Our Stories

In August and September 2025, Stand for Children held a series of focus groups with parents of chronically absent high schoolers and a few of those high schoolers themselves – a total of 15 participants. With rates of chronic absenteeism stubbornly high following the pandemic era, the purpose of the focus group effort was to […]

Every person, regardless of their immigration status, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Every child deserves to live without the fear that their home will be raided in the middle of the night. Without the fear that their parents will be taken from them during school drop-off. Every person, whether a citizen or […]

The Occasional Publication for Persistent Education Friends

For Illinois students, it’s been a challenge to get back to regular school attendance after the pandemic. About a quarter of student miss more than 10% of school days. In high school, it’s even worse, with about 35% of student being chronically absent. Stand for Children is conducting four focus groups to better understand the […]

From the moment Iris Galicia stepped into Farragut Career Academy IB World School, she had more than just academic goals in mind, she had a promise to keep and a dream to fulfill.  As early as second grade, Iris had already set her sights on one destination: the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). For […]

It is quite easy to see how participating in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program in high school may seem like a declaration of a career or college pathway. The unique learning experience provided by CTE, which includes rigorous Dual Credit and invaluable work-based learning opportunities (WBL), may make high school students feel obligated […]