• IEA President Al Llorens, 73, passed away Thurs., Sept. 25: 
  • Llorens, who spent more than 30 years in the classroom in various cities around the state, had been president for two years. He was an athlete, a coach, a math teacher, a loving husband and a father, among so many other things. He will be greatly missed. 
  • Statement from Karl Goeke, IEA President & UFEA Member
    •  I am sure that many of you have heard the tragic news that our beloved president, Al Llorens, recently passed away. Suffering a loss like this is never easy, and it certainly is not easier as we live through times when it is difficult to be an educator. The truth behind all of this is that life is never guaranteed to be easy and circumstances make it difficult and, at times, overwhelming. The good news is that when times are hardest, we know we have each other. 
  • Memorial Service
    • The family of Al Llorens would like us to share that his memorial service will take place on Friday, December 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM at Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 West 95th Street Chicago. IEA offices will be closed on December 5 in remembrance of President Llorens.
    • Donations in his honor may be made to the IEA Foundation. The IEA Foundation is a 501(c)3 not for profit charitable organization that supports educators, students and programs aligned with the mission of the IEA. For online donations and additional information about the Foundation, please visit: https://ieanea.org/about/donate-to-the-iea-foundation/
    • Reminder: if you would like to send a card or message of support, please direct it to:
      • The President’s Office
      • 100 E. Edwards St., Springfield, IL 62704

• Insurance Update for 2026
  • Open Enrollment will be from 10/27-11/21
  • Bargained increase for 2025-2026 from $765-$805
  • Coverage change – GLP1s for weight loss will only be covered on the Silver and Gold plans
• 2025-26 UFEA Calendar

-IEA-

• Your opinion needed:
  • LGBTQ+ Inclusivity Survey
    • The Illinois Education Association is seeking your input. Please complete this short survey about LGBTQ+ inclusivity in Illinois school districts. Each year, about 1,100 IEA members, elected by their colleagues to represent them, gather at the IEA Representative Assembly. At the IEA RA, those members introduce and vote on proposals that set the direction for the state union’s work.  
    • At the 2025 IEA RA, members passed New Business Item #8, which directed the IEA to survey its members and make the data available to “other state affiliates to assist members and families seeking supportive educational environments due to adverse conditions in their current locales.”  
    • Data collected as part of this survey will remain confidential. Your participation is greatly appreciated. https://site.ieanea.org/survey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=8633983M. 
  • Workplace well-being and mental health survey:
    • The Illinois Education Association (IEA) is seeking your input. Please complete this short survey examining the workplace well-being and mental health of IEA members.
    • At the 2025 IEA Representative Assembly (RA), members passed New Business Item #11, which directed the IEA to “conduct polling, available to all IEA members, which will compile data on educator’s workplace well-being and mental health.” 
    • All data collected will be kept confidential. We appreciate your participation. The Survey will close on December 1. 
• Love and community care:
  • Transformative visions in troubling times, virtual series — The Equity Literacy Institute and IEA bring you a virtual, four-part workshop and conversation series about how we as educators and educational leaders can maintain hope, lead with love and embrace an ethic of community care as we continue our transformative efforts during these present times. The first 100 IEA members to register will receive a reserved spot in this virtual series at NO COST. Check out this flier for details and the registration link. Those reserving a spot will need to be prepared to commit to the series dates: Oct 30, Nov 6, Nov 13, Nov 20, 6-7:15 p.m. 
• 2026 Summer Leadership Academy request for proposals:
  • The 2026 Summer Leadership Academy will be held July 27-30, at Illinois State University Bone Student Center. We are looking for presenters who can deliver training sessions in the areas of bargaining, grievance, organizing, equity, political action and leadership development. Please consider submitting sessions that will help our local leaders and members prepare for the upcoming 2026-27 school year.   
  • The sessions layout will be similar to last year – 1-, 2-, 3- or 6-hour sessions to be held on Tuesday afternoon, all day Wednesday and Thursday morning. Six-hour sessions will tentatively be held on Wed., July 29. Anyone interested in submitting for a session should complete the Summer Leadership RFP by Jan. 15. 
• IEA Funding for Professional Development/Conferences
• Undo Tier 2 

-NEA-

• IEA Doxxing Guidance 
• NEA Doxxing Guidance 
• NEA Advocacy rights 
• NEA TODAY –  Your Salary Schedule is More Important than You Think
• NEA TODAY – Resources for Teaching About Indigenous Peoples

-ONLINE REPORTING FORMS-

• MEMBER RECOGNITION –  Share the details so that we can give them a shoutout on social media!
• PERSONAL EVENTS – In the event that a UFEA member experiences a significant personal event, whether that be a loss or celebration please complete this form.  Hospitality Chair, Blair Ediker, will consider the request and send an appropriate gift.
• CONCERN RESOLUTION – Please remember that if there is an issue with another bargaining unit member, we have a negotiated process to address those concerns called Concern Resolution.

