The Champaign LIFT program, a partnership between the Champaign City Council and school districts to help Black students thrive in their academic environment, will take off in October. The Champaign City Council discussed the program this past Tuesday before it gets finalized in May.
University researchers are also said to be involved in analyzing the effectiveness of the program. The LIFT program directors will be working closely with the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment in the College of Education at the University to analyze the demographic disparities in these schools.
Since 2018, the City and school districts noticed a drastic increase in violence in the community with nine young people in the community at the age of 17 and younger being victims of gun violence — an issue that left three dead and six injured.
This program was built to provide support for African American students in communities that are subject to violence, mental health issues and trauma as well as assisting Black students in academic success.
The staff report stated the large gap in proficiency rates between Black and white students, with white students scoring significantly higher than their Black counterparts.
In order to be eligible for this program, students must meet criteria ranging from homelessness and food insecurity to 10 or more absences and three or more suspensions. There were 78 students from 67 different families who were eligible for this program, according to the staff report.
This program is estimated to cost about $594,000 in its first year of action, with the City of Champaign paying for roughly half of that and the school district paying for the remainder.
According to the staff report, LIFT was scheduled to go into motion last year, but as the pandemic rolled around at the same time, the program initiatives were put on pause.
Katina Wilcher, director of the Center for Family and Community Engagement, explained how because the program is still fresh, they will need to assess the program as they go in order to evaluate the number of staff members needed.
“We understand that because this is a newer program, we’ll have a hard time making sure things go smooth so really we’ll know how things go with trial and error,” Wilcher said.
A steady concern that Champaign City Council members have had was the large-scaliness of this program, and the possibility of the program not being able to support all the families meeting the criteria.
If the intergovernmental agreement gets approved next month as scheduled, staff would be hired this summer with the program beginning this upcoming fall.
Clarissa Fourman, City of Champaign Council member, conveyed her excitement for the rise of the program.
“In order for Black kids to really get that equal opportunity in life, these are the types of programs that need to be initiated, so I’m really glad that this is being pushed,” Fourman said. “I just hope they’re consistent with it. This is going to be the perfect step to giving these students what they need.”

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