Press Release: Pritzker-Stratton's Educational Success Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Anna SchneiderSenior Communications Associate 217.242.9645aschneider@advanceillinois.org

 Ginger Ostro of Advance Illinois to Serve on Pritzker-Stratton’sEducational Success Transition Committee

November 27, 2018

 Chicago, IL — Today, Governor-elect JB Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor-elect Juliana Stratton announced that Ginger Ostro, executive director of Advance Illinois would serve as a member of the Educational Success Transition Committee. “This committee is the first step in ensuring education is made a top priority in the state. I am excited to be a part of— what I expect to be— the beginning of educational transformation for all kids, especially the historically underserved, from birth on to career,” said Ginger Ostro, executive director of Advance Illinois. “With so many diverse experts and advocates serving on this committee, real and positive change will happen. We are thrilled that so many champions of the equitable school funding campaign are also serving on the committee,” said John Edwardson, board co-chair of Advance Illinois. “I am confident that the Pritzker administration will invest in our public education system. We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us to adequately and equitably support our state’s next generation of citizens, thus supporting the improvement of Illinois’ economy,” said Marin Gjaja, board co-chair of Advance Illinois.

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Statement on ISBE’s Recommendations to Address Teacher Shortage

Statement submitted on behalf of the Teachers for Illinois’ Future Coalition10/18/2018

“The Teachers for Illinois’ Future coalition is committed to ensuring students statewide have access to the teachers needed to prepare them for their future. We are pleased that the Illinois State Board of Education linked funding for districts using the evidenced-based funding formula to finding a long-term solution to this challenge. While the State Board today approved drafted recommendations, we reiterate our statements at today’s meeting. We are in favor of making the ACT and SAT the only test of basic skills, but we urge ISBE to engage in broad stakeholder engagement when it comes to deciding on the competencies teachers need on day one. The same stakeholder engagement, plus robust research is necessary as ISBE begins to propose statutory changes. We want neither systemic barriers to teachers of color nor loop-holes around rigorous training of teachers, wherever that training comes from. We must work together and remain focused on our goal: ensuring that our children have the qualified teachers they need on the first day they begin school, especially low-income students, students of color, and rural students.”

Signatories to the Statement

Advance Illinois
Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools
Berwyn South School District 100
Council of Chicago Area Deans of Education (CCADE)
East Saint Louis District 189
Equity First Superintendents
Faith Coalition for the Common Good
Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Northeastern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Roosevelt University
Stand for Children
Teach Plus

Statement on ISBE’s Solutions to Address State’s Teacher Shortage Crisis

Sept. 13, 2018The Teachers for Illinois’ Future Coalition supports ISBE’s proposed recommendations to end the state’s teacher shortage crisis, as stated in their “Teach Illinois: Strong Teachers, Strong Classrooms" report. The recommendations align with our coalition’s core principles which we use to evaluate proposals.

Our principles are as follows:

1. Ensure students have the teachers they need in order to learn.

2. Support teachers' growth from exploration of profession and throughout their career.

3. Increase the respect for and the desirability of the teaching profession.

4. Provide school and program leaders with systemic flexibility to meet their students' needs.

We think action on these recommendations will make progress toward eliminating the state’s current teacher shortage crisis. We are pleased to see ISBE’s emphasis on working with partners to achieve these changes. We look forward to future conversations on the specifics of the strategies, how the recommendations will be prioritized, systematically implemented, and equitably and adequately funded. We appreciate ISBE’s thorough analysis and thoughtful recommendations brought forward in the “Teach Illinois” report. We urge the State Board to continue to bring together experts and advocates from across the state to ensure a comprehensive and integrated solution is developed.

Signatories to the Statement:

Advance Illinois
Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools
Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University
Council of Chicago Area Deans of Education
Equity First Superintendents
Faith Coalition for the Common Good
Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools
League of United Latin American Citizens
Northern Illinois University
Roosevelt University
Stand for Children Illinois
Teach Plus Illinois

About Teachers for Illinois’ Future

Teachers for Illinois’ Future is a coalition made up of diverse education experts and advocates who work to ensure all students, especially those who need the most, have access to the teachers they need to prepare them for college and career.

Statement on the Release of Preliminary School Discipline Data

The following is a joint stakeholder statement on the Illinois State Board of Education’s release of preliminary school discipline data.

July 19, 2018

Yesterday, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) took another step towards understanding our students’ learning environment with the release of preliminary data on school discipline, i.e. expulsions and suspensions. Now that the Illinois Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan has been adopted, we have an opportunity to analyze new data that will help us understand and improve the climate and culture of all schools across our state.

