I-KAN News

Hidden in Plain Sight is a new community project aimed at educating parents about the signs of drug use and the methods kids may use to conceal them. This initiative, spearheaded by the collaborative efforts of the Kankakee County State's Attorney's Office, the Kankakee County Coroner's Office, the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office, the City of Kankakee and the Pledge for Life Partnership, a local coalition that focuses on initiatives to reduce substance misuse, marks a significant step forward in addressing substance abuse prevention and intervention in our community.

Hidden in Plain Sight provides parents with a hands-on educational experience, offering insights into the various ways in which drugs can be hidden within everyday items. By simulating a teenager's bedroom, complete with common household items that may serve as hiding places for drugs and paraphernalia, this initiative aims to empower parents with the knowledge and tools they need to recognize potential warning signs and initiate conversations with their children about substance abuse.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Hidden in Plain Sight is the collaboration between community partners and students from the Kankakee Area Career Center (KACC). Through this partnership, students from KACC's design and construction programs have played a pivotal role in building and designing the trailer that houses the educational experience. Their dedication and craftsmanship have brought this project to life, ensuring that Hidden in Plain Sight is not only informative but also visually engaging and accessible to all members of our community.

"We are thrilled to be part of this collaborative effort to educate parents and caregivers about the dangers of substance abuse," said Jim Rowe, Kankakee County State's Attorney. "By working together with our community partners and the students from Kankakee Area Career Center, we are taking proactive steps to address this critical issue and protect the well-being of our youth."

“Hidden in Plain Sight represents a significant investment in the health and safety of our community, emphasizing the importance of prevention and early intervention in combating substance abuse. Through continued education and outreach efforts, we are confident that this initiative will make a meaningful impact on the lives of families throughout Kankakee County and beyond,” Rowe added. 

Kankakee and Iroquois County high school seniors were recently announced as 2024-25 Illinois State Scholars by the Illinois Students Assistance Commission (ISAC).

Illinois State Scholars rank in the top 10 percent of high school seniors from hundreds of high schools across the state. Selection is based on academic performance, standardized test scores and GPA. In mid-November, congratulatory letters from ISAC were mailed to Scholars and a Certificate of Achievement for each Scholar was provided to individual high schools.

The I-KAN Regional Office of Education #32 recognizes the academic accomplishments of these high achieving students.

2024-25 Illinois State Scholars include:

Bishop McNamara Catholic Schools
Sarah Berg, Mitchell Krizan, Carter Levesque, Mason McCue, Grant Naese, Clara Nugent, Eamon O’Brien, Maya Patel, Johannes Peddinghaus, Christian Provost, Evan Rauwolf.

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School
Brandon Abbott, Victoria Bartucci, Dana Benjamin-Maurice, Terra Benson, Taylor Bialecki, Allison Chavez, Elizabeth Clary, Jolie Corral, Sydney Curtis, Brooklyn Daugherty, Tara Depoister, Natalie Dobosz, Madelyn Dykstra, Karime Esparza, Lauren Fortin, Spencer Frey, Lester Garrett, Braden Gibson, Adyson Gordon, Emmerson Longtin, Bianca March, Owen Marcukaitis, Caleb McBurnie, Kyla McIntyre, Jalynn Melvin, Jonah Nichols, Avrey Nuesse, Thomas Offill, Vaari Patel, Jackson Pierson, Carson Quigley, Alexander Richards, Conor Sidener, Audrey Thill, Sarah Toole, Eleena Weatherford, Tyler Wilson and Caleb Woods. 

Central High School
Lucas Gifford, Isabelle Hemp, Jackson Regnier and Izabelle Stoops.

Cissna Park High School
Katie Hylbert and Brooklyn Stadeli. 

Donovan High School
Gracie Sanders and Connor Stahlschmidt,

Grant Park High School
Elizabeth Voigt

Herscher High School
Katelyn Borschnack, RaeAnna Buente, Leroy Cloonen, Alexandra Decman, Trevor Duvall , Mary Kanak, Allie Kohl, Ava Meredith, Benjamin Siedentop and Lily Stevens.

Iroquois West High School
Stefani Aguilera,  Damian Alvarado, Dean Clendenen, Noah Gomez, Elliot Martinez, Jaqueline Pina, Ella Rhodes, Francisco Sandoval and Aubrey Wagner. 

