Carole Sharwarko –

Crisis Center targets homelessness among those fleeing domestic violence

October 4, 2022 at 4:01 p.m.

For a victim of domestic violence, the prospect of leaving their abuser includes the cold reality of moving out of their home and establishing a new life. Keshia Ellis, the...

Instructional coaches Jenny O'Connor, from left, and Colleen McWalter help teachers like Pat Flanigan with student reading strategies at Evergreen Park Community High School.

Program in Evergreen Park aims to help kids who have trouble reading catch up to their high school peers

May 26, 2022 at 5:02 p.m.

Imagine you're a high school freshman who struggles with reading. In math class, you're learning about parallel lines. Then your history teacher mentions the 38th parallel. And a character in...

A mental health hospital for kids is opening in Tinley Park, after finding ‘incredible demand’ in the south suburbs

April 21, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

Addressing what he calls a severe lack of child psychiatric care in the south suburbs, a psychologist is opening a mental health hospital and outpatient center dedicated to serving kids....

Sixth graders Karlisha Lindsey, Allison Estrada and Corey Williams get worksheets from band teacher Roosevelt Griffin during a recent practice at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in Harvey.

‘It was always about giving back’: Award winning educator Roosevelt Griffin came home to Harvey to offer kids opportunities through music

February 17, 2022 at 2:06 p.m.

It's Roosevelt Griffin III's favorite time of the academic year. As a music teacher and band leader in Harvey Elementary District 152, the second half of the year is when...

Supported by cannabis taxes, a Tinley Park school graduated its first class of certified nursing assistants while offering young people a second chance at success

January 6, 2022 at 4:21 p.m.

An alternative school in Tinley Park recently graduated its first group of certified nursing assistants through a program created especially for the school's population and supported by funding from state...

In role with ‘Chicago Strangler’ documentary, Olympia Fields resident works to ‘express the humanity’ of slain Black women

December 14, 2021 at 4:22 p.m.

With her participation in a new documentary series spotlighting a decadeslong string of murders on Chicago's South and West sides, Beverly Reed-Scott worked to humanize the 51 women who were...

Chef Mark Crawford helps junior Malachi Baines with his knife skills during a culinary class at Rich Township Fine Arts and Communications Academy.

A new $1.4M kitchen gives Rich Township students a leg up on culinary careers

December 1, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

When 16-year-old Malachi Baines randomly woke up at 4 a.m. on a recent weekday, he decided to get an early start in the kitchen — the $1.4 million professional culinary...

A Steger woman wanted to give her kids an opportunity ‘to fix what they see wrong in the world,’ an effort that snowballed into the bustling Community Closet

November 17, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Laurie Hensley didn't know exactly what to do when two empty funeral urns got dropped off at the Community Closet of Steger and the Southlands. Having operated the charity for...

Longtime softball coach makes it his mission to Empower Girls for Life: ‘There are so many young ladies out there who need to know they have opportunities’

September 30, 2021 at 2:39 p.m.

It's only because he had no kids at the time that Bill Conroy got the job as softball coach. In 1995, a new rule meant the local Little League program...

School buses are parked at the Illinois School Bus Company lot in Crestwood on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. As in-class learning resumes at schools across the area, neuropsychologist Kymberly Larson suggests giving students tools they can use to combat anxiety associated with what she calls "pandemic aftershock."

Back-to-school can create anxiety, especially this year; an expert suggests teaching kids skills so they can ‘stop for a second and think’

August 18, 2021 at 3:50 p.m.

As they tentatively settle into the new academic year, parents and children face so many factors that lie out of their control. It feels like in-person learning could fall victim...

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