June 2021 IL Newsblast No images? Click here Teach Plus Illinois celebrates Megan Hillegass and Teach Plus Inc. CEO Roberto Rodríguez for an awesome webinarA job well-done to 2018-2019 ECE Fellow Alum, Megan Hillegass, who was featured in the webinar: Beyond Stakeholder Engagement: Centering Early Childhood Educator Expertise in Policy Making. Megan, alongside Teach Plus President and CEO Roberto Rodríguez presented to advocates, stakeholders, policymakers and state leaders on how to support and center educator expertise in policymaking for teachers in the Early Childhood Education field. From Teach Plus Illinois Josh Kaufmann, Executive Director, Teach Plus Illinois Dear Teachers, Woo-hoo! School’s out (or nearly so) for summer! After the last 15 months, I wouldn’t blame you if you stopped reading this right now and went outside on your deck/balcony/backyard and grabbed a drink and some beach reading. (Please don't, but I'd totally understand). After fifteen months of dealing with both primary and secondary trauma and compassion fatigue, please please please take time this summer to acknowledge how hard the past year has been. As Senior Fellow Shayla Ewing writes about this week in Ed Week, you need to give yourself permission to process the year, grieve, and recover. The last week of the legislative session saw two significant bills that will affect schools and teachers specifically:
Finally, I want to highlight one amazing opportunity this summer. A group of teachers who met through Teach Plus last year formed the Teach to Change Collective, and they are hosting a Professional Learning Community for Antiracist Classrooms this summer. For more information, see below or fill out this brief form if you’re interested. That’s it - congratulations on completing one of the most grueling years of teaching possible, and best wishes for summer break that is relaxing and renewing. Warmly regards, Josh The Practice Corner As many of you know, I have been leading the Change Agent program in Chicago for the last four years and am extremely proud of the amazing impact our teacher leaders have had over the years. We are so excited to be expanding this work intentionally to the ECE space next year, with an added program innovation. This is a two year-long grant initiative for educators whose work impacts children in CPS pre-K-2nd grade classrooms. In the first year of the partnership, selected Change Agents will lead an ECE team at their school (at least pre-K and K, and ideally pre-K-2nd) through a year-long project to vertically align standards, curricula, instructional methods, and/or assessments in the early grades. In the 2nd year, successful teams will be invited to become demonstration sites for other ECE teams (and their administrators) to observe and learn from throughout the school year. Once accepted into the cohort, Change Agents will receive a stipend, ongoing professional development, and individual leadership coaching as they implement their project. Applicants must have at least two years of teaching experience, currently work as an ECE teacher (pre-K-2nd grade) in a Chicago Public School (district or charter), have demonstrated effectiveness in their classroom, and have the potential to develop the skills necessary for effectively leading other teachers/adults. The application is due by July 9th and must be completed by a current teacher, with at least two years of classroom experience, with approval from his/her principal. Please feel free to forward this opportunity to any colleagues that may be interested! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out directly to Kristen Ciciora from Teach Plus (kciciora@teachplus.org) and/or use this calendar link to set up a quick call to determine if this program could be a good fit for you. Kristen OpportunitiesApply to the Early Childhood Education Change Agent Fellowship Program! Are you currently working as an ECE teacher (pre-K-2nd grade) in a Chicago Public School (district or charter)? Do you want to make the case for effective, proactive change in your classroom and school? Apply to be an ECE Change Agent! All applicants must have demonstrated effectiveness in their classroom, and have the potential to develop the skills necessary for effectively leading other teachers/adults. The application is due by July 9th and must be completed by a current teacher, with at least two years of classroom experience, with approval from his/her principal. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out directly to Kristen Ciciora (kciciora@teachplus.org) and/or use this calendar link to schedule an information session. Free Professional Learning Community for Antiracist Classrooms The Teach to Change Collective - a group of teachers who came together through Teach Plus Illinois - invites you to a Professional Learning Community for Antiracist Classrooms. Join in communal, collaborative, and transformational work and learning that will develop your classroom into a more inclusive, effective, and joyful learning space. This free PLC offers:
