Regional Alternative School

📌Spring 2025 @ RAS-BLM Campus📌 According to the Numbers… ⭐️Countless learning opportunities ⭐️100+ Student and Family Orientations ⭐️18 (42 total for the year) OSHA Certifications earned by students ⭐️15 (29 total for the year) Food Handler Certifications earned by students ⭐️30+ ISU preservice teachers completed clinical hours at our campus ⭐️1 Student Teacher ⭐️1 Full-Time Social Work Intern ⭐️1 Part-Time Social Work Intern ⭐️5 IWU Nursing Students ⭐️ $800+ of donated school supplies by our friends and family ⭐️1 Senior field trip to HCC ⭐️1 Bloomington Bison hockey game ⭐️24 students learned basic self defense techniques ⭐️6 Guest Speakers (Army National Guard, MTI, OSF Community Resource Center, StaffQuick, Project Oz, Lincoln Tech) ⭐️1 Job Workshop ⭐️3 AMAZING local church partnerships (FCC, Eastview, St. Mark) ⭐️2 REMARKABLE partnerships with local food banks (MWFB & EIF) to stock the RAS School Market ⭐️15 RAS students volunteered to stock the FCC Helping Shelf Project ⭐️300+ people served each month through the RAS School Market ⭐️15 weeks worth of VR opportunities to work on vocational skill building (heavy machine operator, welding, mechanic, HVAC, small engine, farm hand, etc) ⭐️10+ trips to the RAS Community Garden ⭐️$2250 in grants received by RAS Staff this semester ⭐️15 weeks of visits from outside counselors (Project Oz, CHS, Court Services) ⭐️1 irreplaceable partnership with CareerLink leading to a part-time student custodian ⭐️700+ times outside agencies and visitors came into RAS to provide support/services ⭐️ 15 professional development opportunities for RAS Staff ⭐️1 invaluable and informative research project with ISU’s Deptartment of Special Education ⭐️20 local schools served to meet the needs of their students ⭐️11 local school districts providing transportation for their students to our campus ⭐️38 (62 total for the year) high school graduates ⭐️20 dedicated and caring staff (19 humans, 1 dog)

🎓⭐️🥳👏 6️⃣2️⃣ 🎓⭐️🥳👏 RAS provided educational services for over 300 students throughout the 2024-25 school year. Of those students, 62 young adults took full advantage of our services and completed their high school graduation requirements through RAS this year. Please help us in congratulating them as they move on to the next stage of life!

The regional need for remote learning options has increased dramatically over the last five years. RAS has continued to meet that need in a variety of ways. This year, we introduced the Digital Learning Lab (DLL) and asked Maddie LaCroix to lead the program. And lead it she did! Maddie was able to meet the needs of multiple students requiring remote learning for a variety of reasons. She seamlessly integrated coursework and learning opportunities for students in grades 7-12 over the last 9 months. Maddie was unable to enjoy the food and treats during Staff Appreciation last week, so she enjoyed her own ice cream and milk bar to close out this school year! 🍨🍦🥛 We are excited for the DLL and look forward to the many opportunities Maddie will continue to provide for students!

We had a great week at The Office!

She's the 💛of RAS - always taking care of staff & students, juggling a hundred tasks at once and still making EVERYONE feel seen, heard & welcomed 💛. Today we celebrated School Principal Day for our incredible "Queen" Quick 👑

Two of our awesome students, Damarion and De'Sha, have been selected to participate in the Stay4 Project. This program "makes students aware of educational opportunities through field trips to area colleges, and connect students with advisers who assist them in finding the necessary financial aid and scholarships for college." Damarion and De'Sha had the opportunity to participate in a day-long trip to ISU's campus today. They learned a great deal about potential careers and academic programs to help them meet their goals. We are so proud of both of them!

Your daily dose of Dash. You're welcome. 🧡

RAS thrives when we have interns and preservice teachers in our building who work with our students and staff. Kyai Byrd spent the 2024-25 SY with us as a social work intern through her BSW program at ISU. We are so lucky to have seen her grow and flourish throughout this school year! Kyai was a critical part of our check-in crew, and her sense of humor fit right in! Added bonus: She loves working with kids on math! Hailey Toney spent the 2024-25 SY with us as a social work intern through her MSW program at Aurora University. She did an amazing job this year as part of the check-in crew and teaching a variety of SEL lessons throughout the building. Added bonus: She loves working with middle school students! Austin Bender spent spring semester with us as a social studies student teacher. He started his RAS journey as a TCH 212 student, followed by some EAF hours in our classrooms. Austin has been an integral part of our school on a daily basis and strives to provide students with relevant skills and knowledge. Added bonus: He loves the same kind of music as most of our students, and they LOVE him for that! We will miss having these three amazing humans around our building. We wish them nothing but the best and hope to see them back at RAS in the future!

