thing that's very noticeable, completely changed outside, came on orientation night for my freshman, as I mentioned, and wow, I don't even remember what the place looked like with the tennis court.

New parking lot, completely changed.

Todd: Yes.

Completely changed.

That was in much need of repair.

There were a lot of potholes and it was just beyond repair.

So the school board, we decided to put that out for bid and it's not only the size of it's changed, because we moved the tennis courts over by the middle school, so now we opened up additional parking spots for families when we have events and things like that.

The flow of the traffic is a little bit different and we're just hoping... You used to kind of zigzag to get around, but now it's a little bit better.

So that's definitely, when you see it, you notice a change.

Rameen: And I know this was brought up at the Meet the Trojans night, that happened last Friday before we're taping here, the new tennis courts, so that the tennis team has had to play at EIU.

But when can we anticipate those tennis courts being done?

Chad: We're hoping around the 20th of September on that.

So they're pouring concrete around the tennis courts now.

They're going to have additional seating for families who want to be able to watch their child.

And then they've got to put a coating on and they'll have a red color to them with hopefully some lettering that says Charleston Trojans on it.

We're hoping that's up and running around the 20th.

Rameen: So the tennis courts for CHS are now looking...

I also call that the pool parking lot.

Chad: Yes, that's right.

Rameen: Most of the summer in Charleston, you had to park somewhere else to go to the pool.

Chad: Yes you did.

Rameen: And also the roads going between the middle school, and beautiful new sidewalks.

Talk about those additions.

Chad: Those roads were in disrepair.

And we did add a lot of sidewalks just to keep the students off the road when they're walking, because at the end of the school day or the beginning of the school day, it's very busy and we just added that for a safety feature.

And curbing it, new drainage added, that was a lot of work that they got done this morning.

Rameen: It's a lot wider, park at the high school, walk through the grill on the hill.

And so there's a lot wider road and the sidewalks are very nice.

Todd, just general thoughts on, wow, can't do just one physical change, you had to do a whole bunch.

Todd: It has been a very busy summer for construction and for our staff getting ready, not only this school year, but for many years.

We're focusing on quality instruction, focusing on learning and leading every day for the kids.

It's safer for our public and our students and our staff.

The increased improvements in lighting out here is a safety feature as well.

So I'm really excited about this school year and beyond for our Charleston community and especially for our kids.

Rameen: I almost forgot to mention at the beginning, the new playgrounds.

Todd: The new playgrounds.

Rameen: And Mark Twain and Carl Sandburg, very noticeable.

Todd: That's right.

Every elementary school received new playgrounds.

I was kind of sweating and thinking, are they going to be ready for school start?

But they are ready.

The only thing that's left is to do some dirt work and some seating.

Those were, like I mentioned, in need of repair, and I'm just happy we can address a lot of these things.

Rameen: I have a third grader and a kindergartner, so Mark Twain and Carl Sandburg, my kids are using those, so those they're very thankful for that.

All these new physical changes are for the enhancement of the students to use.

Long term, this is paving the way for generations of future Charleston students.

Todd: We've been spending that 1% sales tax money over the last few years on some projects that are largely unseen by the public, roofs, HVAC units, and so forth.

Now we're able to do some things that the public can see just by driving by, for example.

But there's so much more to come.

Mr. Burgett oversees our facilities committee.

They're constantly rearranging and identifying top priorities.

So this is just the beginning of outstanding things to come for our school district.

Rameen: Let's talk about new programs and new things.

I understand there's a coffee shop, and tell us about some new things here at CHS.

Kristen: There is a coffee shop.

So one of the other big ideas happening here is, like I said, student engagement.

And part of that for us is to have students engaged in feeling like this school is theirs.

And so CHS Industries is something that's happening that's part of the ag building, but it also bleeds into the school.

Our students, for example, in the ag program, may be building a shed or in our construction trades class, building a shed.

They can sell that shed to someone in the community.

They will have plant sales, they will have a print shop here in the building.

