W Austin
Tolono, IL 61880

This school has completely failed in its duty to provide equitable access to education, support, and a safe learning environment. From the very start, my child was denied the opportunity for educational success, receiving no meaningful support for their struggles in reading, focus, or emotional well-being. Instead of recognizing and addressing these challenges, teachers ignored them, allowing my child to fall through the cracks.Worse, the culture at this school actively enabled bullying—both from students and teachers. Rather than fostering a supportive environment, staff dismissed my child’s struggles and reinforced a system where those who needed help were punished instead of assisted. My child was made to feel as though their struggles were a personal failing rather than a reflection of the school’s negligence. They were forced to endure relentless mistreatment, learning early on that showing distress led to punishment. As a result, they felt they had no choice but to mask their pain, smiling through tears just to avoid further harm.This school is not about education, nor is it about student well-being. It is about maintaining appearances and ensuring that only the students who fit their mold—those from wealthier families, those in sports, those who don’t challenge the status quo—are given opportunities to succeed. Those who struggle are left behind, ignored, or even punished for daring to need help.A school that prioritizes its reputation over the needs of its students is not a school at all—it is a system of failure. No child should have to endure what mine did. Until leadership is held accountable and systemic changes are made, this school will continue to fail the very children it claims to serve.

My son has a diagnosis of autism and attended Unity High School. He had an excellent experience with very supportive staff that encouraged him to achieve his goals. After graduating from Unity he attended the University of Illinois and graduated with honors and now works in the Psychology field. Without the positive and empathetic feedback and encouragement he received from the Unity staff this would not have been possible.

We have lived in and actively contributed to numerous communities and school districts, both professionally and through volunteer work. After nearly a decade in this small town, it has proven to be the most unwelcoming place we have ever experienced. Unlike other communities, this town has offered no opportunities for meaningful engagement or volunteer involvement.The school district is even more exclusionary. We have been deliberately kept out of essential communication channels, denied participation in the school board and PTO, and have found no opportunities to volunteer within our children’s schools. Despite their friendliness, our children have never been able to form friendships here, nor have they received the level of support from teachers that they once had. In their previous school, they were thriving—on track for scholarships and enrolled in a gifted program that fostered their growth through a multisensory and interactive learning environment. No comparable opportunities exist here to support their academic advancement.Beyond its insular nature, the district’s primary focus is teaching to the test rather than ensuring true academic growth. We learned far too late that our children were not being taught to read or comprehend material but were instead instructed on how to guess well enough to perform on standardized tests. The same was true for math—despite strong test scores, their actual understanding was alarmingly shallow. This failure of the education system had lasting consequences. Our children missed out on crucial learning experiences, extracurricular activities, and time with family and friends who lived outside the district. When it came time for college, they struggled immensely, requiring extensive remediation that left them overwhelmed and unable to keep up. Our youngest is now facing even greater difficulties, compounded by intense bullying that the school has failed to address.The town itself operates in an exclusionary manner, favoring long-established families while keeping outsiders at arm’s length. School staff actively block non-local families from meaningful participation, ensuring that only longtime residents are considered for employment and volunteer roles. The lack of awareness—or worse, the intentional disregard—for those outside these social circles creates unnecessary obstacles, particularly within the schools. The impact on our children has been profound and distressing.