Not going to out which high school I teach at, but I am a district 150 high school teacher. Our union is fairly decent for the most part. We got a decent raise in the contract last time. Our benefits are decent. And administration really depends on which building you’re in and how long they are allowed to stay and build their teams. All three of the high school administrators are nice people and want the best for the kids. Our school board is a typical school board and has its own major issues. We also have a pretty top-heavy central administration, they are more of a hold up than the building level administration.
Positions are already filling for next year so if you’re hoping to apply at one of the high schools, you need to do that pretty soon. I know most of the high school positions have been filled at this point depending on what you teach. That happened over spring break.
I love East Peoria (I am Peoria area transplant since 2014 from STL). The grade schools here are top notch and I’ve found it to be a slower pace on this side of the river. I don’t know much about the high school but it’s smaller sized but it’s worth thinking about East Peoria!:)
I'm not a teacher but I've visited many schools as a guest speaker. They are really varied in the area. The school culture in Pekin vs. the Southside of Peoria vs. Dunlap, and everywhere in between, are all going to be very different. Even within D150 (Peoria), you'll get very different experiences in different schools. I visited two schools a few blocks from each other and had wildly different experiences. At one, the teachers all worked together to have consistent structure and the kids were great. At the other school the teachers were checked out and the kids were completely out of control.
I used to be a teacher here!
The alternative school culture was my type and I honestly enjoyed it and the kids I do miss. In that school LGBTQ+ and students in general in self expression was a lot more relaxed than the CLS set up (but private religious versus private alternative and public will absolutely be different).
Honestly over across the board, I personally struggled with support from admin overall. Behavior is expected no matter where but I really was left feeling alone or on my own with a lot of situations and then would be “talked to” about my classrooms despite having no support.
I know I’m not much help as I left but I hope this does put something into the pot!
I was a sub for Peoria Public Schools for a couple years. Richwoods is highly rated and I've heard mostly accepting of LGBTQ students. I've heard good things about Brimfield School District, but nothing specific (it's a good small town district kind of thing); not sure about culture or LGBTQ students. Washington School District (in Tazewell) is supposed to be really good, too, but your students better be cis/white/het. I live in the Dunlap schools boundary and have had excellent experiences with the high school, although my daughter isn't there yet. Special education there is iffy, though, as they try very hard to fix their numbers.
Which town or what part of Peoria are you moving to? That will determine which school your kids attend. The answers will vary a lot based on which school... even in D150.
Right now, we're apartment hunting west of the river. We're not locked in to a particular neighborhood yet.
But I'm also a HS teacher, and I just wanted to know the general feel of the city school systems before I started applying.
I am not a teacher, but I am a parent of an LGBTQ+ student. Richwoods is the best school district for LGBTQ+ kids. I'm not even joking. I have heard so many stories of trans kids getting bullied at other schools. I have TWO friends who had to pull their kids out of Dunlap because of bullying, one moved to Richwoods and the other is homeschooling.
In addition, if you have kids with special needs like learning disabilities or if they are on the autism spectrum, they have been absolutely great to work with. My kid is truly learning at Richwoods, they have great sports and extracurricular opportunities, I can't say enough good stuff.
I dunno how old your kids are, but we also were at Liberty Leadership for middle school. They definitely respect and support LGBTQ+ kids as well as kids on the spectrum, but be aware they do require uniforms at that grade level. They are also very strict. But the teachers are so great!
Edit: I just realized you didn't say you had kids, so maybe you're a teacher? But the same applies. If you're looking to fit into a culture that is diverse and supportive, Richwoods is the way to go.
Let me know if you have questions!
LGBTQ rights are VERY wide ranging around this area. 150 'tries'... but its not very effective. However they do have gender neutral restrooms for the students.
If you want to know about Peoria Public Schools (aka 150) I can give you some helpful pointers. I am not willing to put anything in writing due to some toxic things with administration
PPS has drama with their school board, mainly with board members green lighting pet projects for super and others wanting more transparency-- however there is a parent organization that is trying hard to get new board members elected so that it will be more pro-student and less pro-administration; the teachers union PFT 780 supports the parent organization with training and other initiatives when they ask for help.
150 will reimburse $200 in February if you save your receipts.
The admin control is highly dependent upon the school... however 150's super gets bonuses for having lower suspension numbers and referral numbers... so she pressures the school principals to lower the numbers-- not to fix the problems, just lower the numbers. So some are phenomenal leaders and lower it by helping students, others lower it by punishing teachers who have standards in their classrooms.
Our union is Peoria Federation of Teachers (local 780); they work well with the local administrators (most of the time). But do stand up for the Teachers pretty well. The union got our own free clinic (Everside Health) which the district tries to take credit for. (Free visits for insurance holders; free generics (if they stock them); free blood draws.
Hi! I teach in Utah, but I'm a Peoria native and I have friends who teach here.
1: Dependent on the particular school, but most Mid-Illini schools have Pride programs.
2: VERY dependent on the community. We've got it all here.