There will be a coffee shop in the building.

The print shop is also planning on having a CHS spirit wear shop for students to buy.

And so inside the building then, our accounting classes can look at the budget and do some of the budgeting for those programs.

Or we have a course that is learning about media and they could put out advertisements.

So we have different courses inside the building that all will coordinate their efforts around that CHS Industry's opportunity.

So it's really exciting.

Rameen: It is an exciting time to hear about new things in the schools.

I remember being a senior 1997-98, and biotechnology was offered for the first time at Charleston High School.

So it's kind of cool to hear how through the years new things keep on being added on for all the students to use.

I just want to ask a question to follow up what you guys talked about at the very beginning, getting back to kind of a normal feeling.

Can you believe it's been two plus years of this?

I know COVID is not completely gone from our lives and you still have to be prepared for things, but to feel like a normal school year, it's got to be very refreshing.

Todd: I've said before, I can't recall a time that I've looked forward to a school year more so than this school year.

There is still some remnants of divisiveness as a result of the pandemic, but we manage that like we manage and lead everything else.

This is a great community.

It's still a great place to raise a family, largely because the parents in this community are very supportive of our schools.

And likewise, that's mutually beneficial because we serve the students directly, but our customers are largely the community and we want to turn out students that are ready for success in life, so that's our main focus.

Rameen: Todd kind of kicked off maybe what's my last question.

So I'll just have Kristen and Chad kind of follow up on that.

Moving forward, excitement of this school year to be back to what you remember pre-COVID> Kristen: I think we saw a little bit this summer, we had a lot of professional development going on for teachers over the summer.

I think the idea that we can get back to work, get back to teaching kids the things that all of our staff look forward to the most, which is being around students, teaching, providing them opportunities.

That excitement has been rejuvenated with the idea that we don't have to spend our time worrying about keeping track of quarantines and the masking.

And it's just feeling like a very different focus.

That was a very heavy weight over everybody for a couple years, and I think with that weight lifting, it's making people feel an extra positive energy towards the school year.

Rameen: Chad?

Chad: I'm glad you mentioned that, the back to normal.

I remember sitting with Mrs. Holly in the ag building, talking about renovations in the fall of 2019, so that goes back.

We started talking about that and then COVID hit that spring and just derailed everything, just like it did everyone else.

So the fact that we're back to normal and we're almost done with these projects, I feel like maybe we're finally over the COVID.

Rameen: Congratulations on all the things that are about to be finished after the airing of this episode and moving forward.

Congratulations on all the physical changes in the new school year.

Todd, Kristen, Chad, administrators with the Charleston school district, thank you for your time here on City Spotlight again.

Chad: Thank you.

Todd: Thank you.

Rameen: And coming up next here on City Spotlight, we'll continue talking education in Charleston.

We'll talk with Dr. Stephen Lucas of Eastern Illinois University, but first let's take a look at some of the upcoming activities going on in Charleston.

[music plays] And we're back here on City Spotlight.

As we continue the start of a new season, season nine, of City Spotlight.

In this new episode here on Charleston, we're going to continue talking education in Charleston and we're back in the studios of WEIU for the first time in a while.

And we welcome, first time to the program, in this segment, Dr. Stephen Lucas.

He's an associate professor here at Eastern Illinois University in the department of teaching, learning, and foundation, Stephen, welcome to the program.

Stephen: Thank you.

I'm glad to be here.

Rameen: Glad to have Stephen back in the studios of WEIU.

He last joined us in our studios here at WEIU about two and a half years ago, beginning of the pandemic.

We produced a program, EIU moving forward, a COVID 19 response.

Steven had some great comments about education and where things might go.

And well, we see that a lot of Stephen's comments went true as far as the world of educating and whatnot.

So Steven, we look forward to maybe following up on what you said two and a half years ago with us.

Stephen: Sounds great.

Rameen: Glad to have you on.

Your a first time guest here on this program.

Tell us about yourself,, please.

