East St. Louis Center

At the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Learning Resource Center (LRC) on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus in East St. Louis, the need for more intentional, one-on-one support did not come from a report or a trend forecast. It came from daily interactions. Patrons sitting down at computers, navigating unfamiliar systems, asking quiet but urgent questions about forms, applications, and next steps. Through this work, Amber Davis, LSW, program coordinator, began to no...

On Saturday, April 4 at the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus, more than 400 visitors gathered for Community Day. An event in which dozens of vendors, employers, mobile clinics and food trucks came together to connect East St. Louis residents with a multitude of valuable health, wealth and job resources.

Community members took part in a resume workshop, record expungement process, gift card&#160...

 
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), members of the "Divine Nine" Black Greek Letter Organizations, traveled to the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus and gave a presentation during the CHS Black History Assembly on Friday, Feb. 27.

CHS Principal Kimberly Allen and CHS School Resource Officer (SRO) Sgt. Kasey Hoyd welcomed the members of the NPHC organizat...

In celebration of Black History Month, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Learning Resource Center (LRC) located at East St. Louis Center on the Wyvetter Younge Higher Education Campus, welcomed Lauren Parks of House of Miles East St. Louis for an engaging, hands-on learning experience with Uni-Pres Kindercottage students. The program introduced young learners to the legacy of jazz legend Miles Davis while highlighting the rich cultural history of the East St. Louis community.

Through st...

Honoring Legacy. Celebrating Leadership. Inspiring the Next Generation.

During Women's History Month, communities across the country reflect on the women who have shaped institutions, movements, and futures. This March, the Learning Resource Center (LRC) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s East St. Louis Center on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus (WHYHEC), hosts the East St. Louis Sheroes in Education series to honor four distinguished educators from East St. Lo...

After a national search, Tandra Taylor, PhD, is Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s new Assistant Vice Chancellor for Educational Pathways and Community Engagement. In this role, Taylor will be based at SIUE East St. Louis Center on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus. Provost Denise Cobb expressed her enthusiastic support of Dr. Taylor.  “Dr. Taylor is a thoughtful, community-centered, equity-minded ...

 
“Whenever someone will tell you something that's impossible, always look for an opportunity to say I’m possible anyway.” Keynote speaker and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumna Leslie Hardin (’19) shared her road toward entrepreneurship with dozens of SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School scholars at the traditional Thanksgiving luncheon. Students and staff gathered for an early afternoon o...

Director Kimberly Allen Strategizes for a Successful Year and Beyond   

Weeks into the start of the new year, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School’s (CHS) New Director Kimberly Allen shares her vision, along with goals for students, faculty and the school. 

SIUE alumna Allen, who worked at the CHS for four years as a faculty associate for special education, has returned to the school with a wealth of knowledge. Allen earned a bachelo...

CHS Welcomes New Director Kim Allen; CHS Students Enjoy Full Day of School Orientation   

To enter the building, there was no escaping it – the hip-hop tunes playing from the speaker, amplified personal messages, supporters lined up cheering, shaking pom-poms and holding signs and finally – the long red carpet. On Monday, Aug. 18, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) welcomed its scholars to the first day of classes with exhi...

SIUE Project Success, SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School and the Illinois Community College Board Collaborate to Support Community Gardening  


The children made it look easy. They hustled and bustled without any talking – only intense concentration – as they industriously pulled weeds, removed brush, sticks and other debris from the over-run Community Garden beds on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus in East St. Louis.

Seven students from the Southern Illinois U...

Friends and Family Cheer for Graduating Students During the School’s Commencement Ceremony   

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) provided pomp, circumstance and a chance for graduating seniors to revel, strut and shine during the school’s 2025 Commencement Ceremony. 

CHS graduated 28 seniors on Friday, May 9 in the middle of campus at the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Center. The commencement speaker was Nate Wi...

SIUE Alumnus is Credited for Work at SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School 

For being a positive influence and giving students a good view law of enforcement officials, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Police Sgt. Kasey Hoyd received Fox 2’s “Proud to Serve” award. 

SIUE alumnus Hoyd, who serves as the resource officer at the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School, accepted the station’s March award and $500 on a live segment that aired on Tuesday,...

Detainees Echo in Sorrowful Chorus, “Jail is No Fun!”

He was dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit. She was clad in a gold one. Both, with their wrists and ankles chained together, sat under watchful eyes of armed law enforcement officers. 

