No images? Click here The Illinois State Board of Education in December adopted new Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading StandardsThe Illinois State Board of Education in December adopted new Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards to prepare future educators to teach diverse students. ISBE’s Diverse and Learner Ready Teacher (DLRT) Network developed the standards, which educator preparation programs in colleges and universities will integrate into their course content and field experiences. Three Teach Plus Policy Fellow Alumni, Keisha Rembert, Elissa Rabin, and Violeta Cerna-Prado, and the Executive Director of Teach Plus Illinois, Joshua Kaufmann, served on the DLRT and contributed to the new standards. From Teach Plus Illinois Josh Kaufmann, Executive Director, Teach Plus Illinois Dear Teachers, Like many of you, I am shocked, saddened, and also somehow not surprised by the insurrection and attack on our country last week. I want to offer you a short reflection and a couple of resources that may help with your students. At the same time, there are two other looming issues – how schools address the pandemic and health concerns in the short run, and then a surprising (and surprisingly positive) set of policy changes that happened in the middle of the whiplash we’ve experienced over the last couple of weeks. Responding to Last Week’s Insurrection I was a first-year teacher in New York City on 9/11, when our country was attacked by terrorists, the World Trade Center was destroyed, and thousands of Americans lost their lives. The next day the entire city's population sheltered in place, but on 9/13 we went back to school. Despite the confusion, teachers were asked to open up discussions with their students to give them a time to process and reflect on what had just happened in our city. While it made me nervous to open that Pandora's box, I set some ground rules and plowed ahead. I'm so glad that I did. Students were craving the space to identify their feelings and process the tragedy. Some cried, others were angry, and many had questions, in particular asking if we were going to war. In one class, a group of students voiced a desire for revenge against Arab-Americans--even those who attended our school--and I'm so grateful that I was able to create a space to listen, defuse, and dispel some of their misinformation. We need to do the same thing in our classes. Facing History has an excellent resource on responding to the insurrection at the US Capitol, and Teaching Tolerance has one on leading conversations after crisis. Addressing the Pandemic School reopening concerns have dominated the news. In Chicago, the district began in-person instruction this week for its youngest learners and some special education students, but some CTU members, parents, and politicians are pushing back against the district’s re-opening plans. Chalkbeat Chicago notes that CPS is “becoming a national symbol for acrimonious school reopenings” (also note that Teach Policy Fellow Elizabeth Carrick is quoted in the article!). But this tension is not just limited to Chicago; I’ve heard from several suburban teachers where similar tensions and conflict exist. In at least one district, the district has told teachers to come into work but they continue to teach remotely. The science here is mixed. A study published last week suggested that school openings do not contribute to the spread of Covid-19 in locations where hospitalizations are low, but the data is not conclusive when hospitalization rates are higher. Moreover, even in the communities that had schools which were open, many had hybrid or remote options, so the number of students in buildings was far less than normal. Finally, these arguments may change when teachers are vaccinated. Governor Pritzker confirmed last week that teachers would be classified as frontline workers and eligible for the next round of vaccines and could begin receiving shots in a few weeks. If that happens, and quickly, it could change the equation for school reopenings. And a bunch of mostly good policy changes! In the middle of all this mess, there actually have been several important policy changes that will impact teachers and students in Illinois. The US Congress passed a new stimulus bill, which will provide $2.2 billion to Illinois for education. ISBE adopted a new set of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards, which will push teachers and schools of education to ensure educators are well versed in understanding and disrupting systems of oppression. And the Illinois legislature has passed two significant pieces of legislation. The Illinois Black Legislative Caucus passed HB 2170, an omnibus bill that would raise the bar for high school graduation, place more students of color in advanced courses, increase teacher diversity, and revamp the American History curriculum to do a better job of incorporating Black history. Despite the current pressing challenges, some of the policy changes happening right now also provide glimmers of hope. Let’s hang on to that. Josh The Practice Corner Kristen Ciciora, Illinois Director of Instructional Programs While many districts across the state have been fully in-person or hybrid since the beginning of the school year, 2nd semester marks the start of a return to some sort of in-person learning for many large school districts. While every district (and in some cases, individual schools) has a unique plan for how they are doing this, a large number of teachers will soon be expected to teach concurrently or simultaneously, meaning they will have learners both at home and in front of them in the classroom. This is one of the biggest sources of anxiety for teachers that we're hearing from. Some teachers have been doing this since August, and we'd love to hear from you if you have any tips, tricks, or resources (email me at kciciora@teachplus.org). Doing a bit of my own research, I was able to come across a few ideas for managing concurrent learning from articles on "We are teachers," "Teach Hub," and "Forbes":