Chad: So I'm an associate professor department of teaching, learning, and foundations.

My primary area is in the training of our students who are planning to be high school teachers.

So for the last five years, I was the associate Dean in the college of ed and made the decision this past year to move back into faculty ranks and resume teaching full-time.

Missed that quite a bit.

And so after a week, I think it's been a good decision.

Rameen: We are taping here the second full week of classes here at Eastern Illinois University on August 29th, is when we're taping here with Stephen.

Stephen, I'd like to focus the majority of our conversation following up on what you said two and a half years ago with us here in this studio on how educating has been altered for all levels of education, K through 12, higher education.

So for you, Stephen, when we taped with you last, two and a half years ago till now, how do you think it's gone from your perspective?

Stephen: From my perspective, from the university perspective, primarily in the training of teachers, I think it's gone as well as could be expected.

I think I mentioned in the previous show how proud we are of our students anyway, and those initial, I think we were about a month or six weeks into the pandemic when we taped, and our student teachers were out there still kind of student teaching, depending if they were online or in person.

We had to pull all of our other field experienced students, pre-student teaching, out because the university had said we're basically closing down.

But from that initial take, particularly our student teachers did just a terrific job and they've been out student teaching the last two and a half years.

And as we know in general, that's been an up and down ride.

Schools have opened, they've closed, they've gone online.

And I was thinking about this over the weekend.

We didn't have any student that stopped student teaching because of the pandemic, despite the challenges that were thrown to them.

In fact, we got a lot of feedback from superintendents, principals, teachers, saying, if you can send us more student teachers, that would be great because they've been so valuable during the pandemic and not just as another body in the classroom, but the expertise they have brought, particularly in the areas of online instruction, because they're embedded in that here at EIU, but also they just tend to have a very flexible, and go get them, kind of attitude.

They're young, they're energetic, they're optimistic.

And as we know, the pandemic really weighed on schools and teachers and principals.

It was very challenging.

So I think having our young people there with them really helped, I think from a university perspective.

Rameen: You very much say the students that are aspiring to be teachers were kind of learning on the fly, but they were able to do it.

Stephen: I mean, it was pretty amazing the different kind of content they could deliver.

I mean, to me the most amazing things were the PE, and art and music teachers that learned how to teach online and keep their students engaged, which on reflection you really think about that.

We know even in a typical school year, subjects that are so important to kids.

They're doing their reading and their math, but a lot of times they really look forward to those other subjects.

And so for our students to be able to, not only in those core content areas, but in those elective hands on areas, be able to keep kids engaged in their school, we found to be particularly gratifying.

Rameen: Distance learning.

Virtual learning.

Did a lot of talking about that in my last episode I taped with Lakeland College President Dr. Josh Bullock.

I don't know how much those two modals of learning or educating were happening prior to the pandemic.

So for yourself as educators, you were kind of learning in a new way to educate.

Stephen: Yes.

I mean, we have had probably over the last 15 years in the college of education, we've delivered quite a bit of our coursework, both undergraduate and particularly at the graduate level, online, but teaching how to learn when you're talking about clinical classes, practical classes, those are typically face to face.

You're in here, you're practicing teaching, you're trying new activities and skills in a classroom here in Buzzard.

Well, for a while there, that first year, we all went home for those last six weeks and had to shift that automatically.

And then the next year, as I recall, there was a lot of latitude for faculty about teaching online or face to face.

And so many of them who elected to teach online and had clinical type classes, had to figure out different ways to teach those kinds of hands on skills in a virtual environment.

And then last year, of course, we were mainly here.

So I believe the EIU education faculty learned a lot about online education for themselves, but I think that's also translating then into their ways of talking to our pre-candidate teachers.

When you're teaching online in a K12 setting, here's some things I learned about that could be helpful for you to do well.

Rameen: I want to pivot to the K through 12 world, because you made some really good comments about that at the end of your points you made two and a half years ago in that EIU COVID program.

