PEORIA MAGAZINE August 2023

COVER STORIES 46 Assessing Kindergarten- through-12th Grade Education in the Peoria area By ChatGPT 50 The 3 Rs and a B … for Bible By Denise Jackson 54 Safe and Sound By Amy Talcott 58 Social Media, its Promises and Perils By Linda Smith Brown

SPOTLIGHT 24 Call it Shark Tank-lite For Teens By Nick Vlahos 26 Stimulating All the Senses - Peoria Riverfront Museum By Lisa Coon 30 For Math and Science Whizzes, a Sport of Their Own By Steve Tarter 34 Not Your Grandpa’s Game By Steve Stein 38 A Pipeline to Prosperity By Bob Grimson

42 Honing the Skills of the Hill By Chris Kaergard 62 The Longest, Saddest, Most Hopeful of Journeys By Phil Luciano 66 One … Button … At … A … Time By Monica Vest Wheeler 102 Food for Thought By Steve Stein 106 Working In The Shadows By Katie Faley 108 ‘An Assembly Line of Rhyme’ By Pam Tomka

COVER ILLUSTRATION : “Hide and Seek” by Jonathon Romain

2 AUGUST 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE