East St. Louis Center

Under the watchful eyes, encouraging nods and trained patience of instructors at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts, students are diligently practicing for a curtain call at 6 p.m. Friday, July 30 at the East St. Louis Senior High School, 4901 State St. 

The performance, which is free and open to the public, will mark the end of the program’s summer session. 

“Our students are ready and looking forward to showcasing...

There comes a time when even the powerful could use some help. The Empowerment Sculpture, in front of the central offices of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start on the campus of the SIUE East St. Louis Center, received a needed refresh. 

Students from the SIUE East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts’ summer session revitalized the 15-year-old statue, under the direction of SIUE alumnus Andra Lang Jr., art teacher. The figure consists of thr...

H.E.R.O.E.S. Care will be providing 250 suits during a Veterans and Active Duty Resource Fair on Monday, July 26 at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Higher Education campus. The event will run from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Building D Multipurpose Center.  

Veterans Upward Program Director Bound James Robbins noted that it has been more than 18 months since an event of this type has been held, and there is great need among area veterans. “With the economy ...

From covering traffic mishaps and personality features in Savannah, Ga., to weather events and crime drama in Tulsa, Okla., to courtroom cases and political news in St. Louis, KMOV Channel 4 Reporter Ashli Lincoln revealed her journey in broadcast journalism to students in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Upward Bound (UB) EC/BEM program. 

Lincoln was one of several professionals from the St. Louis and Metro East area who participated in the UB We...

Be persistent despite challenges, dream big and form your own board of directors. These are just a few instructions that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (ESLC) Executive Director Timothy Staples, EdD, gave Collinsville High School students on Friday, June 18 on the Edwardsville campus. 

The students are participating in the SIUE East St. Louis Center Collinsville’s Upward Bound Scholars Summer Academy (UBSA) that runs from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Frida...

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center for the Performing Arts program has begun its summer camp 2021. 

“The City of Champions” is the theme of the summer program for children ages 6-17 years old. Classes include piano, guitar, violin, African drumming, keyboards, hip-hop, ballet, Dunham Technique, West African, jazz, chorus, arts and crafts, and more. 

Performing Arts instructors include Gerald Williams, Esau Toombs, Mary Jo Pembrook, PhD, Ph...

Miss Jay’s Cafeteria, of Cahokia, has been awarded first place in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s inaugural East St. Louis food industry business plan competition, the Café of Champions Challenge.

Miss Jay’s Cafeteria representatives Cynthia Richardson, Jere Richardson and Shay Jones edged out the other finalists during the final round of competition which included a taste testing pitch. The first-place prize includes $2,000 and 12-months of rent and utility f...

More than 300,000 children and families transition from Head Start programs to kindergarten every year, and thanks to Head Start training and support, children and families are more likely to experience school success in kindergarten and beyond. 

These facts and figures are behind the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start program conducting its first in-person 2021 SIUE Head Start Kindergarten Readiness Camp (KRC), according to Adrienne Kaesberg, instru...

The final three St. Clair County and East St. Louis area caterers and foodpreneurs have been selected to move into the closing round of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s inaugural East St. Louis food industry business plan competition.

Numerous entrepreneurs expressed interest in the local competition, according to Jo Ann Di Maggio May, director of the Illinois SBDC for the Metro East at SIUE and Challenge coordinator, and Ali Vlahos, SIUE Learning Resource Center program coordi...

Coworkers are circled around a twist of five colorful chords, working together and trying to come to an agreement as to which rope is connected to the other four. 

Consensus Circle was one of the activities that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center Collinsville’s Upward Bound Scholars Academy (UBSA) program staff participated in during team building exercises held Friday, May 28 in the Multipurpose Room at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus (ESLHEC)...

After more than a year of an unprecedented pandemic, restrictions are lifting, boundaries are widening and spirits are soaring. It’s enough to make people break out in song, dance or both. 

The turn of events added to the delight of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (ESLC) for the Performing Arts After School program presenting its spring concert, which was held in-person at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 20 in the Multipurpose Room at the East St. Louis Highe...

On this week’s episode of Segue, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s weekly radio program exploring the lives and work of the people on campus and beyond, Chancellor Randy Pembrook interviews numerous guests in remembrance of Johnetta Haley, a prominent member of the SIUE and East St. Louis community.

This episode of Segue airs at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 23. Listeners can tune into WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound or siue.edu/wsie.

Haley, whose service at SIUE spanned nearly 48 years, ...