Kankakee High School
Parker Beasley, James Bretzlaff, Abigail Haut, Adele Mau-Bridges, Kelsey Medina, Brennan Morris, Jose Luis Pina Gutierrez, Millia Riley, Matthew Shelton and Daniel Wei. 

Manteno High School
Lilian Cole, Zoe Harrison, Bennett Hernandez, Mackenzie Hespen, Ethan LaFlamme, Miranda Myers, Payton Noftz, Jason Palka, Camden Rewerts, Theodore Schutters, Nicole Stevens, Briana Sweeney and Brayden Townsend. 

Milford High School
Braden Bulla, Devon Davis, Mattison Johnson and Anna McEwen.

Momence High School
Tessa Chico, Luke Ford, Avery Halpin, Jessele Joseph and Heidi Lovell.

St. Anne High School
Hanna Sparenberg and Tyler Lamie.

Watseka High School
Jack Combes, Dorothy Harms, Evan LaBelle and Haven Meyer.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), the state’s college access and financial aid agency, presents this prestigious recognition of academic achievement to exceptional Illinois high school students annually. This year, more than 16,700 honorees join the other outstanding students who have been honored since the designation was first introduced in 1958.

The Illinois State Scholar designation is a non-monetary award. Each State Scholar will receive a congratulatory letter and a Certificate of Achievement from ISAC. Additionally, awardees can download an official Illinois State Scholar Program badge to display on their online profiles, social media platforms, and share with their high school counselors, colleges, employers, family members and others. *Note that the Illinois State Scholar Program announces honorees based on the year they would begin any postsecondary education, not based on the year they graduate from high school.

I-KAN Regional Office of Education #32 and I-KAN Schools applied for and recently received approximately $150,000 in grant funding to provide trauma informed behavioral health services this coming school year. The grant, Greater Illinois Trauma Informed Behavioral Health Services, was made possible through the Illinois Department of Human Services, Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

The I-KAN Regional Office of Education operates I-KAN Schools which includes the Regional Alternative Attendance Center (RAAC) and Students All Learning Together (SALT).
SALT programs help students who are lacking high school credits for a variety of reasons including: truancy, dropout, potential dropout and chronic absence, earn course credits toward high school graduation.
The RAAC program offers social/emotional and behavioral support to students who have multiple suspensions or who may be expulsion eligible and uses a trauma-informed model to build resilience and interpersonal awareness in students.
Students in RAAC and SALT are from 13 school districts throughout Iroquois and Kankakee Counties.

The grant funds will enable I-KAN ROE and I-KAN Schools to provide mental and behavioral health interventions to address trauma recovery and other mental health improvements, specifically to mediate the high correlation between family adversity, trauma and violence. Through grant funding, I-KAN Schools will provide screening and assessment, trauma-informed psychoeducation, therapeutic services and service linkage and resource navigation.

“The goal of I-KAN ROE and I-KAN Schools is to provide students with a safe environment and the tools necessary to become contributing members of the community. We want to ensure our students are provided with as much support as possible in order to reach their full potential,” said I-KAN Regional Office of Education Regional Superintendent of Schools Frank Petkunas.

Trauma informed screening and assessment will be a new program at I-KAN Schools. This program will be designed to gather an in-depth understanding of the nature, timing and severity of traumatic events, the effects of those events, current trauma-related symptoms and functional impairment. From that information, I-KAN Schools can address students’ needs.

Trauma informed psychoeducation and psychological first aid will also be a new program at I-KAN Schools. This will include developmentally appropriate education delivered at school in the form of brief interventions with students and families to educate and validate traumatic stress reactions and the family experience.

Trauma specific therapeutic services will be an additional new program at I-KAN Schools. This will include providing comprehensive, evidence-based, development appropriate interventions to youth and their families who have experienced violence and trauma.

Service linkage and resource navigation is currently done at I-KAN Schools but this grant will allow I-KAN Schools the opportunity to expand on these efforts.

More than 85 individuals representing school districts, law enforcement and fire departments from across the region attended the Standards Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method Train the Trainer Workshops on Oct. 24-25. The workshops, through the I Love You Guys Foundation, were hosted by the Kankakee County Sheriff's Department and the I-KAN Regional Office of Education and held at Kankakee Community College. The Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method is used for crisis response and post-crisis reunification.