Sangamon Sun

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District 5 on January 28, 2025. The request, made by us at Sangamon Sun, a media organization committed to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs, asked for copies of all emails and memos from the past year that contain the keywords “Lucy Calkins” and “Units of Study”.

As a media organization, we believe in holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public. Access to these records is essential for us to fulfill our professional responsibilities. Given our role in disseminating information, we have requested a fee waiver as a media professional.

In relation to this request, it's worth noting some statistics about Illinois' education system. According to the Illinois Report Card, the average state teacher salary in 2023 was $73,916, while the state average administrative salary was $116,908. The average student-to-administrative ratio is 141:1, and the average student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1. Furthermore, it's noteworthy that 58% of teachers in Illinois have a master's degree or higher.

Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District 5 Principal Dr. Becca Lamon (2023) | https://www.linkedin.com/in/becca-lamon/

The requested documents will shed light on internal communications within the school district related to Lucy Calkins and Units of Study over the past year. We look forward to sharing more information with our readers as we continue our commitment towards transparency and accountability in local government affairs.