East St. Louis Center

“Liberating self through the pursuit of freedom, while chasing the shadow of justice” is an illuminating descriptor of the pedagogical philosophy, rooted in Critical Race Theory (CRT), held by a young Black educator who has pledged himself to socially-just, community-based teaching, scholarship and activism. 

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Nate Williams, PhD, associate professor in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior’s (SEHHB) Department ...

Santa Claus gave out trucks, dolls, stuffed animals, games, educational packets and more during the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Bluffview Head Start/Early Head Start Center’s annual Winter Festival, held Thursday-Friday, December 17-18. 

More than 75 families picked up toys for their tots, which were donated by the Marine Toys for Tots program. For those Bluffview Center families who have not picked up their gifts, they can do so when the Center opens on Monday, Jan. 4,...

The Gateway Illinois Chapter of The Links, Inc., helped make Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start parents’ Christmas a little brighter. The service organization’s Services to Youth Facet committee donated $600 in Walmart gift cards. 

Patricia Wharton, a 30-year Links member, presented the gift cards to Head Start/Early Head Start Interim Director Carolyn Jason on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the program’s administrative offices. 

The donation...

These stories are not from the pages of worn books, old audio tapes or reels of archived film. These accounts of struggle and triumph come directly from the mouths, minds and hearts of Black East St. Louisans who recall living during times that were simple but not easy, close-knit but segregated, and more courteous but racially hostile. 

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center is working on one of its initiative’s ...

For many young people in the Building Futures program, designed to help them secure living-wage employment and attain self-sufficiency, challenges and obstacles are common. Fortunately, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Building Futures program, created for those aging out of the foster care system, has been a lifeline. 

So, when the pandemic began, Building Futures counselor Ora Lockett went to work strengthening that cord. During the months with the ...

For students and families of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS), their Thanksgiving holiday is going to be filled with a lot of “swag” – courtesy of the generosity of SIUE and community donors. 

For three hours on the blustery afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 19, CHS faculty and staff, and SIUE School of Education, Health and Human Behavior (SEHHB) faculty members passed out “Holiday Swag Boxes” to more than 100 vehic...

“In a perfect world, what would you like to do?” It’s a question, after having served and sacrificed, to get veterans to better envision a world of opportunities for themselves. 

Asking the question is Amanda Depew, Air Force veteran and social work graduate assistant with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) program. 

During the pandemic, VUB continues to hep veterans prepare for postsecondary education...

Exhilarated, buoyant, empowered, valued, regarded and visible are some adjectives that rushed to mind when several Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) women reflected on the historic news of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris being the first Black and Indian-American woman in line to hold the second highest office in the land. 

President-elect Joe Biden emerged as the projected winner after the Nov. 3, 2020 presidential race, which netted...

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing’s (SON) WE CARE Clinic has secured a $78,751 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant entitled “Nurse, Education, Practice, Quality and Retention – Registered Nurses in Primary Care COVID.”

The WE CARE Clinic is located on the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus, and serves an underserved population that is disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

This funding will allow the Clinic to ex...

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (ESLC) is home to many programs and services that provide opportunities for education, life skills and economic mobility for the entire family, and SIU System President Daniel Mahony was excited to personally meet staff when he toured the facility on Friday, Oct. 30. 

“I planned to come to the East St. Louis campus a while ago, but COVID changed those plans,” said Mahony, who began working March 1 as the SIU Sy...

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) joined forces with the City of East St. Louis on Saturday, Oct. 17 to help spruce up the town. 

VUB participated in the “East Saint Louis Revitalization” project that directed beautification efforts in the area of Sixth St. and Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., according to Jasin Jackson, VUB program coordinator. 

The cleanup was part of the City’s efforts to revitalize...

An engaging, thought-provoking and provocative assortment of topics and speakers were discussed and presented during Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s third annual Diversity Day, Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 14-15. Under the theme, “The Fierce Urgency of Now – SIUE Shaping a Changing World,” the virtual event boasted more than 22 presentations with approximately 975 people registering. 