UFEA Members, 

School is in full swing and we have survived the Harvest Moon.  We just have to make it through Halloween and it is smooth sailing to Thanksgiving and Winter Break….right.  This month’s update includes information about honoring IEA President Al Llorens that we lost unexpectedly, information about our upcoming insurance renewal, IEA surveys and information on protecting your digital privacy.  Please take a moment to look through this information when you have time.  Thank you for all you do each and every day for our students.    

Now go enjoy your three day weekend!

Julie

Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarships

The Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarship is awarded to two high school seniors — one at Normal Community and one at Normal West — who will pursue a career in education. The 2025 Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarship winners are Sophia Hartke from NCHS and Marissa Gabor from NCWHS.

Sophia plans on attending college and earning a degree in special education. In her essay she states that she recognizes the trials and tribulations that come with special education, and this draws her to the field even more. She wants to be the teacher that makes every student feel seen, loved, and heard. Mr. Michael Roller of NCHS sees Sophia as “someone who is mature, trustworthy dedicated, drive and dependable. She is kind to everyone she meets and is fun to be around. To reward her with this scholarship would be an excellent investment into someone that he is positive will have a very successful future.”

Marissa plans on attending Illinois State University and earning a degree in elementary education. She would like to recognize her fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Brockman (Glenn Elementary) for being such a strong influence for her. She considers her a kind, patient, and genuinely passionate teacher who helped her and others not only succeed academically, but also grow as individuals. Mrs. Amanda Long of Normal West stated that “Marissa is a brilliant and compassionate individual whose academic achievements, leadership experience and personal growth make her and exemplary candidate for this scholarship.”

UFEA Scholarship

The UFEA Scholarship is awarded to the child of a UFEA member who is a high school senior. The 2025 UFEA Scholarship winner is Natalie Sokulski from Normal West.

Natalie plans on pursuing a degree in fine arts, leading to a future career as an artist. Natalie thanks Mrs. Peterson and Dr. Beirbaum for championing her academic and artistic endeavors by encouraging her to submit her work to various art showcases, and commissioning her and a friend to help create works to be auctioned off to raise money for the school. Natalie has clearly defined herself as a leader amongst her peers, even going so far as to have her personal work permanently on display in the schools library.

The Impact Scholarship

The Impact Scholarship is awarded to a Unit 5 senior from either Unit 5 high school, who plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school. The 2025 Impact Scholarship winners are Macie and Bailey Vaux from Normal West. This is the first time UFEA has awarded the Impact Scholarship to two students.

Macie and Bailey will be attending SIU-E next fall, Macie will be working towards earning her Bachelors in Nursing leading to earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice, while Bailey will be be earning a business degree with a future of attending law school. Both girls understand the value of hard work, with their mother being a science teacher at Tri-Valley for 27 years, and their father recently retiring from the Normal Fire Dept.

As highlighted by Dr. Valentine Walker at NCWHS, Macie “is an outstanding young woman with an incredible work ethic, a passion for learning and a deep commitment to her community.”

Dr. Jon Beirbaum describes Bailey as someone that he “would put in that upper echelon category of students who have a pronounced ability to strive for personal excellence, collaborate with others , and be engaged in issues that require careful consideration, analysis, and evidence based reasoning.”

About the UFEA Torchbearer Fund

UFEA has historically provided a number of scholarships to students graduating from Unit 5 schools. In 2024, UFEA’s Representative Council launched the UFEA Torchbearer Fund, an endowment which will continue to provide student scholarships and member grants. Learn more about the Fund.

About UFEA Scholarships

Applications for UFEA Scholarship are available each spring. Eligible students are encouraged to apply, and applications are scored on a rubric. The UFEA Torchbearer Fund Committee, led by the Torchbearer Fund Chair, scores the applications and determines the recipients.

