Education Matters: Optimists raise thousands to help cover Belleville school costs

Now that we’ve moved on from the snowmageddon that caused metro-east schools to close early last week, we can turn our attention back to the usual education happenings.

As is typical for our Education Matters columns, our schools have a plethora of honors and upcoming events to share in this edition.

Let’s get started:

Optimist Club raises thousands for Belleville teachers

The Optimist Club of Belleville recently presented Belleville School District 118 with $8,000 it raised through its recent holiday movie partnership with Lincoln Theater.

The money will help teachers purchase additional supplies to enhance their curriculum that are not covered in the district’s budget. Often, teachers use their own money to foot those costs.

Corporate sponsors would get movie tickets (the exact number depended on the amount of their donation), and District 118 distributed tickets to students, explained the project’s fundraising chair George Santner explained. Optimist club members and other local individuals also purchased tickets that were distributed specifically to children whose families may not be able to afford them, he said.

Belleville 118 Superintendent Ryan Boike said his district is fortunate to have so much local support.

“It’s a reflection of our community,” Boike said. “This is an unbelievably generous donation.”

Santner said the holiday movie project is just one of several ways the Optimist Club of Belleville bolsters youth; they also give scholarships, support after prom events put on by high schools and more.

Belleville West students honored at naturalization ceremony

Hundreds of Belleville West students had a unique opportunity to “live civics,” as the school’s social studies department chair Cyndi Oberle-Dahm said, when they witnessed nearly 100 individuals become U.S. citizens in a naturalization ceremony the school hosted last week.

In the spirit of the day’s events, Judge Laura K. Grandy presented four West students with “Last Paragraph” awards, referring to the last paragraph in the Declaration of Independence.

Grandy read descriptions of each recipient:

• Sophomore Fortune Abayomi is a first-generation high school student with a passion for humanitarianism and social justice. Abayomi wants to pursue a career in medicine to further such work.
• Senior Isaiah Bush is a Maroons wrestler who is the epitome of persistence. Despite having sickle cell anemia, Bush is always positive, and hopes to one day give back by hosting a wrestling tournament to support sickle cell anemia awareness.
• Sophomore Alijah “AJ” Burrell has a magnetic personality, is a dedicated student and is always in tune with other people’s needs. He also plays junior varsity soccer at West.
• Sophomore Annabelle Brunner is known for her dedication on the tennis court, in the classroom and as a leader. She recently shared books she read on TikTok to promote literacy.

Local principal recognized at state level

Freeburg Community High School Principal Jill Jung is the Illinois Principals Association’s 2026 high school principal of the year. She was chosen out of 16 other high school principals from all over Illinois.

“Your hard work, dedication and positive attitude have truly set you apart,” the high school posted on Facebook. “This recognition is a reflection of your outstanding contributions and the impact you’ve made on Freeburg Community High School.”