While we know school discipline is one component in understanding school climate and culture, we are hopeful that the data will help illustrate the need for increased supports for schools, rather than to punish schools or school leaders. We look forward to deepening our understanding of the methodology and underlying trends including how different districts are being added to the list. We now have work to do to understand how districts are being added to this list as well as the increasing and decreasing trends of suspensions and expulsions within districts across the state.

Our organizations are committed to working in partnership with ISBE to ensure that school discipline data as well as any other data used for school improvement is grounded in the diverse needs of our school districts. Districts are constantly in a space of trying to prioritize between counselors and teachers as well as many more resources needed for students’ success. We urge our legislature to fully fund the evidence-based model so schools won’t have to make those tough decisions. Together, we can strive to take a proactive, comprehensive approach in keeping kids where they should be-- in school.

Stakeholder comments:

“This is just the first step in understanding all of the data available to us related to school climate and culture. We look forward to digging deeper into this data and collaborating with school districts and other advocates to make improvements to Illinois’ education system.” –Raul Botello, Co-Executive Director, Communities United

“We recognize the complexities at play in this data. There is more work to be done in understanding this information and how we can continue to strive for ideal learning environments for our students. It will take continued state investment in schools to ensure we have the supports for students that can help them to excel.” –Dr. Sharon Kherat, Superintendent, Peoria School District 150

Signatories to the Statement

Advance Illinois
Communities United
Educators for Excellence
Equity First Superintendents
Teach Plus Illinois
Voices of Youth in Chicago Education

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Letter to ISBE on long-term goals for student learning

May 16, 2018

Chairman James Meeks
Dr. Tony Smith, Superintendent
Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street
Springfield, IL 62777

Dear Chairman Meeks and Superintendent Smith:

We are driven by the twin beliefs that all kids can learn and that we should have high expectations for our education system. With school funding reform and a new ESSA plan, Illinois is at a launching point to dramatically move the state education system towards equity and excellence for all students, all schools, and all communities.  We applaud you for developing a robust accountability system. But that progress will be hindered if Illinois districts and schools do not understand the state’s goals or believe they are credible. Like a good personal trainer, goals can help us stretch to do more than we ever thought possible.

We believe in accountability and growth. But we also believe that goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Reasonable, and Time bound).  We are concerned that the current goal to achieve 90% proficiency by 2032 will only work to guide interim targets in the near term and then will diverge dramatically.  For example, the current goal structure would require third graders to improve proficiency from 37% to 57% by 2023, in 5 years.  It would also require starting next year the statewide average to be six years of academic growth in five years. This is possible, but not next year.

We urge the State Board to revisit in the next two years the 2032 proficiency goal.  We would focus attention instead on the state’s ultimate goal that 90% of students will achieve college and career readiness.  Interim goals derived from that would target three actionable levers for improvement.

• Within the next 10 years improve third grade performance by one grade level. This would mean having third graders performing at the level of fourth graders today.

• Within the next 10 years improve the growth rate from third through eighth grade by one grade level. This would mean achieving six years of growth in a five year span, what the best districts in Illinois are currently doing.

• Set 90% college and career readiness as the ultimate goal. Achieving 90% college and career readiness by 2032 would include assessments, grades, and GPA  This goal still requires that most students reach proficiency, perhaps up to 70%, but it also takes into account GPA and requires students to participate in career readiness activities. Reaching 70% proficiency would put Illinois on par with the most well-educated state in the nation, Massachusetts.

As the Technical Advisory Committee has noted, ISBE should be cautious about instituting a proficiency goal of 90% by 2032. We should avoid a goal that we know we will miss before we even start. We ask that in the next two years you revisit this long-term proficiency goal and instead focus on long-term college and career readiness as the goal we seek.

Thank you for your consideration,

Carmen Ayala, Berwyn North School District 98

Laraine Bryson, Peoria, Tri-County Urban League

Dan Cox, Staunton School District

Caroline Crozier, LULAC Council 5238

Jennifer Garrison, Vandalia School District

Mary Havis, Berwyn South School District 100

Josh Kaufmann, Teach Plus Illinois

Brian Minsker, Illinois Parent Teacher Association

Ginger Ostro, Advance Illinois

Brad Skertich, Southwestern School District

James Stelter, Bensenville School District #2

Shari Runner, Chicago Urban League

Rebecca Wattleworth, Teacher, Advance Illinois Board and Educator Advisory Council Member

League of United Latin American Citizens of Illinois

Equity First Executive Alliance for Equity in Education

MINDS: Mid-Illinois Network of District Superintendents

John Gordon, Voices for Illinois Children

CC:

Ms. Ruth Cross
Ms. Lula Ford
Mr. Craig Lindvahl
Ms. Susie Morrison
Mr. Eligio Pimentel
Ms. Ceslie Price
Mr. Kevin Settle