The “Celebrating Women Educators” Edition No images? Click here Teach Plus Illinois Honors Women's History MonthThis month, Teach Plus Illinois is taking the time to acknowledge the incredible contributions of women, everywhere! We are especially mindful of some great Teach Plus Fellows, who were recently named Golden Apple Finalists! Congratulations to:
Congratulations on this momentous accomplishment! Thank you for continuous work in education, and thank you to all the women who are trailblazing new roads, everyday! From Teach Plus Illinois Josh Kaufmann, Executive Director, Teach Plus Illinois This month, we recognize and honor the contributions of women in education, including three Illinois leaders: Karen Lewis, Janice Jackson, and Carmen Ayala. Karen Lewis, the former CTU president who passed away in February, helped tens of thousands of teachers to be “activists in a fight for investment in public schools.” Dr. Janice Jackson, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, was a successful principal who founded a high school and has led the district since 2018, where it has achieved record graduation rates. Dr. Carmen Ayala is the first Latina state superintendent in Illinois. All three of these women are brilliant, passionate educators who -- while they may not always agree with each other -- have improved the lives of students in our state. Thanks to them -- and to the tens of thousands of women work working in our schools every day. This month we can also celebrate the adoption of Illinois' new Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards. These standards encourage teachers to self-reflect, get to know their students’ families, connect the curriculum to students’ lives and encourage student leadership. They were the object of a coordinated misinformation campaign but, according to State Superintendent Carmen Ayala, “The standards succeeded thanks to the voices of educators like Briana Morales.” Briana is a current Teach Plus Fellow. Her op-ed -- and those of six other teacher leaders or alumni -- are featured in our “Good Reads” section below. The legislative session has finally kicked into gear. Already, over 200 bills affecting education have been filed. Three to watch are HB655, which would eliminate a performance assessment in order to get a teaching license, HB1874 which would allow anyone with Professional Educator License to get a short-term approval in any content area (so, for example, a gym teacher could now teach physics, or vice versa), and SB2088, which would require districts that suspend a student to provide remote synchronous instruction to the student during the suspension. We’ll keep you posted on developments as the legislative session continues. Finally, this week we are opening applications for three fellowships for next year: Chicago Change Agent, Teaching Policy Fellowship, and the Early Childhood Educator Policy Fellowship. Please see below for details and consider applying, or sharing with other teachers! Moving forward together, Josh The Practice Corner Kristen Ciciora, Illinois Director of Instructional Programs When I was a teacher, I remember feeling incredibly empowered (albeit slightly terrified), when I was granted the autonomy by my administration to address an issue we'd been facing with our students--bullying and fighting. I had the opportunity to lead our grade level team in creating a day-long retreat (and subsequent follow-up items) for our sophomores off-campus to participate in team-building activities, reflect on their relationships at school, and make plans to finish the school year on a strong note. While I had a knack for bringing people together and getting things done, I found that I didn't yet have the tools to be an effective leader of adults. I wasn't sure how to create the agendas or come to a consensus as a team. As a new teacher leader, I was learning skills on the job, building the plane as I was flying it. Looking back, I wished there had been a program like Teach Plus' Change Agent fellowship to help guide me through intentionally building leadership skills while providing a caring coach to talk me through difficult situations. While I didn't get to have this experience as a teacher leader, I have the great honor of managing this program in Chicago, and we've just opened our application for the 2020-21 cohort! If you are interested in tackling an issue at your school next year, while receiving professional development, leadership coaching, and a stipend, make sure you apply! Kristen OpportunitiesTeach Plus Illinois is thrilled to announce that we will be offering three different fellowships for educators in the 2021-2022 school year: Chicago Change Agent, Teaching Policy Fellowship, and the Early Childhood Educator Policy Fellowship. All of our programs are highly selective leadership opportunities for outstanding teachers looking to expand their influence without having to leave the classroom. They span the 2020-21 school year and offer selected teachers a generous stipend for their time and work. Apply now to be a Fellow or Change Agent! The deadline to apply to each fellowship is April 25th, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. For all programs, we are seeking cohorts of excellent teachers who reflect the cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity of our students. Additionally, applicants:
For more information about Chicago Change Agent, please email Kristen Ciciora at kciciora@teachplus.org. For more information on the Teaching Policy Fellowship, please email Crystal Jameau at cjameau@teachplus.org. For more information on the ECE Fellowship, please email Sinthu Ramalingam at sramalingam@teachplus.org. Apply today! Good Reads 2020 Illinois Teacher of the Year Finalist Brandon Thornton shares his thoughts on how the Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning Standards can help teachers genuinely connect to their students of color and positively impact and shape their teaching practices. Read his article, published in Pantagraph. "As a teacher, I was prepared for students to ask questions like, 'Why do we have to know this?' But I wasn’t prepared for what a Black student said to me on the first day of school. Damien looked around, said, 'There aren’t any other Black people here?' and put his head down. I smiled and said, 'You have me.' Read more... Teaching Policy Fellowship Fellow Briana Morales shares her thoughts on how the Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning Standards will help teachers begin to choose authentic texts that reflect students' experiences. "As a Latina educator teaching high school English to Black students, I have long been at the intersection of my own and my students’ cultural identities. A year ago, when our school was looking for ways to diversify our English curriculum, we were encouraged to keep Shakespeare’s Othello. While the play focuses on a protagonist of color, it also perpetuates stereotypical Black tropes. Depicted as dark, loud, and angry, Othello suffers unspeakable trauma in this play that my Black students live through each day." Read more... Congress approves massive infusion of funds for schools, and high-poverty districts will get the most. Chalkbeat covers the latest update on the new Congress-approved package, known as the American Rescue Plan. Schools across the U.S. will receive a massive and historic infusion of money in the coming months thanks to a pandemic relief package that includes $128 billion for K-12 education and hundreds of billions for state governments.Congress approved the package, known as the American Rescue Plan, on Wednesday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that President Biden, who proposed and championed the legislation, will sign it into law Friday. Read more... There were a host of other op-eds last month from our Fellows, staff and alumni. Please be sure to check them out below! 2019-2020 Teaching Policy Fellows Bob Chikos: Culturally responsive curriculum will help suburban teachers, Published in Daily Herald 2016-2017 Teaching Policy Fellow and Senior Research Fellow Jennifer Smith, NBCT & IL Teacher of the Year Finalist: Help Students Share Their Voices, Published in Decatur Herald-Tribune and Pantagraph 2019 -2020 IL State Teacher of the Year Lindsey Jensen, IL 2018 Teacher of the Year: To the People Pushing Back on Culturally Responsive Teaching During Black History Month, Published in Education Post 2020-21 IL State Teacher of the Year Precious Allen, IL 2020 Teacher of the Year Finalist: My Teacher Didn’t Know How To Be Culturally Responsive, But These Standards Will Help the Next Generation of Teachers, Published in Education Post 2020-2021 Teaching Policy Fellow Mallory Lawler; As a Teacher I Rely on the Help and Support of Our School's Social Workers, Published in What's the Plus Teach Plus Illinois Policy Manager and Teacher Leadership Coach Bill Curtin, Connecting with students isn't political, it's good teaching, Published in The Southern |