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. RAS stands together to raise awareness & promote the safety and well-being of all children. RAS staff are wearing blue to show our commitment to preventing child abuse.

We showered Mrs. Lindsay with our appreciation for Administrative Professionals' Day 💜 Thank you for all you do to keep RAS running every day!

For the past two growing seasons RAS has rented garden space from the West Bloomington Revitalization Project at the corner of Mulberry and Roosevelt streets in Bloomington. This year RAS has the opportunity to double the amount of space for growing with the addition of a second plot. The goal is to give all RAS students exposure in many different areas from helping design an outdoor space, building raised planter beds, constructing fencing, landscaping, tending to and harvesting plants, learning culinary skills, and general maintenance of the overall space. This project has been funded through state and local Career and Technical Education grants. On Tuesday, students engaged with real hands-on learning during a trip to the community gardens just down the street. During a previous STEM unit in March, each class explored, did research, and planted vegetable seeds of their choice. After 6 weeks of growing plants indoors, Earth Day was perfect timing for the weather and for our plant babies to be moved outside. Students did some weeding and planted their plants in the raised garden beds with hopes of high yields from: a variety of tomatoes and peppers, corn, parsley, golden beets, sunflowers, spinach, collards, mellons, squash and more! We'll keep you all posted on the fruits of our labor!

RAS is incredibly fortunate to have a partnership with Illinois Wesleyan University Nursing Program. As part of their Public Health class, RAS had FIVE nursing students 👩🏽‍⚕️👩🏾‍⚕️👩🏽‍⚕️👩🏼‍⚕️👨🏼‍⚕️in the building. From presenting to students about health related topics to inspiring future healthcare professionals, their impact was invaluable. 🩺🩻

Ms. Walters and Mrs. Quick had the opportunity to speak with two sections of SED 344 at Illinois State University today. This course focuses on preparing content-specific, general secondary education preservice teachers to work with students with disabilities. RAS's approach of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was a highlight of the discussions, as were the many questions posed by students enrolled in Dr. Lee's courses. We are always willing to share all of the great teaching and learning going on at RAS, in addition to all of the supports and services offered to our students and families. Thank you, Dr. Lee, for inviting us today! Your partnership is priceless!

We ❤️ FREE 💰❗️Mr. Eddins was awarded a ⚡️Corn Belt Energy Grant⚡️ to provide more experiential learning opportunities for our students! 👏Nice job, Mr. Eddins👏

FREE dental services for anyone under 18 . On Saturday April 12, 2025, Chestnut Family Dental will host a dental clinic. Register at https://chestnut.org/give-kids-a-smile.

After speaking with many of our female students, Miss Ryan discovered most of them do not feel safe walking alone. Quick to problem solve, she inquired about offering a self-defense class to help our students build their confidence, awareness, and ability to protect themselves. Enter Gracie Barra Twin Cities Jiu-Jitsu. Owner Torree was quick to say yes to Miss Ryan's request to offer a free session for our students. Torree is an amazing instructor and taught our students so many techniques to protect themselves. We cannot thank her, and her helpers, for their time and support today! We appreciate this new partnership!

RAS Staff had the opportunity to participate in the annual ICEARY Conference in Normal the past two days. It's always beneficial to collaborate with other programs and learn from other educators around the state. BONUS: Mr. Thornton and Mr. O'Kraski presented on the benefits of using art to create your own brand!

🗣️💻 Friendly Reminder 💻🗣️ RAS students will work remotely Thursday, 3/6 and Friday, 3/7 to allow for staff to attend the annual ICEARY Conference. Students will be expected to check their email and Google Classrooms for posted assignments and expectations for each day. Please email or text your child's homeroom teacher if you have any questions. See you back in the building on Monday!

‼️Positive Post Alert‼️ Marc and Kelly, local community members, recently toured our school to learn more about our program. We must have really impressed them because they keep coming back! These two amazing individuals have spent hours in our School Market making sure our donated food and dry goods are nicely organized, assembling food bags for our students and families, and unpacking new deliveries. Thank you, Marc and Kelly, for all you have done to help the RAS Family!

🏒🥅🦬 Thank you, Bloomington Bison, for inviting RAS students and staff to your Education Day today! Everyone had a great time and enjoyed watching the game and participating in the activities you offered. We're lucky to have you as our neighbor!