  “Diversity Day’s theme highlights the work of SIUE...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start’s ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of students, staff and families garnered a visit from SIUE East St. Louis Center Executive Director Tim Staples, EdD, to all of its centers. 

Head Start/Early Head Start is gradually re-opening its centers for in-person services. Staples visited the Helen Davis Head Start/Early Head Start Center on Friday, Oct. 9. 

“The SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start staff contin...

Because it’s good for young people to know their rights during legal proceedings and to be exposed to various career choices within the legal field, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center Collinsville’s Upward Bound Scholars Academy (UBSA) program is teaching the virtual course, Trial Advocacy, to its students. 

“It’s a critical subject we wanted our students exposed to, and we are happy to have such a qualified teacher to do it,” said...

Getting needed after-school academic instruction and help for high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging, but Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Upward Bound (UB) EC/BEM program has approached the task with a multi-faceted approach. 

“Virtual learning has been extremely difficult based on the fact that our students have to participate within their own school districts regularly and work with us also,” said UB Prog...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start students and families began the school year on Tuesday, Sept. 8 with the same mission to provide quality preschool education, and its staff with an intense commitment to provide programming in various platforms and approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 Through Friday, Oct. 2, the Head Start teaching staff is conducting services such as developmental and social emotional screenings, transportation and pedestrian...

Twenty-eight graduates of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) Class of 2020 experienced their first virtual commencement ceremony Friday, May 26. View the ceremony at siue.edu/esl-charter-school.

CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD, extolled the graduates’ virtues and acknowledged it was not the type of senior year they ever could have imagined because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Victory Class of 2020, take a bow and walk with the power ...

Reading, writing and angelic donations? Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students can expect to experience all three – with the latter one arriving Thursday, Dec. 19. 

For the past month, CHS has been accepting donations and funds for its sixth annual Angel Tree giving campaign to benefit students. The donation drive will end Friday, Dec. 13. 

“The CHS staff would like to ensure that all of our students experience the joy ...

Within the circle, feelings of hurt, anger and reflection were shared with open honesty, and were met with understanding and support. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) hosted “Coffee, Conversation and Dessert” on Friday, Aug. 9. The event dealt with the Netflix miniseries, “When They See Us,” created, co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay, and was coordinated and hosted by CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD. 

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The life instructions were clear, concise and motivational – chase your dreams. 

It was the sage advice given by 18-year-old Radricka Kelly-Oden, valedictorian and graduation speaker at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) 2019 commencement ceremony held Friday, May 17 in SIUE’s Morris University Center, Meridian Ballroom. 

“It is imperative that you chase your dreams, because you didn’t choose your dreams, you...

 At first sight, the small, demure English teacher could pass for a student herself. However, Bridget Nelson has earned high marks as a teacher with her Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students, because of her commitment and care to them and their education. 

“Ms. Nelson is a stellar example of an excellent teacher,” said Gina Jeffries, EdD, CHS director. “During Teacher Appreciation Week, it is befitting to recogniz...

 Life in East St. Louis – as experienced and written by a few students at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School – will soon be on stage. 

“This year, the students decided to write their own scenes about life in East St. Louis,” said Kathryn Bentley, associate professor in the Department of Theater and Dance, about the second year of her Sankofa Residency at the Charter High School (CHS). 

Bentley’s weekly d...

Women – in all of their glory, complexities and struggles – were lauded and discussed during the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School’s (CHS) mini-conference, held Friday, March 29. 

“We wanted to both celebrate and bring attention to the issues that have affected women in history and those that are still affecting them today,” said Bridget Nelson, CHS English faculty associate and conference coordinator. “Although...

For 30 minutes, with only a pen, a notebook and unbridled imagination, students at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) brought to life aliens, vampires, lovelorn teenagers and more. 

CHS’s Creative Writing Club is in its second full year of operation, facilitated by Valerie Vogrin, professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, and Carolyn Kribs, CHS social studies faculty associate. After school, students assemble i...