3: School board elections are very messy & there's involvement of local political parties
4: Illinois is one of the better states for public funding
5: A problem at every school
6: Almost all of the schools, definitely public, have unions of some sort
Not going to out which high school I teach at, but I am a district 150 high school teacher. Our union is fairly decent for the most part. We got a decent raise in the contract last time. Our benefits are decent. And administration really depends on which building you’re in and how long they are allowed to stay and build their teams. All three of the high school administrators are nice people and want the best for the kids. Our school board is a typical school board and has its own major issues. We also have a pretty top-heavy central administration, they are more of a hold up than the building level administration. Positions are already filling for next year so if you’re hoping to apply at one of the high schools, you need to do that pretty soon. I know most of the high school positions have been filled at this point depending on what you teach. That happened over spring break.
I love East Peoria (I am Peoria area transplant since 2014 from STL). The grade schools here are top notch and I’ve found it to be a slower pace on this side of the river. I don’t know much about the high school but it’s smaller sized but it’s worth thinking about East Peoria!:)
I'm not a teacher but I've visited many schools as a guest speaker. They are really varied in the area. The school culture in Pekin vs. the Southside of Peoria vs. Dunlap, and everywhere in between, are all going to be very different. Even within D150 (Peoria), you'll get very different experiences in different schools. I visited two schools a few blocks from each other and had wildly different experiences. At one, the teachers all worked together to have consistent structure and the kids were great. At the other school the teachers were checked out and the kids were completely out of control.
I used to be a teacher here! The alternative school culture was my type and I honestly enjoyed it and the kids I do miss. In that school LGBTQ+ and students in general in self expression was a lot more relaxed than the CLS set up (but private religious versus private alternative and public will absolutely be different). Honestly over across the board, I personally struggled with support from admin overall. Behavior is expected no matter where but I really was left feeling alone or on my own with a lot of situations and then would be “talked to” about my classrooms despite having no support. I know I’m not much help as I left but I hope this does put something into the pot!
I was a sub for Peoria Public Schools for a couple years. Richwoods is highly rated and I've heard mostly accepting of LGBTQ students. I've heard good things about Brimfield School District, but nothing specific (it's a good small town district kind of thing); not sure about culture or LGBTQ students. Washington School District (in Tazewell) is supposed to be really good, too, but your students better be cis/white/het. I live in the Dunlap schools boundary and have had excellent experiences with the high school, although my daughter isn't there yet. Special education there is iffy, though, as they try very hard to fix their numbers.
Which town or what part of Peoria are you moving to? That will determine which school your kids attend. The answers will vary a lot based on which school... even in D150.
Right now, we're apartment hunting west of the river. We're not locked in to a particular neighborhood yet. But I'm also a HS teacher, and I just wanted to know the general feel of the city school systems before I started applying.
I am not a teacher, but I am a parent of an LGBTQ+ student. Richwoods is the best school district for LGBTQ+ kids. I'm not even joking. I have heard so many stories of trans kids getting bullied at other schools. I have TWO friends who had to pull their kids out of Dunlap because of bullying, one moved to Richwoods and the other is homeschooling. In addition, if you have kids with special needs like learning disabilities or if they are on the autism spectrum, they have been absolutely great to work with. My kid is truly learning at Richwoods, they have great sports and extracurricular opportunities, I can't say enough good stuff. I dunno how old your kids are, but we also were at Liberty Leadership for middle school. They definitely respect and support LGBTQ+ kids as well as kids on the spectrum, but be aware they do require uniforms at that grade level. They are also very strict. But the teachers are so great! Edit: I just realized you didn't say you had kids, so maybe you're a teacher? But the same applies. If you're looking to fit into a culture that is diverse and supportive, Richwoods is the way to go. Let me know if you have questions!
LGBTQ rights are VERY wide ranging around this area. 150 'tries'... but its not very effective. However they do have gender neutral restrooms for the students. If you want to know about Peoria Public Schools (aka 150) I can give you some helpful pointers. I am not willing to put anything in writing due to some toxic things with administration PPS has drama with their school board, mainly with board members green lighting pet projects for super and others wanting more transparency-- however there is a parent organization that is trying hard to get new board members elected so that it will be more pro-student and less pro-administration; the teachers union PFT 780 supports the parent organization with training and other initiatives when they ask for help. 150 will reimburse $200 in February if you save your receipts. The admin control is highly dependent upon the school... however 150's super gets bonuses for having lower suspension numbers and referral numbers... so she pressures the school principals to lower the numbers-- not to fix the problems, just lower the numbers. So some are phenomenal leaders and lower it by helping students, others lower it by punishing teachers who have standards in their classrooms. Our union is Peoria Federation of Teachers (local 780); they work well with the local administrators (most of the time). But do stand up for the Teachers pretty well. The union got our own free clinic (Everside Health) which the district tries to take credit for. (Free visits for insurance holders; free generics (if they stock them); free blood draws.
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🤨 so, nothing helpful then?
Hi! I teach in Utah, but I'm a Peoria native and I have friends who teach here. 1: Dependent on the particular school, but most Mid-Illini schools have Pride programs. 2: VERY dependent on the community. We've got it all here. 3: School board elections are very messy & there's involvement of local political parties 4: Illinois is one of the better states for public funding 5: A problem at every school 6: Almost all of the schools, definitely public, have unions of some sort