Interested in joining our learning community this summer? Spaces are limited, so if you're interested please complete this brief form right away! Free Professional Learning Series for Kindergarten Teachers Erikson Institute and ISBE are partnering for a yearlong professional learning series to serve 200 kindergarten teachers statewide in the 2021-22 school year. Participating teachers will have dedicated time to (1) collect Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) data, (2) gain deeper knowledge of children’s development, including the unique needs of linguistically diverse and dual language learners, in the domains of social-emotional learning, language and literacy, and math, and (3) engage with kindergarten colleagues to plan instructional next steps in response to KIDS data. Check out the Project Connect webpage here for more information, or email projectconnect@erikson.edu directly and the Erikson team will reach out with next steps to sign up. Register for the annual Illinois Teacher Collaborative Beginning Teacher Conference! This year's annual Illinois New Teacher Collaborative's Beginning Teacher Conference is being held on June 21-22; it will focus on critical issues supporting beginning teachers. Over the two days, participants will have opportunities to engage with featured speakers, breakout session presenters, and fellow educators in an effort to support the creation of more effective and supportive learning environments for Preservice and beginning teachers from across the state are invited to attend. Registration is free! Register Now for the 2021 College Changes Everything Conference: July 12 – July 16, 2021 Register now to participate in the virtual 2021 College Changes Everything® conference – the state’s premier student college access and success and career readiness event. The conference is free, but registration is required. This year’s theme is: Fostering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging for the Success of All Learners. The conference also supports the state’s Goal 2025 – to increase the proportion of adults in Illinois with high quality degrees and postsecondary credentials to 60% by the year 2025. Good Reads Congratulations to Teach Plus CEO and President Roberto Rodríguez for being nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as Assistant Secretary of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, for the U.S. Department of Education. Congratulations, Roberto! We are proud to call you our own! Read the entire press release from the White House here... Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellows Danielle Grenader, Jill Miesner, Krista Siems Wilson, Krystal Clifton, and Weston Peno published Reimagining a New Way Forward: Teacher Input on the Use of COVID Stimulus Funding This short policy brief highlights teachers’ priorities for the spending the $7.8 billion dollars that Illinois is receiving in Covid relief funding. Read the entire brief here... "It's not enough to quote martin Luther King Jr. and point to stories of Black success." Author Rann Miller explains how educators can make the case for including the history of racism in schools in his article "States want to prevent schools from telling the truth about racism in America. Here’s what educators can do about it." "It is entirely plausible that the lawmakers passing these bills feel that any restriction to or challenge of teaching and learning from a Eurocentric lens is a profound violation of their rights and those of their constituents, specifically because they’re white. That would explain why so many white people levy the claim of reverse racism on CRT or the 1619 Project." Read the rest of the piece here... Fellows in the News Congratulations to 2020-2021 Illinois Teaching Policy Fellow, Maria Gandara for being named to ISBE's Whole Child Task Force. Read more about the task force's purpose and mission here... Congratulations 2020-21 Illinois State Teacher of the year Policy Fellow, Sara Magnifichi on her Golden Apple Award! Watch her beautiful and heartfelt award presentation here... Illinois Teaching Policy Fellow Alum Gina Caneva was featured in the Chicago Tribune for her op-ed, "Limiting teachers’ curriculum is just as bad as banning books". "Every September, I grab controversial titles in my high school library and put them on display amid yellow caution tape to celebrate Banned Books Week. I pull classics such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Of Mice and Men” along with contemporary books such as “All American Boys” and “The Hate U Give.” Then, I visit classrooms to talk about the many books that have been challenged and banned in U.S. schools and libraries, as well as the First Amendment issues that come along with banning books. In a similar fashion, there’s been a movement happening in some states to limit teachers’ curriculum." Read the rest of this powerful op-ed here... |