• 1% County Schools Facility Tax – THANK YOU to all who made it out and voted!! IT PASSED!!  This will provide consistent and reliable funding for the District to help maintain all of our facilities, many of them in desperate need of repair and refurbishment.  
• Retirement Incentive 9.4.1
  • Contractual deadline to submit a letter with your intent to retire and received the retirement incentive is May 1st.
  • Sample Letter
• District TRS Meeting – April 17 from 4pm-6pm at Normal Community WEST High School
  • Tier 1 – come and ask any questions you have for TRS about retirement 
  • Tier 2 – come and talk to TRS about the new SSP Savings Program
• Statewide voting for NEA RA is open.  Please consider voting for the following member of Region 14 and Central Illinois.  Information about voting was mailed to your home address.  
  • Mark Wynters
  • Karl Goeke
  • Amanda Andres
  • Stacy Goeke
  • Kelly Streitmatter
  • Topher Tackman
  • Lilliana Zamora
  • Cassandra Bilyeu
  • Amy Evans
  • Elections close April 23rd at 4:00 pm.
• NEW! Protect Public Schools Resource Hub – Keep up with our current actions, responses to executive orders, information, and resources to counter the attacks on public education and the Department of Education at www.nea.org/protect. We’ll continue to include updates and information on the value of the Department of Education and how educators can defend public schools.
• IEA Funding for Professional Development/Conferences

-IEA-

• Attacks on the Department of Education
  • IEA has a statement prepared and will release it whenever the order is issued. It will be posted here, if you would like to look or share with members.
  • NEA has scheduled a second webinar for 7 p.m. Thurs., March 13 for ALL members, community partners and others who support public education. Please feel free to share information about this second, March 13, webinar with all your members. Click here to register.
• ISBE ICE Guidance
• The Resurrection Project, an Illinois-based immigrant justice group
• Seeking members interested in serving on the 2025-26 IEA committees
  • Committee and board subcommittee appointment procedures
  • Electronic applications are available on the IEA website until April 1
  • All applicants will be required to enter their Members Only login information.
  • Any questions, please direct to Courtney Gillespie.
• Looking for recipients of the Minority Teachers of IL Scholarship
  • Please reach out to Unique Mickens if you know a recipient of the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship. There is currently a lawsuit challenging the validity of the scholarship. The IEA would like to know who has received the scholarship and its impact. We believe in a diverse teaching force and recognize the need for scholarships such as the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship.
• Undo Tier 2 

-NEA-

• Legislative
  • Support public education – Donate to the NEA PAC Fund

-ONLINE REPORTING FORMS-

• MEMBER RECOGNITION –  Share the details so that we can give them a shoutout on social media!
• PERSONAL EVENTS – In the event that a UFEA member experiences a significant personal event, whether that be a loss or celebration please complete this form.  Hospitality Chair, Blair Ediker, will consider the request and send an appropriate gift.
• CONCERN RESOLUTION – Please remember that if there is an issue with another bargaining unit member, we have a negotiated process to address those concerns called Concern Resolution.

UFEA Members, 

I hope you are all surviving Testing Season.  It hits every level in the spring and causes a lot of disruption to the teaching and learning of our students.  Just a reminder that no standardized test can measure the impact that you have in the classroom on the learning of your students and the people they will become.  When we reflect back on our own time in school it isn’t the testing that we remember but the life lessons that our educators have taught us.  Make those lessons the ones where you find your joy!!

Have a great weekend, 

Julie

Applicants will use the application form and points will be awarded based on a rubric applied by the scholarship committee.

Applications are now being accepted for:

Phyllis Rosenbaum NCHS Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, graduating from NCHS and choosing a career in the field of education.

Phyllis Rosenbaum NCWHS Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, graduating from NCWHS and choosing a career in the field of education.

UFEA Scholarship

This will be awarded to the child of a UFEA member who is a high school senior and plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school

Impact Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, from either Unit 5 high school, who plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school.

Applications are due by 3:00 pm March 21, 2025

Applications for each $1000 scholarship should be completed online using the application form below by 3:00 pm on March 21, 2025. No submissions will be accepted after that date, and applications without letters of reference or transcripts will not be considered. Any additional information should be mailed to:

Unit Five Education Association
Scholarship Committee
304 S. Eldorado Rd. Suite 2
Bloomington IL 61704

The application form (the same form is used for each of the scholarships) may be accessed using the link below:

2025 Online Scholarship Application

Scholarships

The Unit Five Education Association annually awards multiple $1,000 scholarships to current Unit 5 high school seniors.  Contributions to the Torchbearer Fund help make those scholarships possible.

Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarships

The Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarship is awarded to two high school seniors — one at Normal Community and one at Normal West — who will pursue a career in education. The 2025 Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarship winners were Bradley Jackson from NCHS and Addison Brown from NCWHS.

Bradley is looking to pursue a career as a teacher of Black History at the high school or collegiate level. Bradley thanks Mr. Bryan Thomas for teaching him the importance of being adaptable, flexible and willing to change. In his recommendation letter, Mr. Thomas stated that Bradley “is truly selfless and is always asking how he can help others….Bradley is a very positive and diligent young man with an extremely bright future.”

Addison will be attending Illinois State University in the fall, with a focus on Family and Consumer Science Education. Someday she hopes to be able to teach future educators as she was able to learn so much as she earned her Education Pathway Endorsement. Kimberly Boehm, Orchestra Director at NCWHS, had this to say about Addison, “her dedication, skills, and positive attitude make her a standout individual who will undoubtedly continue to excel in all her future endeavors as an educator.”

UFEA Scholarship

The UFEA Scholarship is awarded to the child of a UFEA member who is a high school senior. The 2024 UFEA Scholarship winner is Zach Rumps from NCWHS.

Zach plans on attending Iowa State and pursue a degree in Construction Engineering. One of his career goals is to “make a genuine and positive impact on the world and the people around me.” He would like to especially thank Mrs. Tomlin (NCWHS-Biology) for recognizing his potential when he didn’t even know it himself. The lessons and conversations they had shaped and will continue to shape his work ethic and determination to be the best student he can be.

The Impact Scholarship

The Impact Scholarship is awarded to a Unit 5 senior from either Unit 5 high school, who plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school. This year’s Impact Scholarship winner is Blake Meyer from NCHS.

Blake plans on attending college to pursue a bachelor’s in biochemistry with a minor in civic engagement. This is just one step in his larger goal of eventually becoming a doctor and helping kids with craniofacial differences at Shriners Hospital for Children. Receiving this scholarship will allow him to spend more time on engaging in service-learning, participating in student organizations that are focused on helping the university, its students, and the community.

About the UFEA Torchbearer Fund

UFEA has historically provided a number of scholarships to students graduating from Unit 5 schools. In 2024, UFEA’s Representative Council launched the UFEA Torchbearer Fund, an endowment which will continue to provide student scholarships and member grants. Learn more about the Fund.

About UFEA Scholarships

Applications for UFEA Scholarship are available each spring. Eligible students are encouraged to apply, and applications are scored on a rubric. The UFEA Torchbearer Fund Committee, led by the Torchbearer Fund Chair, scores the applications and determines the recipients.

Applicants will use the application form and points will be awarded based on a rubric applied by the scholarship committee.

Applications are now being accepted for:

Phyllis Rosenbaum NCHS Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, graduating from NCHS and choosing a career in the field of education.

Phyllis Rosenbaum NCWHS Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, graduating from NCWHS and choosing a career in the field of education.

UFEA Scholarship

This will be awarded to the child of a UFEA member who is a high school senior and plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school

Impact Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, from either Unit 5 high school, who plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school.

Applications are due by 3:00 pm March 18, 2024

Applications for each $1000 scholarship should be completed online using the application form below by 3:00 pm on March 18, 2024. Any additional information should be mailed to:

Unit Five Education Association
Scholarship Committee
304 S. Eldorado Rd. Suite 2
Bloomington IL 61704

The application form (the same form is used for each of the scholarships) may be accessed using the link below:

2024 Online Scholarship Application

Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarships

The Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarship is awarded to two high school seniors — one at Normal Community and one at Normal West — who will pursue a career in education. This year’s Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarship winners were Nina Osborne from NCHS and Bailey Rudge from NCWHS.

Nina plans to study ESL education at the University of Iowa. On her application, she shared: “I hope to teach English language learners … but I also want to find ways to build communities and utilize my understanding of the Spanish language to offer services to those needing aid” According to one her letters of recommendation: “Nina is a joyful and respectful student with high integrity and knowledge of who she wants to be. It will be exciting to see how Nina will use her intellect, curiosity and compassion to become a productive and leading member of our teaching community.”

