Latest news with #WoodlandElementary
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Woodland, Towne Acres getting new principals
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Two Johnson City elementary schools will have new principals for the 2025-26 school year. Johnson City Schools announced Richard Hutson will be the next principal at Towne Acres Elementary. Hutson has been the principal at Cherokee Elementary since 2018. 'I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to join the amazing school community of Towne Acres Elementary School,' Hutson said in a news release. 'I look forward to working with each member during this transition and building on the high level of success they have become accustomed to. Towne Acres has a rich history of academic success, and I am eager to begin working with Dr. Simmons and the faculty and staff to ensure a smooth transition as we prepare for the 2025-2026 school year.' Bitcoin mining impacts Northeast TN from Limestone to Mountain City Prior to his time at Cherokee, Hutson was the principal at Church Hill Elementary School for seven years. Hutson replaces Josh Simmons at Towne Acres, who will now serve as the principal at Woodland Elementary. Simmons took the Woodland role as Karen Reach is retiring at the end of the summer. 'I am extremely excited to be joining the Woodland Elementary community,' Simmons said. 'Woodland has a long history of academic excellence and providing wonderful opportunities for students. They have an amazing team of teachers and staff, and I look forward to working with them to continue to provide an excellent elementary school experience for students. I am excited to work with Dr. Reach over the next month to ensure we have a smooth transition to the 2025-26 school year.' Simmons had been the principal at Towne Acres since 2018. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Illinois elementary school teacher charged with possession of child porn
GURNEE, Ill. (WTVO) — Lake County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Todd Fowler, 47, for allegedly possessing and disseminating child pornography. Fowler has been a teacher and coach at Woodland Elementary School in Gurnee since 2019. He was put on administrative leave as the investigation moves forward. Officers received a tip that Fowler was connected to the dissemination of sexual images and videos of children. He is also accused of sending images of students from social media to other sexual predators. Authorities searched the teacher's residence in the 300 block of Buckingham Drive in Grayslake and seized a device that officials think was used to share child pornography. 'This is a despicable crime, especially when committed by someone entrusted to be a positive influence on our youth,' Sheriff John D. Idleburg said. 'The actions of one individual do not reflect the thousands of hardworking, dedicated teachers and educators in our community.' Fowler is charged with disseminating child pornography and possessing child pornography. Fowler was not granted pretrial release. His next court date is set for May 23. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
16-05-2025
- CBS News
Teacher at Gurnee, Illinois elementary school arrested on child pornography charges
The Lake County Sheriff's Office said they have arrested and charged a teacher at a Gurnee elementary school for disseminating child pornography. Police said they received a tip from a social media company that one of their users may have shared child pornography with another user on their platform. The investigation traced the media in question back to a home in the 300 block of Buckingham Drive in Grayslake, Illinois. When they searched the home, police said they found the device used to send the child pornography. Lake County sheriff's detectives arrested Todd R. Fowler, 47, who is a teacher at Woodland Elementary School in Gurnee. Police said the school district has been cooperative and collaborative in their investigation. Police said they believe that in addition possessing and sharing child pornography, Fowler took photos posted on social media by area students and their parents and shared them with pedophiles from across the country. The Lake County State's Attorney has charged Fowler disseminating child pornography and possession of child pornography. He remains in the Lake County jail awaiting an initial court hearing Friday morning. Prosecutors will ask for Fowler to be held in custody. An investigation remains open and ongoing, Lake County officials said. It is possible Fowler may face additional charges.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Suburban teacher facing child porn charges accused of sharing student images
LAKE COUNTY, Ill. (WGN) — A teacher from Gurnee was arrested Thursday for disseminating child pornography. According to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, 47-year-old Todd Fowler, was arrested following an investigation that was initialed from a tip from a social media company. The company told law enforcement that one of their users may have shared child pornography to another user. Detectives obtained a warrant for Fowler's Grayslake residence and discovered a device 'likely used to share child pornography,' a statement from the sheriff's office said. Fowler is a teacher at Woodland Elementary School in Gurnee. Detectives believe in addition to possessing and disseminating child pornography, Fowler took photos posted to social media by area students and parents and shared them with pedophiles across the country. 'The Woodland School District has been cooperative and collaborative during the entirety of this investigation,' the statement said. Fowler has been charged with disseminating child pornography and possession of child pornography. The Lake County Sheriff's Office said additional charges are possible. The sheriff's office asks that you speak to your children to see if they have communicated with Fowler or believe they may be a victim of Fowler. If so, please contact sheriff's detectives at 847-377-4000. Fowler is due back in court Friday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Woodland Elementary School opened in 1906. Here's why Wichita district plans to close it