We know that this is an incredibly difficult time for teachers everywhere, and we at Teach Plus are in awe every day of the tenacity, creativity, and dedication that all of you have. Thank you for all the work you are doing to make sure your students learn this year! Kristen OpportunitiesISBE and the Learning Technology Center Announce Remote Learning Conference ISBE and the Learning Technology Center are partnering to host the Remote Learning Conference online Jan. 14-15. The conference is ideal for teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, and all educational leaders. The Remote Learning Conference will showcase the best practices, pedagogy, apps, and tools that allow us to leverage remote and hybrid learning to reach all learners. The educational landscape of 2021 will look different. The cost is $25, and attendees will receive 12 professional development hours. View the conference schedule and register now at the Learning Technology Center of Illinois website. Teach Plus Illinois Alumni -- we need your help! We’d first like to know how we can keep in contact with you best, and encourage you to update your information, job title if applicable, etc. We also value your input on our efforts, so we’d like to invite you to review our Alumni Engagement Plan, make comments, and then join us for one of our feedback sessions. Please fill out this form to update your information and sign up to register for one of two feedback sessions to participate in. Please reach Crystal Jameau at cjameau@teachplus.org, if you have further questions or require additional clarification. Thank you so much for taking the time to update your information, and sharing your feedback with us. We look forward to hearing from you soon! The Pulitzer Center announces: Spring Teacher Fellowships applications are open! How can engagement with under-reported global news stories support existing curricula, while also preparing students to engage curiously, critically, and empathetically with the world? As part of this paid, virtual fellowship, a small cohort of educators will explore this question in community with other passionate fellows, award-winning journalists, and the Pulitzer Center education team. Two fellowships are available, one for all educators and one specifically for Chicago teachers. All fellows will earn an $800 stipend, a Pulitzer Center Teacher Fellow digital badge, and a certificate for 25 professional learning units (PLUs) . Applications are open through Monday, February 8. Explore the eligibility requirements, details, and key dates here. Teach Plus IL News Early Childhood Policy Fellow Margi Bhansali shares how she Creates a Typical Day for Her Students in an Atypical Year: Chicago prekindergarten teacher Margi Bhansali approached the first day of school this year with apprehension. Even with National Board Certification and a decade of classroom experience, she faced the daunting task of getting to know her 15 4-year-olds virtually...Read more Teaching Policy Alumni Shayla Ewing shares in Chalkbeat how Discussing White Privilege in an All-White Classroom is Difficult: The murder of George Floyd at the hands of police and the international outcries of protestors blew the dust off a long-neglected epidemic of the educational community—educators must acknowledge that feeling comfortable, staying silent, and not entering difficult conversations about white privilege is, well, privilege...Read more Current Policy Fellows Lisa Thyer and Krystal Clifton both published Op-Eds on how to teach effectively in remote learning. Lisa focused on looking at the camera debate through the lens of equity, and Krystal examined the necessity of directing more attention to individual student needs. Read Lisa's Op-ed here! Read Krystal's Op-ed here! Good Reads Teach Plus Illinois’ Early Childhood Educator Policy Fellows published “Alleviating the Early Childhood Education Teacher Shortage Crisis in Illinois.” Written by policy fellows Roisleen Todd, Cindy Rice, Jared Hennen, Joanna Dau, and Nidia Carranza, this report focuses on removing the barriers for ECE assistant teachers to move into lead teaching positions. 10 questions about the new stimulus, answered Chalkbeat reports, "After months of waiting and watching, public schools will receive billions to help respond to and recover from the pandemic. In December, Congress passed a package designed to boost the economy, help families, and support K-12 and higher education; after initially criticizing the deal, President Trump eventually signed it into law..." Read more Biden to nominates Miguel Cardona as education secretary. Chalkbeat profiles Cardona, saying "The pandemic has dominated Cardona’s tenure. He has pushed schools to keep their buildings open, emphasizing the benefits of in-person school, especially for struggling students..." "Read more. |