Bailey plans to pursue an undergraduate degree in Communication and Science disorder at Illinois State, eventually becoming an Speech Language Pathologist. She shared: ” The experiences of volunteering at Special Olympics and my participation in the young athletes program have been such rewarding experiences that hold a special place in my heart, and I would like the chance to give back to the community even a fraction of what it has given me.” According to one of her letters of recommendation: “Bailey epitomizes the type of outstanding young people we want AND NEED in our great profession. She is a torch-bearer for all of those wonderful teachers that helped get her to where she is today.”

UFEA Scholarship

The UFEA Scholarship is awarded to the child of a UFEA member who is a high school senior. The 2023 UFEA Scholarship winner is Dylan Wehmeyer from NCHS. Dylan plans to attend Illinois State University where he will focus on secondary education. He’d like to get a degree as an English teacher and return to teach in Unit 5.

According to one of his letters of recommendation: “Endurance, perseverance, adaptability, the willingness to revise, and the desire to continue learning and improving; qualities that Dylan has in spades, will help him lead the next generations of students.”

The Impact Scholarship

The Impact Scholarship is awarded to a Unit 5 senior from either Unit 5 high school, who plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school. This year’s Impact Scholarship winner is Ella McCully from NCWHS.

Ella plans to attend Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan to pursue a degree in English Education with a minor in History Education. According to one of her letters of recommendation: “While many students would be exhausted with so many roles on their plate, Ella has always worn a smile. Her confidence, self-discipline and positive outlook are admired and will continue to benefit her throughout life.”

More about UFEA Scholarships

Applications for UFEA Scholarship are available each spring. Eligible students are encouraged to apply, and applications are scored on a rubric. The UFEA Scholarship Committee, led by the Scholarship Chair, scores the applications and determines the recipients.

Applicants will use the application form and points will be awarded based on a rubric applied by the scholarship committee.

Applications are now being accepted for:

Phyllis Rosenbaum NCHS Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, graduating from NCHS and choosing a career in the field of education.

Phyllis Rosenbaum NCWHS Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, graduating from NCWHS and choosing a career in the field of education.

UFEA Scholarship

This will be awarded to the child of a UFEA member who is a high school senior and plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school

Impact Scholarship

This will be awarded to a high school senior, from either Unit 5 high school, who plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school.

Applications are due by 3:00 pm March 17, 2023

Applications for each $1000 scholarship should be completed online using the application form below by 3:00 pm on March 17, 2023. Any additional information should be mailed to:

Unit Five Education Association
Scholarship Committee
304 S. Eldorado Rd. Suite 2
Bloomington IL 61704

The application form (the same form is used for each of the scholarships) may be accessed using the link below:

2023 Online Scholarship Application

Remarks as prepared

Good morning Unit 5! It’s my pleasure to welcome fellow educators, members of the Unit Five Education Association, Unit 5 staff, administration and school board members to the 2022-23 school year!

My name is Julie Hagler. While I am sad to step out of the classroom for the first time in over 25 years, I am excited to begin my first year serving as the president of UFEA — representing and advocating for our 1,000 members who do the important work of educating nearly 13,000 Unit 5 students each day.

I remember when I first learned about UFEA. It was 1988 (I know, many of my colleagues weren’t even born yet!) and my 8th grade French teacher, Mrs. Rogers, was serving as UFEA President. I was thrilled to be her office assistant and to learn about her union work — advocating for teachers, students and the community.

That was when I first began to recognize how important schools are to a community. Being a destination district providing high quality education does not only benefit the students and schools, but impacts the services a community can provide and the businesses that thrive there.

The members of UFEA are not only investing in students who can think critically and be civically engaged today, we are investing in our community by building up future leaders and citizens for generations to come.

It is equally important that our community invest in our schools and students.

Strong schools and strong communities only happen when we work together.

That’s why I have been so encouraged to see the district and our community engaged these past few months in conversations about how we can invest together in the future of Unit 5.

The truth is we’ve all been bearing the burden of insufficient resources and inadequate funding for several years. We have been doing more with less, working with larger classes and caseloads, agreeing to contracts that provided less compensation than we deserved, and helping the district stretch limited finances as far as we could — all in an effort to continue to provide the absolute best education and opportunities for our students. But we’re at a breaking point. We can no longer do it alone.