Shouts of jubilance and victory could clearly be heard through the masks of parents, family and friends as the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) Class of 2021 marched, socially distanced, down an outdoor red carpet and to their awaiting seats in the middle of the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus.  

“Today is a miraculous day. We are here to witness and celebrate the class of 2021,” said CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD....

They’ve graduated some time ago, but keep coming back to reminisce about good times, re-establish connections and rally behind the mission and vision of their alma mater. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville welcomed its 2021 Golden Graduates during the fourth annual reception and commencement ceremonies, held virtually on Thursday and Friday, May 6-7, respectively. 

“We are pleased to honor and celebrate all SIUE alumni who graduated more than 50 years ago,” said Ca...

Like countless of other students across the nation, attending school in-person is something that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) student Bryce Shanklin has wanted to do for more than a year. 

Shanklin, along with 39 other CHS scholars, began in-person instruction on April 5. 

“I missed being in school. I wasn’t doing good online,” said Shanklin, a junior. “I like coming, because I get one-on-one help. I also w...

Working on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus during the spring semester has been enjoyable, engaging and educational, according to Southern Illinois University System President Dan Mahony, PhD. 

Mahony brought the SIU System business to SIUE in January to better gain understanding and obtain first-hand knowledge of the campus. Mahony plans to leave the University in mid-June, when he and his wife, Laura, will move to Springfield for permanent residency. 

“SIU...

Five St. Clair County and East St. Louis Area caterers and foodpreneurs have been selected to move into the second round of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s inaugural East St. Louis food industry business plan competition.

Numerous entrepreneurs expressed interest in the local competition, according to Jo Ann Di Maggio May, challenge coordinator and director of the Illinois SBDC for the Metro East at SIUE, and Ali Vlahos, SIUE Learning Resource Center program coordinator. Ten i...

Four Collinsville High School seniors, recipients of a total of $84,200 in scholarships, are headed to college this fall, thanks in part to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Collinsville Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) program. 

Three of the Collinsville upperclassmen – Claudia De La Cruz, Sierra Hoffmann and America Gutierrez-Trejo – have selected SIUE as their college of choice, according to UBMS Program Director Desiree Tyus. U...

A steady stream of vehicles carrying parents and preschoolers drove onto the campus of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville on Friday, April 16 for a parade that marked the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start 38^th Annual Parent Training and Recognition Luncheon. 

 “We are so grateful and proud of our parents,” said Curtiseena Wilson, Cahokia Head Start Center manager and Awards Ceremony committee member. “We did...

By providing insight on their experiences living in East St. Louis, a group of panelists hope to skew negative misconceptions about the city through Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s last Sankofa Lecture and Dialogue Series presentation of the academic semester.

The series features robust conversations surrounding the history of slavery and its lasting legacies, and is organized through SIUE’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center, specifically its ...

If you ask Courtney Parker’s four children, they will say their Belleville mom is the best! When the Illinois Head Start Association (ILHSA) was asked, they agreed – two times in a row. Courtney Parker, president of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start Belleville Center’s Parent Association, has been selected as the 2021 Illinois Head Start/Early Head Start Parent of the Year. 

Parker was awarded the top parent prize during ILHSA&#8217...

Visits to the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, National September 11 Memorial and Museum, National Civil Rights Museum and Slave Haven Museum were educational, exciting and all virtual for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center Collinsville’s Upward Bound Scholars Academy (UBSA) program students.                                

USBA students traveled virtually to Tennesse...

Breast Cancer awareness will be heightened and access to services increased for underserved populations thanks to a $20,000 grant from Komen Missouri to the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing’s WE CARE Clinic, located in East St. Louis.

“Susan G. Komen is not only dedicated to finding the cures for breast cancer through research, but also making an impact directly in our communities,” said Komen Missouri Acting Executive Director Dawna Currigan. &#8220...

Creating, cutting and arranging pictures into patterns, completing math-related puzzles in the nick of time and answering questions arranged in a popular game format, were some of the activities that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students completed during their first virtual (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) STEAM/Pi Day on Thursday, March 25.  

“We are so excited to virtually offer our first STEAM/Pi Day,&...

In pursuit of the ongoing well-being of employees, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start administrators attended the National Center on Health, Behavioral Health and Safety’s (NCHBHS) virtual Staff Wellness Institute from Tuesday-Wednesday, March 23-24. 

“The overall wellness of staff remains a high priority, which is why we were delighted to participate in the conference,” said Lisa Tate, SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start assistant program ...