Honor Roll

• The Belleville 201 board of education recognized two individuals from the Center for Academic and Vocational Excellence, or CAVE, at its January meeting. Victoria Gruettemeyer is a senior at Belleville East who participates in the CAVE’s welding program. Gruettemeyer holds a welding apprenticeship at Mac Medical, Inc. and recently helped design and build a mobile set for the Belleville East Drama Club’s children’s show. When asked to describe herself in one word, Gruettemeyer said “resilient,” CAVE Director Jacob Strausbaugh told the board.
• CAVE School Psychologist Alysia Bernardini, who also works with the Bridges program, was too honored at Belleville 201’s January meeting. Strausbaugh said one of Bernardini’s greatest achievements is the “strong, trusting relationships that she has built with students.”
• Harmony-Emge School District 175 selected its December “Character Kids” based on the theme of empathy. Congrats to kindergartener Derez Jennings, first grader Levi Night, second grader Dakarai Crosby and third grader TaRonn Johnson.
• Eighth grader Julia Hayden took first place in Millstadt Consolidated Schools’ spelling bee -- for the third year in a row! Eighth grader Jonah Emge and 5th grader Audrey Rangel took second and third place, respectively.
• Frohardt Elementary in Granite City has a plethora of January students of the month: Zao Sampson, Lily Hughes, Danna Gomez Montelongo, Joseph Butler, Ellis Asperger, David Townsend, Carlos Gaona Jr., Andrew Garcia, Archer Paolini, Taber Thebeau, Paisley Pickett, Logan Sampson, Kimberly Carmona Martinez, Adelynn Halm, Luca Newsome, John Kudelka, Sarah Hannel and Justin Sullivan. Granite City High School juniors Alexa Clark and Baylee Fischer are the Rotary Club of Granite City’s students of the month. Over in Millstadt, Mason Robertson is the district’s January Optimist student of the month. Moving into February, Ethan Deihl is Belleville 118’s Washington School’s student of the month for showing honesty.
• Local school districts have also been giving shout-outs to exemplary staff. In O’Fallon’s Central School District 104 Angie Reiter, a music teacher at Dawn Elser Elementary School, and Robin Haynes, a pre-K teacher at Dawn Elser Elementary School, were given staff spotlights by Superintendent Gabrielle Rodriguez. Reiter has been teaching for 22 years and has a lifelong love of music. Haynes has been teaching for 32 years and taught pre-K in Central 104 when it first started. The Granite City Community School District 9 also does staff spotlights. Mitchell Elementary School nurse Ann Birdsong took the honor for the week of January 23. In a Q and A posted by the district, Birdsong said “Knowing I made (students) feel safe, cared for and supported reminds me of why I chose this role and it makes it incredibly rewarding.”
• Mascoutah Elementary School kindergarten teacher Bethany Hoerchler was recently recognized with a Staff Sparkle award. Community members can nominate staff. This is Hoerchler’s second Staff Sparkle award this year.
• The January 2026 Educator of the Month in the Collinsville school district is Jennifer Cox, an educational assistant at Renfro Elementary. When nominating Cox, Renfro Principal Laura Bauer praised Cox’s work ethic, patience, kindness, humor and problem-solving skills.

Mark your calendars

• West Junior High Volleyball is collecting jackets, coats, gloves, socks, blankets, really any clothing item needed to keep warm this winter for students and community members at its Thursday, Feb. 5 match against Pontiac Junior High. You can get in free with any donation starting at 4 p.m.
• Signal Hill School District is having its VIP (Very Important Person) Dance for kindergarten through fifth grade students and their guests from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6, in the Signal Hill School Community Center. Students can invite any adult guest they choose. Cost is $5 per guest.
• Wolf Branch is hosting a similar event, dubbed the “Special Guest Dance,” also from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at Wolf Branch Elementary for pre-K through fourth grade students. Tickets are $15 at the door and include two free concession tickets.
• Middle school girls (grades 6-8), the last day to sign up for SIUE’s annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is Friday, Feb. 6. Sign up for free online at https://buff.ly/bohrrnl. Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at SIUE’s School of Engineering building.
• Lebanon Community Unit School District 9 is hosting a Rock-N-Roll Bingo on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Belleville/Swansea Moose Lodge. Doors open at 5:30 and bingo starts at 6:30 p.m. It’s $30 per person or $250 for a table of eight.
• Jump to help Franklin Elementary from 6-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at Fairview Heights’ Sky Zone location. The school will get a portion of every 1.5 hour session ticket sold.
• Dine at the Fairview Heights’ Red Robin to support High Mount School on Thursday, Feb. 12. A portion of food sales will go back to the school.

In case you missed it

• Metro-east school districts recently submitted their levy requests, meaning how much they wish to collect from taxpayers this year, to their relevant county clerks. But this doesn’t mean districts will get what they’re asking for; there’s a long and complicated process ahead. The BND recently broke down this process.
• East St. Louis School District 189 has found a unique way to fill staff vacancies in its schools. Read more on our website about how international teachers are making a difference for the district, brought to you by St. Louis Public Radio’s Hiba Ahmad.
• In Madison County, the regional superintendent of schools is retiring and his wife may soon take over the position. Read more on our website about what regional offices of education and their leaders do.