The district has decided something must be done. I am excited that it appears there may be enough community support to address those challenges by investing together. The feedback so far indicates our community is willing to support each of us, our classrooms and schools, and our students. But passing a potential referendum will not be easy. It will take all of us working together.

Funding is not the only challenge we face. We also continue to face the challenges of Covid.

The past few years have been difficult. The pandemic cost us all — collectively and individually — in a number of ways. But sticking together through those challenges has also strengthened us and made us better.

That indefinable quality of grit is present in each and every member of UFEA who taught through this pandemic and in the new educators who developed their skills in schools facing covid restrictions.

We have grown through the adversity of the last three years and we have done it together. We have leaned on each other and we have grown closer. We learned new skills in lockdown and even more skills during hybrid. We are keeping the best parts of that experience to help our students and leaving behind the elements that we hope we never need again.

These past few years have also provided a clear picture of how polarized people are. Despite the division that surrounds us, and seeks to separate us as well, educators are, and need to be, more united than ever.

We won’t agree on every issue, but we are unified on the most important issue — serving our students. The students who bring us joy and bring us to tears need us now more than ever, and they need us sticking together as we advocate for their growing and changing needs.

And we can do it! We can advocate for our students. We can create amazing classroom culture. We can make sure they have the supports they need both in and out of our buildings. We can help each student achieve personal excellence and we will do it together this school year.

We can and must advocate for ourselves and our profession as well. Whether it’s at the bargaining table this coming spring or at the ballot box in November and April, we need to stand together and stick together. Public education is foundational to the future of our community, our country and our democracy.

I know we can face the challenges in front of us together because that’s what we do. We are stronger together.

It is my honor to represent you. And I look forward to spending time in all our buildings this school year, seeing all the wonderful work you do, serving you as you serve our students, and speaking up with you as we speak up for our students and schools.

Let’s have a great year — together.

Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarships

The Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarship is awarded to two high school seniors — one at Normal Community and one at Normal West — who will pursue a career in education. This year’s Phyllis Rosenbaum Scholarship winners were Olivia Hartke from NCHS and Kayla Lorance from NCWHS.

Olivia plans to pursue a degree in elementary education. Olivia believes it is important for students to feel valued and heard in the classroom, and that encouraging students to collaborate with one another will help them be able to learn about other students and their different backgrounds. According to one of Olivia’s letters of recommendation, “Her compassion towards others in need and her kindness towards the special needs students […] in our school shows the true nature of her heart.”

Kayla plans to pursue a career as a Speech and Language Pathologist in a school setting and will attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Kayla’s goals as an educator include seeing student improvement, having confidence in herself as a teacher, and standing up for the educational system. One of her letters of recommendations stated of Kayla: “Her confidence, self discipline, positive outlook, and ability to balance multiple life roles are admired and will continue to benefit her throughout life. I am hopeful Kayla will return to Unit Five so that I may call her a colleague.”

UFEA Scholarship

The UFEA Scholarship is awarded to the child of a UFEA member who is a high school senior. The 2022 UFEA Scholarship winner is Peter Yehl from NCWHS, child of UFEA member Staci Yehl. Peter plans to attend Iowa State University and study Computer Engineering.

According to one of his letters of recommendation: “One of Mr. Yehl’s greatest strengths is something that cannot be taught, his personality. His approachable personality makes his acceptance of the people and cultures he learns about seem like second nature. His ability to bring an element of friendly-easygoingness creates an air of approachability. Additionally, he puts great pride in working to understand and exceed.”

The Impact Scholarship

The Impact Scholarship is awarded to a Unit 5 senior from either Unit 5 high school, who plans to continue their education after high school at a 2 or 4 year college, in the military or at trade school. This year’s Impact Scholarship winner is Benjamin (Ben) Frey from NCWHS.

Ben plans to attend SIU-Carbondale and major in Biology. One of his letters of recommendation described Ben this way: “Ben is very self-confident, yet extremely humble — a rare combination in anyone, let alone a seventeen-year-old. While Ben is driven to earn high marks, it is his natural curiosity, his willingness to engage in a topic, and his desire to truly learn that make him a model student, an academic leader amongst his peers, and a joy to have in the classroom.”

More about UFEA Scholarships

Applications for UFEA Scholarship are available each spring. Eligible students are encouraged to apply, and applications are scored on a rubric. The UFEA Scholarship Committee, led by the Scholarship Chair, scores the applications and determines the recipients.