Our Mission is to invest in an equitable and empowered future for Champaign Urbana by strengthening the community’s commitment to our public schools, teachers, and students.

CU Schools Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization designed to enhance the quality of education in Champaign-Urbana through community support of the public schools. The Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization; our EIN # is 37-1273798

 

Advocates, Allies & Ambassadors for Champaign Unit 4 & Urbana USD 116 schools.

Grant Flashback: STEAMtown ✨ Last year, a CUSF classroom grant helped bring STEAMtown back to life at @carriebuseyelementary . This grant gave first graders hands‑on challenges where they designed, built, tested, and discovered alongside teachers, volunteers, and U of I partners. From MAKEDO kits to microscopes and Lux Blox, students explored big ideas with even bigger creativity. And here’s the fun part: STEAMtown is just one idea! CUSF grants fuel all kinds of teacher‑led ideas — from science stations to storytelling projects to classroom tools that make learning come alive. If you’ve got an idea waiting in the wings, this could be your year to bring it to life. The 2026 Fall Grant Cycle is open until September 28th!!
The award winning @toribeach_videography DONATED her time and talents to create an amazing highlight of CU Schools Foundation initiatives and events in the last year. Check out this snippet of just some of the great things happening and stay tuned for the full video coming soon! Thank you for your hard work and generosity Tori! @unit4schools @urbana116
We ate, heard beautiful music, laughed (and some cried), and celebrated our schools all before 9 AM! The CUSF Kick‑Off Breakfast brought together educators, students, partners, and supporters for a morning filled with stories of impact and innovation. Yavonnda Smith did an FANTASTIC job as emcee (how about those QR codes!). We heard from grant recipients Daneya Carter and Danielle Mallet as well as Jim Wood and Erin Claxon on the impacts of grants in their classrooms. Champaign Central Social Studies Teacher Katie Flugge and student Jaydon Sibley described their perspectives on how Webber & Thies' creative Adopt-A-School "professional boot camp" is shaping future attorneys, and Urbana High School's Nathan Westerman teamed up with Matt Kelly of A&R Mechanical to highlight their partnership and amazing field trip for students with interests in Industrial Technology. We couldn't finish the morning without recognizing Kayla Leitschuh, the winner of our Mann-Hankel Award which honors an educator who exemplifies the very best of teaching, leadership, and service. And of course we heard from the superintendent from both Unit 4 and District 116...Dr. Jennifer Ivory-Tatum in her last year and Dr. Geovanny Ponce in his first! Every moment reminded us how Champaign‑Urbana (and its teachers) shows up for its schools. And a special shoutout to our board for all of their help! Thank you to everyone who attended, supported, and helped make this event meaningful. Your commitment is why these grants, partnerships, and programs are able to exist! We are grateful and excited for a new year! @unit4schools @urbana116
It's not too late to RSVP for our *FREE* Kick-Off Breakfast on September 2. Join other CUSF supporters as we say "Thank you" for your continued support. Doors open at 7:30 AM and the program will begin at 8:15 AM. RSVP BY TOMORROW! We hope to see you there! @unit4schools @urbana116
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