There are lots of ways to show up for Unit 4—and sometimes, it’s with a pencil, paintbrush, crayon or tablet in your hand!

I’m inviting Unit 4 student artists to show up with their creativity by creating an original interpretation of my portrait for a chance to have their artwork featured in the PonSAY newsletter banner.

Choose any style or medium you love. Anime or manga? Comic or graphic novel? Kawaii? Retro? Doodle? Crayons? Mosaic? Digital art? Make it yours.

Think of it like a Google Doodle. Each featured piece can bring a different style, perspective and personality to PonSAY.

Draw it. Paint it. Design it. Collage it. Show us your creativity.

All skill levels are welcome. This is about creativity, not perfection.

Learn more and submit student art here

This week, Stratton Academy of the Arts held an assembly to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. Students representing several countries, including Guatemala, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico, sang, gave speeches and video presentations. The assembly also featured a performance by Mariachi Libertad!  

Dear Unit 4 Community,

Leadership starts with showing up.

It means being present when people need to be heard. It means being at the table when decisions are being made. It means celebrating together, working through challenges together, and standing beside one another when our community needs us.

This week reminded me of just how many ways we show up for Unit 4.

This week, I traveled to Springfield for the Illinois Association of School Administrators Conference, joining school leaders from across Illinois to learn, exchange ideas, and talk about the challenges and opportunities facing public education.

While there, I also met with state officials to advocate for Champaign Unit 4 Schools.

It is important that Unit 4 has a voice in Springfield.

Decisions made at the state level affect what happens every day in our classrooms, from school funding and special education to transportation, educator recruitment, student services, facilities, and much more.

I talk about our successes. I talk about our challenges. And most importantly, I talk about our students.

Advocacy is about making sure the people making decisions understand how those decisions affect the children, families, and educators we serve.

When those conversations are happening, Unit 4 needs to be at the table.

Last night, two schools that usually love to compete came together for something much bigger than a rivalry.

Central and Centennial volleyball took the court at the University of Illinois' Huff Hall for our Pink Out.

For our student-athletes, this was an incredible opportunity to compete on a collegiate court. But what makes the night even more special is the reason our two schools came together.

Central and Centennial joined forces to support breast cancer awareness and the Mills Breast Cancer Institute at Carle. Take a look at what our students and staff said about the opportunity.

One of the commitments I made when I came to Unit 4 was that we would provide our community with opportunities to ask questions, learn, and see things firsthand.

That includes the conversation around our school facilities.

Our Building Better Schools Information Sessions and Tours continue this weekend with a visit to International Prep Academy on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 1 - 3 p.m..

These sessions provide an opportunity to tour our facilities, learn about the projects included in the Nov. 3 referendum, and ask questions directly of District leaders.

Additional tours are scheduled at Franklin STEAM Academy on Oct. 10, Jefferson Middle School on Oct. 17, IPA on October 25, Franklin on November 1. All from 1 - 3 p.m.

I encourage you to show up, take a look for yourself, ask questions, and get the information you need.

Showing up does not always mean being physically present.

Sometimes it means sharing your voice.

Throughout my Listen & Learn conversations, I have asked our students, staff, families, and community members to tell me what is working, what isn't, and where Unit 4 needs to improve.

Soon, we are going to ask you to do that again.

Beginning Oct. 19, Unit 4 will launch the SCoPE Communications Survey, giving our families, staff, students, and community an opportunity to tell us how well the District communicates.

We don't just want to hear what we're doing well. We need honest feedback about where we can improve.

The results will give us a baseline that we can use to set goals, make improvements, and measure whether our communication is getting better.

When the survey arrives, I hope you'll take a few minutes to show up with your voice.

We will be listening.

I have seen firsthand that when something happens to one Unit 4 school, this community has a remarkable ability to rally around it.

We saw that after a fire destroyed the playground at Kenwood Elementary this summer.

Now, we have an opportunity to turn that difficult moment into something special.

From Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, volunteers will come together for the Kenwood Playground Community Build to create a new play space for our students.

This isn't simply about replacing playground equipment.

It is about giving children back a place to play, laugh, build friendships, and just be kids.

We will need volunteers and community partners to make it happen. There will be opportunities to help build, provide meals and refreshments, and support the project in other ways.

 Volunteer sign up

Donations  letter

I can't wait to see our community show up for Kenwood.

There is a phrase I use often with our leadership team: Students First.

Putting students first isn't something we accomplish with a slogan.

We do it through our actions.

We show up in Springfield and advocate for them.

We show up in the stands and celebrate them.

We show up at community meetings and ask questions.

We show up by sharing our voices.

And when one of our schools needs us, we show up for one another.

That's how strong school communities are built.

Thank you for continuing to show up for Unit 4.

I'll keep showing up, too.

Challenge Accepted.

Dr. Geovanny Ponce
Superintendent
Champaign Unit 4 Schools

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