Advance Illinois Applauds Passage of HB2170, Education Omnibus Bill

Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL – Advance Illinois applauds the leadership of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus in passing HB2170. HB2170, also known as the Education Omnibus Bill, represents an important step in advancing racial equity in Illinois' education system. As a whole, the bill is designed to increase educational access and opportunities for Black students, other students of color and students from low-income households throughout the state. 

As part of the Black Caucus’ ambitious agenda, which also tackles criminal justice reform, health care and human services reform and expansion of economic opportunity in Illinois, HB2170 focuses on policies that address the longstanding racial injustices in our birth to career education system. Under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford and Representative Carol Ammons, members of the Black Caucus, along with education and racial justice advocates, worked together to develop a comprehensive legislative package to advance racial equity in Illinois’ early childhood programs, schools and higher education institutions. From supporting the goals of the Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding to automatic enrollment for qualified students in advanced courses to amending the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) scholarship program to prioritize Black male candidates and diversify the teacher pipeline, this legislation seeks to ensure that high-quality education is the norm and not the exception for all students, especially Black students. 

"The passage of HB2170 serves as an important step toward educational equity for Black students in Illinois,” says Robin Steans, President of Advance Illinois. “I am heartened the Illinois Senate and House passed this legislation, taking action on issues that will foster significant change and advancement for our students.”   

Steans continues, “We congratulate Sen. Lightford, Rep. Ammons and the ILBC for their leadership. Their tireless work was key in galvanizing support and input from advocates and experts and carrying the bill over the finish line. While there is still work to be done, the measures it contains are a critical step to ensuring students of color and students from low-income households will have access to the high-quality education they deserve.”

Advance Illinois prepared a summary of key articles within HB2170 and other education-related bills passed by the general assembly. 

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About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.

Advance Illinois Statement on the New Illinois Educator Preparation Profile System

Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL – Starting in 2015, ISBE leadership brought together a diverse set of stakeholders to create a tool that would, for the first time, shed light on the workings and impact of Illinois’ teacher and principal preparation programs. While much is known about the outcomes of our PK-12 system and is publicly available online, there has not been a central source for information about the diversity, systems and outcomes of our state’s teacher and principal preparation programs. After years of hard work, this week ISBE launched the Illinois Educator Preparation Profile (IEPP) interactive tool. This new interactive tool provides a comprehensive window into all approved educator preparation programs across Illinois. Better still, it presents a range of relevant data in a user-friendly format.    

Having helped shepherd the planning along the way, Advance Illinois is delighted that the new profiles are now available to students, policymakers and leaders of preparation programs alike. With more than 50 Illinois colleges and universities offering more than 700 teacher preparation programs, IEPP will serve as a significant tool in recognizing and supporting programs that produce the diverse and learner-ready teachers that our students deserve. It will also permit policymakers to better understand areas of strength and growth, as we work as a state to make deeper and smarter investments in our educator pipeline. We congratulate ISBE and the many educators, principals, teachers, higher education leaders and others who put in years of work to launch the Profile, and ultimately, make it a success. Used wisely, the IEPP is an additional tool to build an educator pipeline in Illinois that continuously improves to become stronger, more diverse and equitable for all.

At Advance Illinois, we would like to extend our gratitude to parents, educators and workers on the front-lines as they have gone above and beyond to serve their students and their communities. Together, we will work to help ensure a successful future for each student.  

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About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.

Advance Illinois Statement on Illinois P-20 Council and EdSystems Framework Report

Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL (November 19, 2020) - Students and educators across the state continue engaging in various methods of learning and adjusting in real-time as the COVID-19 pandemic ravages through our communities with no end in sight. And, it is clear that the circumstances have made information gathering much more difficult for the state, districts and educators at a time when it is most needed.

The recent report A Framework and Resources for Measuring Student Needs and Development During Remote and Blended Learning by the Illinois P-20 Council and EdSystems provides insight and resources from local and national practitioners and thought leaders on what information schools and districts might find helpful at this time and strategies for gathering it in a way that meets the very different circumstances on the ground. We hope this is a timely resource for our state during these unparalleled times. The report compiles input gathered by the P-20 Council’s Data, Assessment and Accountability (DAA) Committee and is informed by focus groups and roundtables with teachers and administrators. Many thanks to EdSystems for their support in researching and preparing this resource.

Our students are counting on us to give them the best educational experience possible, and we must deliver. The social, emotional, health and academic impacts of this crisis are significant and will undoubtedly be felt for years to come.

At Advance Illinois, we would like to extend our gratitude to parents, educators and workers on the front-lines as they have gone above and beyond to serve their students and their communities. Together, we will work to help ensure a successful future for each student.  

