A school-based support group is tapping into the warmth and wisdom of grandparents to help provide social and emotional support for girls in middle school. A recent report showed student mental health challenges in Illinois remain unsustainably high.

The Illinois State Board of Education will ask state lawmakers to provide the same funding increase as past years for Illinois’ 800-plus school districts.

The Illinois State Board of Education voted Wednesday to recommend the state increase education funding at about the same amount as previous years, but far less than what would be needed to fully fund education across the state.

The newly launched organization will offer research-backed guidance to Chicago school leaders and board members as they tackle the district’s thorniest issues, from budget deficits to struggling charter operators.

For 33 years, the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship’s mission has been to steer more people of color into the state’s teacher workforce, which is largely white. But in October, state lawmakers quietly stripped race and ethnicity requirements and made the program open to students of any race.