Editor's note: Before voters decide on a $450 million school bond issue on Feb. 25, The Eagle is profiling many of the schools affected. Read more profiles and find continuing coverage of the bond issue election here. Woodland Elementary opened at its location 'in the isolated territory between the Little and the Big Arkansas rivers' in 1906, according to Wichita Eagle archives. It was open to two grades and had about a hundred students. By 1920, the district hired contractors to build a new school beside the old one that could hold six grades for the growing north Riverside neighborhood. That building — which started with four classrooms and has been renovated and added onto over the past century — still stands at 16th and Salina. Address: 1705 N. Salina Size: 41,252 square feet of building space on a 3.1-acre campus. Built: 1919 with major renovations and additions in 1950, 2005 and 2014. Enrollment (2023-2024): 327, with 91.1% economically disadvantaged, 30% English Language Learners (students who are not fluent in English language) and 13.1% students with disabilities. Racial demographics: 68.5% Hispanic, 18.3% white, 7% African American, 6.1% American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian or multiracial. Consultants targeted Woodland — along with three other elementary schools — for closure based on enrollment trends and its proximity to newer schools or schools it plans to rebuild with the bond issue. All four schools are in the northwest quadrant of the school district, which has the highest density of small elementary schools in the city. The district said it's trying to 'right-size' the schools in that part of Wichita. Wichita Public Schools is moving to a 'newer and fewer' buildings approach to education, putting smaller neighborhood schools with smaller enrollment numbers in jeopardy. Unlike the other schools the district is closing, Woodland's enrollment numbers have been on the upswing in the 21st Century, rebounding from 212 students in 2008 to 347 this year. As a neighborhood magnet school, it is open to students within the neighborhood boundaries and students outside the neighborhood who apply and are selected through the district's magnet lottery system. When the district developed its master plan, Woodland's enrollment of 327 students was higher than the number of students at the school pre-COVID (325). But district officials have said even that enrollment number is unsustainable when it comes to the expenses of paying teachers, staff and for programs at the school in the long term. The target enrollment for pre-kindergarten to 5th grade is 'a little over 600,' according to the master plan. Two elementary schools, as of the 2023-2024 school year, had 600 or more students: Isely Traditional Magnet (626) — which would be converted to a K-8 school if the bond issue passes — and Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet (621). Four others had more than 500 students. A 2024 feasibility study found Woodland's building condition was in the upper half of all elementary schools in the district. It had an FCI of 0.48 — meaning the cost to maintain the building over the next five years was estimated at 48% of the cost to rebuild it with a new building of the same size — and an enrollment of 327 students, which was under the 350-student threshold the consultants chose as a standard. Woodland was expanded through a 2000 bond and the 2008 bond. The 2000 bond issue upgraded and replaced infrastructure at Woodland, added three classrooms, built a new FEMA shelter multipurpose room and kitchen, and renovated the second floor restrooms. The 2008 bond issue paid for a new cafeteria and kitchen. The district was unable to provide a detailed cost breakdown of how much money went to Woodland in the 2000 bond. The school got $900,000 from the 2008 bond. Students from Woodland would be reassigned to Cloud, Irving, McLean and Riverside elementary schools, according to the facilities master plan approved by the Wichita school board in 2024. The school district plans to rebuild Irving and McLean if the 2025 bond issue passes. A timeline in the master plan shows they could be complete in 2028 or 2029. Cloud was built in 1964, with additions in 2005 and 2010. Riverside was built in 1910 with additions in 2004 and 2014. Woodland could be closed by 2028, according to a timeline in the district's master plan that's guiding the bond issue. The closure is expected to coincide with the completion of a tear-down and rebuild of McLean and Irving, which are scheduled for 2028 and 2029. Luke Newman, facilities director of Wichita Public Schools, indicated that the district plans to close Woodland — and three other elementary schools — whether the bond passes or not. 'The master plan is the master plan, and we have to move forward with it, with or without a bond,' Newman said. 'And so what will happen is we'll still need to move forward with the building retirements, but we would just have to do it without the rebuilds on the other side of it.'