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About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.

Advance Illinois Statement Regarding the Illinois State Board of Education 2020 Illinois Report Card

Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL (October 30, 2020) - Today, the Illinois State Board of Education released its 2020 Illinois Report Card. On behalf of Advance Illinois, president Robin Steans shares the following statement: 

“First, I want to applaud ISBE for its transparency and honesty in this year’s report card. We all can agree that 2020 has been a year unlike any other. We know that regardless of best efforts, COVID-19 has made gathering essential data an uphill battle. Advance Illinois commends ISBE for compiling, analyzing, and reporting as much data as possible from the disrupted 2019-2020 school year and for laying out so clearly what data is missing and/or compromised.  

There are notable accomplishments in this year’s report card. We applaud the state on its ongoing efforts to integrate new data elements such as Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) and another year of school-level financial data.  

As disruptions to in-person learning are ongoing, there is an urgent need to gather the data necessary to understand the pandemic’s effects on Illinois students. In the 2019-20 school year, the state received a federal waiver and understandably did not administer the end of year state assessment this past spring. Looking ahead, we run the risk of another year of massive social, emotional, and academic impact and an even greater need for information we can use to understand how students have been affected and how we can most equitably respond to their needs. We appreciate ISBE’s ongoing work to gather as much data as possible under the circumstances and salute them in their efforts.” 

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About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.

New Data Show Statewide Snapshot of Kindergarten Readiness Encouraging Progress on Kindergarten Readiness: Still A Long Way To Go

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
José L. García
jgarcia@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL - Data from the statewide Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS), released today by the Illinois State Board of Education, provides a snapshot of the skills of beginning kindergarteners in Illinois in the fall of 2019 and reflects the second consecutive year of increases in kindergarten readiness scores. Given KIDS is a relatively new tool, teachers are gaining expertise in observational data collection each year of implementation – making data and trends more conclusive every year.

Over 6,300 teachers observed nearly 120,000 kindergarteners (91 percent of all IL kindergarteners) with the KIDS tool in the fall of 2019. From fall 2018, the number of students scored as demonstrating readiness to learn at a kindergarten level increased from 26 percent to 29 percent, and fewer students were scored as having not reached readiness in any area - down from 39 percent to 37 percent. However, the third year of statewide KIDS data continues to reveal systemic inequities. For example, 23 percent of Black and 17 percent of Latino children demonstrated readiness, compared to 35 percent of their white peers. Significantly fewer children with IEPs (14 percent), English Learners (14 percent), and children qualifying for free/reduced price lunch (20 percent) were scored as “kindergarten ready,” indicating that Illinois has important work to do to close gaps in opportunity and outcomes.

Although it is encouraging to see overall kindergarten readiness numbers grow, it will take more data to draw definitive conclusions about readiness trends in Illinois.

KIDS provides a consistent indicator of readiness across the state, which is a critical starting point in efforts to support and promote more equitable outcomes for children, particularly among communities with the fewest resources. The most recent KIDS data underscores the need for deeper investment in high-quality early childhood services for children before they enter kindergarten, with a specific focus on equity – particularly improving access and quality for children from Black and Latino communities, children from low-income households, English Learners, and students with special needs.

KIDS data also highlights the critical need for the Governor’s Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care FundingCommission. Appointed in December, the Commission is tasked with taking a fresh look at the state's early childhood education and care system and establishing funding goals and mechanisms to provide equitable access to high-quality early childhood education and care services for children from birth to age five. The Commission’s recommendations to the Governor in January will represent a critical milestone towards ensuring all children are ready for kindergarten. 

Having standardized kindergarten readiness data has already catalyzed significant systems change across the state. Examples abound of how use of KIDS  has prompted shifts from half-day to full-day kindergarten, driven a move toward more developmentally-appropriate play-based instruction, informed adjustments to curriculum, galvanized community-wide attention to critical impact of experiences of children prior to kindergarten, and fostered stronger relationships between preschools and public schools.  

Looking forward, now more than ever, educators will need to understand what their students know and are able to do, as children enter school with disrupted preschool experiences due toCOVID-19.

We applaud the continued collaboration between educators, ISBE, public policy makers, advocates and researchers as they work through the challenges presented by COVID.  In the meantime, we are glad to have information that can be used to strengthen and connect the systems, investment and learning that happens in early childhood programs through transitions into kindergarten and the early elementary grades.

The 2019-2020 Illinois Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) Report: A Look at Kindergarten Readiness provides additional information about the KIDS fall 2019 data. Visit https://www.isbe.net/kids to learn more about KIDS.

This statement was released in collaboration with other partner organizations. For a full list, click here.

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About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more visit advanceillinois.org.