Unite U-46: Moving Our Schools Forward

Community engagement initiative to develop recommendations on the best way to implement the vision of the U-46 Board of Education.

In early 2020, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, U-46 embarked on an Educational Facility Master Plan (EFMP) process. The Board of Education selected DLR Group, a Chicago-based design firm, as its partner in this work. This process assessed our infrastructure, classrooms, and overall facility use, efficiency, and readiness in order to meet the District’s vision of moving to a true middle school model (grades 6-8 versus only 7 and 8); using the space in elementary schools to expand early childhood opportunities across U-46, and to replace and/or renovate some of our older elementary school buildings to provide equitable access to learning environments that support academic success for all.

On Jan. 24, 2022, the Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution confirming their support of a five-year implementation plan that meets our District’s vision mentioned above. We understand this shift will not be an easy task and acknowledge that we need the engagement and feedback of our community. Therefore, in February 2022, community members and School District U-46 embarked on the Unite U-46 planning process to develop recommendations to improve and move U-46 schools forward.

Please view the Unite U-46 community engagement session recordings, presentations, and summaries here. A building tour and open houses were also offered. If you missed these, here you will find details and a "virtual tour." A summary report of the work is available here. 

To make the Unite U-46 recommendations a reality and address the needs discovered in the educational facilities master plan, Unite U-46 recommended the Board of Education utilize available reserve funds and place a $180 million zero-tax-rate-change bond proposal on the April 2023 ballot to address these goals. Thanks to the vote of the U-46 residents, the zero-tax-rate-increase bond issue was approved. 

The updates provided to the U-46 Board of Education and the Community Advisory Council about the first phase of the Unite U-46 community engagement sessions are available below.