Mr. Scott and Ms. McCottrell, detainees at St. Clair County Jail, spoke to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in the Multipurpose Room on the Wyvetter H. Younge ...

Black Greek Step Show, a Highlight during CHS Homecoming 2024 Activities

A week of excitement, high spirts and friendly competition was punctuated with foot-stomping, explosive energy during Homecoming 2024 activities for students at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS). 

The school began its festivities on Friday, Oct. 25 with sports activities, where rounds of basketball were played and former and current CHS track, and basketball pla...

CHS Students Enter the First Day of School to Much Fanfare   

Some walked down the long red carpet with much excitement and flair. Others cruised along quickly, hoping to pass by without much attention. But that didn’t happen, because the order of the day was for the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) to give their students a rousing welcome on the first day of classes, Monday, Aug. 12. 

Watch video of SIUE East St. Louis C...

Bestselling author and commencement speaker, Nic Stone, gave the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) 2024 graduating class five words that could be fashioned into survival weapons:  gratitude, resilience, empathy, audacity and tenacity.

Stone addressed 22 seniors, their families and friends on Friday, May 17 in the middle of campus at the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Center.

Robin Hughes, PhD, dean of the SIUE School of Education Hea...

Wearing embossed, white-collar sashes and holding white candles, the inductees of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) Chapter of the National Honor Society looked out on a roomful of family, friends and staff. Thunderous applause and shouts were offered in celebration of the inaugural class. 

“You are making history today as being the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School’s very first National Honor Society (NHS) members,” ...

Rebirth is the theme of Nichlas Hart’s pencil drawing, which was one of 100 pieces of art selected to be showcased during Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Annual Regional High School Juried Art Exhibition, Feb. 8-16. A total of 200 pieces were considered for the show. 

Hart, a junior at the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS), said his piece, “Transfigure of the Shell,” was created out of a sense of him releasing negative emotions. 

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“Stretch your arms out wide. Now, take them and wrap them around yourself,” said Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Venessa A. Brown, PhD. 

Brown, associate athletics director for diversity, equity and inclusion, athletics chief diversity officer and professor of social work, spoke to a red, pink and white decorated roomful of SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) female students on Wednesday, Feb. 14 in the Multipurpose Room on the Wyvetter H. Younge Hig...

More than dribbling down the court, laying up a shot or jumping for a rebound, three Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) seniors enjoy being part of their basketball team. The players’ love for the team, in large part, is because it brings them a sense of belonging. 

Tra’Veon Dennis, Chross Mister and Lathan Streater talked about their experiences on the CHS team ahead of their Senior Day basketball game with a scheduled tip o...

It wasn’t the North Pole. It wasn’t the night before Christmas. And they weren’t Santa’s helpers. But that didn’t keep “elves” from the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) from stuffing holiday swag bags and distributing them to their students. 

CHS faculty and staff worked diligently and in secrecy on Monday, Dec. 11 in the Multipurpose Room on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus in East St...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School’s (CHS) Angel Tree Campaign was showcased on KMOV-TV Channel 4’s newscast on Sunday, Dec. 3.  

In the segment, CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD, explained that the school’s 10-year-old Angel Tree Campaign was created to support scholars in need and to give a gift to each scholar at the holidays.   

A few students also talked about the benefits of the gift-giving campaign and t...

End-of-the-year gifts are needed, valued and provided by real-life “angels,” according to three Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students. 

CHS students A’Khyra Allen, Dannica Davis and Patrick Washington have been recipients of the CHS Angel Tree Campaign and fondly recall presents of yesteryear. 

“During the pandemic, we couldn’t go out, and the supplies that the Charter School gave us really helped out...

Before leaving for their holiday break on Friday, Nov. 17, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students sat down to a school tradition – a meal of turkey, dressing and all the fixings. 

“We are grateful for every one of you. You are valued, and we see each of you,” said CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD, to the scholars who had assembled in the Multipurpose Room on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus. “I’...

First came the lesson, then the application and the result was freshly brushed and polished teeth. Bright Smiles Mobile Dental, of Swansea, concluded its services to more than 60 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) students on Friday, April 22. 

“We have to report to the state regarding students’ physical, vision and dental exams,” said CHS nurse Marquita Holton, LPN, who contacted and coordinated the dental visits. “We...