USD116 BOE Update: April 21, 2026

The Board approved Jessica Wilson as the next Assistant Principal at Gerber School. Jessica is a current special education teacher at Gerber. She begins her new role July 22.

The Board approved the request for the District to solicit bids and proceed with developing a new space for the Young Adult Program for the 2026-2027 school year.

The Young Adult Program serves students who are 18-22. The program focuses on vocational and independent living skills, social skills and communication, and teaching students different ways to access their community. The focus is on education/training, employment and independent living.

Program Vision: Young Adult Home

We want to provide a real-world living environment for young adults. Moving the program out of the main high school will give provide a supportive and structured setting to teach life skills while developing independence.

• Right now our program serves about 10 students, but looking ahead, there will likely be a need for more space. A Young Adult Home would allow us to serve up to 20 students.
• A separate space would allow our students the opportunity to practice cooking, cleaning and daily schedules, while building their confidence through repetition and support.

Desired Space

A 3 bed/2 bath modular home, built on existing district property across the street from UHS.

• Open layout where several students can be together in one area for collaboration
• Bedroom areas for independence work and vocational skills (could be modified throughout the year to teach different skills)
• Multiple kitchen stations to ensure our students can safely navigate in a kitchen
• Flexible space for vocational training (Example: creating a stock room to teach students how to stock shelves and do inventory. It could also be an exercise space)
• Access to the garden and a yard space (To teach students how to mow the grass or tend a garden)
• Attached garage
• A space for a possible coffee shop to develop a student-run micro business and provide hands-on job skill development. This space would be adaptable for multiple vocational uses (cleaning, taking orders, managing payments/money)

Financial

The estimated final cost range is $250,000 (this is dependent on site and final design decisions). The funds would come from the 1 percent facility sales tax

• The base price for 1,600 square feet is $159,000, plus any upgrades/options.
• Crawl space estimate is $21,000
• Attached garage ranges from $25-40 thousand

Timeline

• The goal is to get the space completed before winter 2026
• Estimate is 90 days for the home to be constructed
• Full project completion is 90-120 days -- this timeline may vary if multiple contractors are involved

The District held a reunification drill with the Sixth Grade Center earlier this month. This allowed us to:

• Practice integration of crisis system and reunification system
• Test new communication system
• Practice a hybrid paper/CrisisGo reunification
• Identify additional staff and equipment needs

Key takeaways

• We need to create a yearly refresher exercise for staff
• We need more staff at all the positions to prevent bottlenecks
• Every position and system needs a backup

13.2 District Consolidated Plan (Approved)

13.3 Young Adult Program Space Needs (Approved)

13.4 C-U Mass Transit District Lease Agreement (Approved)

13.5 Cleaning Contract Bids (Approved)

April 21 Superintendent Report

• District Neighborhood Night is Wednesday, April 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Sunnycrest Center Parking Lot
• Online registration for returning students opens on May 1
• Kindergarten Open House dates are set, please see our website for dates and times for each school

Email: contactus@usd116.org
Website: usd116.org
Location: 1101 East University Avenue, Suite B, Urbana, IL, USA
Phone: 2173843600
Facebook: facebook.com/usd116
Instagram: instagram.com/urbana116/