We talked with you in the spring of 2020, and you mentioned the words optimal learning.

And I think I have firsthand experience because I have four kids at home.

The start of the pandemic, I wrote it down here, I had a 10th grader, a seventh grader, and a first grader.

And I've kind of reflected more times than I want to admit over these last two and a half years about how they were impacted.

And you also said the potential for a learning loss might happen.

Again, that was at the very beginning of the pandemic as we did.

So my first grader's now a third grader, and I think that generation of kids probably saw it the hardest because they were at the most important part of their learning.

So for the K through 12 world, it was a really tough stretch there.

Stephen: And the span of your three children, I mean, there're different kinds of impact for a high schooler, a middle schooler, and then a primary.

So yeah, your little one, learning reading skills is so crucial, right?

Rameen: Over a computer, how do you do that?

Stephen: Over a computer, right, and then your seventh grader, all the things, and I'm a middle school person at heart, all the things they go through socially and emotionally.

And then you think of the 10th grader, who's just beginning to think of college and exploring.

And so college visits were canceled and all those kinds of things.

So there're impacts on our students.

I mean the academic impact.

I think, is well documented across the nation.

But what we are also being very cognizant of is kind of that social, emotional impact, in that first and second graders, they're learning how to do school and how to socialize.

Seventh graders are doing what seventh graders do socially, emotionally.

Tenth graders are becoming young adults, and so there was definitely that impact.

And then we're seeing that as our freshman and sophomores are coming here to Eastern, their last two and a half years of high school were not normal at all.

And so the president, the provost, the student affairs office, has said be cognizant of that, realize that we're doing more than just delivering curriculum.

We're also shaping young lives that have had a very unusual impact in their lives.

Rameen: The emotional impact, and for those kids that had to go through virtual graduations there in 2020.

Stephen: Their proms, all the stuff that they missed, those markers of growing up and becoming a young adult.

They missed those.

Rameen: So overall, Stephen, what have we learned about education moving forward as we tape here in August 2022?

Stephen: So number one, is that teaching has always been a challenging profession and it was even more challenging.

And I feel like in general, teachers rose to that challenge.

I mean, we know, it's well documented, I'm sure when you talk to the school administrators, teacher shortage has been exacerbated by this.

But what we also found is that, I mean, teachers have always had to make do in challenging circumstances, whether it's a room that's not suitable, lack of materials.

And so they rose to the occasion, not all of them did, but not all of them rise to the occasion of having poor resources in other settings.

But the really top notch ones did that, grew from that, and I think it's impacted them positively in a way.

I would say reaffirming their resilience, but also pushing them to be even more creative.

The one, I think, glimmer of maybe positivity that came out is we know the education in general is continuing to change and more modalities of learning virtual.

And so this kind of pushed that I think ahead a little bit.

It wasn't optimal, but a lot of times change only comes when you have a crisis.

So I think, on the whole, we gained from it in a sense.

The learning loss, the social emotional challenges, are tragic and we're working hard to recoup those.

But I think we learned a lot of lessons, not only about technology, but also, in the future, how do we as a profession, as teachers, as organizations, respond in crisis and move forward.

So I think I'm pleased with it.

I'm not happy we went through it.

But looking back, I think we did really well.

Rameen: I appreciate your perspective coming on this program, having the second segment of this episode, talking previously with administrators from the Charleston school district, I think your perspective on how this has all gone was a nice addition to this program.

And I really appreciate the opportunity to tape with you again, Stephen.

Stephen: Thanks for having me.

I appreciate it.

Rameen: That's Dr. Stephen Lucas, an associate professor here at Eastern Illinois University, and that'll do it for this City Spotlight episode on Charleston, as we kick off season nine.

Thanks for watching.

City Spotlight is supported by Consolidated Communications.

CCI is honored to salute the cities and their leaders in the area, as well as providing TV, Internet, and phone service for the local homes and businesses.

We live where we work, and are proud to support the communities we serve.

More information available at consolidated.com.

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