Champaign Unit 4 Schools’ Kids Plus program is celebrating Black History Month with a ton of speakers from a variety of different industries and trades. For details on how to catch their presentations, check out the press release below:
This month in the Champaign Unit 4 School District Kid Plus program, students’ activities are focusing on a celebration of books around African American stories that will help to inspire students to “let their dreams take flight!”
In addition to providing all Kids Plus sites with books and activities to share with our students this month, we are also scheduling speaker/readers from the community along with administrators within the district who have children in the program including Angela Smith, Assistant Superintendent for Achievement and Equity (Southside) and Orlando Thomas, Director of Achievement and Student Services (Barkstall). Kids Plus administrator Tony Maltbia and director, Aushurra will also share with students. Audrey Mock, Family Information Center, and Javae Wright, Lead4Life will also share their talent and inspiration with students.
We kicked off our speaker presentations at Westview with a local international pilot for American Airlines, Patrick Boadu (from Ghana) and shared the book about Bessie Coleman by Nikki Grimes, the first African American licensed pilot who served as an inspiration for Mr. Boadu as he dreamed of becoming a pilot. He shared with students how Black History is History for all because we can all learn and be inspired by these stories of overcoming obstacles and teaching our dreams. It was a very inquisitive group and many shared their dreams.
Westview is the first of 12 schools who will be receiving visitors throughout the month including local musician Nate Banks, artist Jessie Knox, and University of Illinois Professor of Psychology, Carla Hunter. All will share books that inspire from within their chosen field and encourage students to never give up on their dreams. The dates and schools for each of these speaker/readers can be obtained by contacting Izona Burgess at [email protected] or calling Kids Plus at 217-351-3719.