The Bushnell-Prairie City School District 170 Parent-Student Handbook is now online and can be accessed on our district website in the left-hand menu on each school page. You may also access the handbook by clicking here. We hope to make this process easier for you this year. If you are a current parent or guardian, please take a moment to review the handbook with your child(ren) and complete the acknowledgement page electronically by clicking on this link before Friday, September 4, 2020.

It is with regret that we announce the resignation of long-serving board member, Mark Ferguson. Mark was first elected in 2011 and helped guide the district through troubling financial times due to prorations in funding by the State of Illinois and through consolidation talks and voting in 2013. We are grateful for the time he served his school community; his influence and leadership will be missed. His seat will be filled by appointment. A committee of board members and the superintendent will be conducting interviews to fill the vacancy created by this resignation, with future appointment anticipated by the entire board of education.

We welcomed over 50 attendees to our virtual Return-to-Learn Community Meeting hosted on Friday, July 31. Thank you to all who joined us. For those of you unable to make it, please click on the following link for a recording of the information shared that evening.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The end of last school year was unexpected and resulted in a great deal of stress being placed upon school districts, teachers, and more importantly, students and their families. The 2020-2021 school year looks to be no different. Districts have been provided guidance and mandates developed by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health in order to provide in-person instruction. We are committed to students returning to school, but the ability to do so and meet these requirements is a daunting task. A Return-to-Learn Plan has been developed by the Bushnell-Prairie City District Leadership Team and other key school and district personnel, and was approved by the Board of Education at its regular meeting on July 15, 2020. A link to that plan can be found below.

While there are many things I don't know about what the next school year will bring, this is what I do know:

• The mandates and guidance provided by our governing state agencies are clearly defined.
• Those mandates and guidance are controversial and there are many strong opinions within our school community.  
• The hybrid plan the District has developed to get students back to school does not meet the varied needs or priorities of all of our teachers, families, and students. 

You will continue to hear about plans from other districts that differ from our own. Each district has developed plans based upon their building configurations, space, and the staffing necessary to provide in-person learning, while also assuring that health and safety requirements are met. There is not a one-size fits all solution. There will be elements of one plan you think we do better, and others upon which you might think we could improve. The plan we developed places a priority on getting students back in classrooms every day, enables us to provide students with 2 meals a day, and enables teachers to also support remote learning for those students who are unable and/or unwilling to return to in-person learning.

Here is what I also know:

• Teachers want students back in school. 
• Students need to be back in school.
• We cannot do this alone. The partnership between school and home will never be as important as it is now.

Everyone in the District is busy preparing and anxiously awaiting for the return of students on Wednesday, August 19. We are committed to making this a successful school year. Please take some time to review the Return-to-Learn Plan, make sure you have registered your child(ren) and updated your contact information on Skylert, and contact your school office with any questions or concerns.

My best,

Kathy Dinger, Superintendent

​The Bushnell-Prairie City Board of Education is accepting applications to fill the vacancy resulting from the recent resignation of Board Member, Shawna Yocum. The appointment will be from the date of appointment to April 6, 2021, or the date of the next Illinois Consolidated General Election.
 
Applicants for the Bushnell-Prairie City Board of Education must meet the following list of qualifications:

• Be a United States Citizen.
• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Be a resident of Illinois and the District for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the appointment.
• Reside within Bushnell-Prairie City Township 7N Range 1W.
• Be a registered voter.
• Not be a child sex offender.
• Not hold another incompatible public office.
• Not have a prohibited interest in any contract with the District.
• Not hold certain types of prohibited State or federal employment.

 
In addition to these required qualifications, applicants should be able to fulfill responsibilities discussed in Bushnell-Prairie City School Board Policy 2:20 Powers and Duties of the School Board; Indemnification.
 
Interested applicants should provide a letter of interest and qualifications to Sonja Settles, Assistant to the Superintendent, 845 North Walnut, Bushnell, IL 61422 no later than Friday, July 31, 2020 to be considered for appointment by the Bushnell-Prairie City Board of Education. Once the application window has closed, interviews will be scheduled and appointment to the Board anticipated at the Regular Meeting of the Bushnell-Prairie City Board of Education Meeting on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 6:00 pm in the Bushnell-Prairie City High School Library.
 
Interested applicants are encouraged to read Qualifications & Characteristics of a School Board Member, published by the Illinois Association of School Boards. Additional inquiries can be made to Sonja Settles in the District Office at (309) 772-9461 or via email at [email protected] to request additional information.

Board Member, Shawna Yocum has provided notice of resignation from the Bushnell-Prairie City Board of Education. Mrs. Yocum has long been an advocate for teachers, staff, programs, students, and student athletes and demonstrated that through her commitment as a member of the Board of Education. Her service will be missed. The Board of Education will meet on Monday, July 20, 2020 to review the process required to fill a vacancy on the board. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:00 pm in the High School Library. The agenda and a link to the meeting for those who would like to attend remotely can be found on the District Website (District; Board of Education; Agenda).

While not how we would have preferred to hold Awards Night, a video highlighting award and scholarship recipients was posted to our District Facebook page on May 13, 2020 at 6:00 pm. Click here for a complete description of the awards and honors and for a listing of the recipients.

The Bushnell-Prairie City School Board has voted to eliminate school enrollment fees for the 2020-2021 school year.

​Let's keep things on track! Bushnell-Prairie City teachers will be available for parent/teacher conferences (as scheduled) on Thursday, March 26 from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm and again on Friday, March 27 from 8:00 am - 12:00 pm. Elementary teachers will contact parents to provide reminders of your scheduled conference time and will confirm arrangements to meet with you via email or video conference. If you have not yet scheduled a conference and would like to, please email your preK-5 teacher to arrange. Junior High and High School teachers will be available during these times (similar to the drop in format in both buildings) to receive questions from parents and communicate via email or video conference to share current student progress.

Governor Pritzker announced today the mandatory closing of all public school districts in Illinois starting Tuesday, March 17 and extending (at minimum) through Monday, March 30. Teachers have been working to develop activities that can be completed at home to keep students active and engaged in learning. More information will be provided on those activities Monday. During this mandated closure, all school-related activities will also be cancelled. We know that our school community has many questions regarding how this will impact students, staff, learning, and the school calendar. We will provide more information as that becomes available based upon guidance from county and state authorities.