No images? Click here From Teach Plus Illinois Dear Educators, The night before the first day of school, I was never able to get a good night’s sleep. Laying in bed, my thoughts whirled: Was I ready for that new course I was teaching? Did I have all the copies I needed? Would I get along with this year’s new crop of students? The anxiety melted away with the day’s first class, busy with the buzz of new students and get-to-know-you activities, but each year it came back on the night before the first day. Finally I recognized that those nerves were a good sign: I was excited to meet my students and that we had important work to do together. As we head into the first day, I hope that you have excitement, optimism, and even a bit of anxiety as we begin the important work of the coming year! Warm regards, Fellow Highlights IL Policy Fellowships 2023-24 Kick-Off! This past weekend, both the Illinois Teaching Policy Fellowship and Early Childhood Education Policy Fellowship welcomed their 2023-24 cohort! Our new Fellows represent the diversity and expertise of our great Illinois educators, and we are thrilled to have them work on improving education for all Illinois students. Chicago Network for School Improvement (NSI) 2023-24 Kick-Off! The Chicago Network for School Improvement (NSI) kicked off their school year this week with a 3-day convening of nearly 70 teacher leaders and administrators as we expanded this network from 15 schools in Phase 1 to 28 Chicago Public Schools in Phase 2. In this next two year phase of a five year partnership, NSI Teacher Leaders will be building collective leadership in their schools by leading teams through continuous improvement cycles focused on supportive relationships, equitable assessment, feedback for growth, rigorous discourse, or student voice, with the ultimate aim of increasing their 8th grade on-track rates. IL Teacher Leaders Briana Morales, Ariana Sanders, and Marcanthony Martinez Present at 2023 Educators Rising Conference Ariana Sanders, Briana Morales, and Marcanthony Martinez presented their research project, Tomorrow's Teachers are Watching: How Schools Can Inspire--Or Turn Away--the Next Generation of Teachers of Color at the 2023 Educators Rising Conference in Orlando, Florida on July 2nd. Staff and Ed Rising students participated in conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion in their respective schools and communities and what they could do to be a part of the change for the teaching profession. Collectively, small groups discussed ways to make the teaching profession more marketable for marginalized groups, retaining current and future teachers of color, and how to build connections with community members to make resources accessible for students. IL Policy Fellowship Alum Arnetta Thompson and ECE Alum Michelle Zurita-Sharpe Visit the U.S. Capitol TPF Alumni Arnetta Thompson and ECE and Change Agent Alumni Michelle Zurita-Sharpe traveled to Washington, DC as part of Teach Plus' National Policy Advisory Board. They secured meetings with staffers from Senator Dick Durbin's office, Rep. Casten, and Rep. Davis from Illinois. Michelle and Arnetta have developed a strong working relationship with the Rep. Casten's staffer, and Representative Casten has now co-sponsored 2 bills that we support. They both also attended a meeting with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)-Majority. ILTOY Kim Radostits Featured in ISBE Podcast Listen to ISBE’s latest We Love Illinois Schools podcast episode, "Episode 15: A Conversation With 2022 Teacher Of The Year Kim Radostits", the Oregon High School teacher known as Ms. Rad who served as the 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year and claimed the title of National Teacher of the Year finalist. She talks about motivational theory, why she advocates for having special education students in her Spanish class, how she overcame her fear of public speaking, the role llamas played in improving her teaching technique, what she does in her spare time, and so much more. You can listen on Apple, Spotify, or isbe.net/podcast. IL Policy Fellowship Alum Brandon Thornton Featured in Illinois State University News "A Bloomington High School teacher and former Teach Plus Illinois fellow said the state legislature's recent passage of SB 90, also known as the Racism Free Schools Act, is a victory on multiple fronts for teachers and students alike. Brandon Thornton is a former fellow with Teach Plus Illinois, an opportunity earned via his recognition as the 2021 East Central Illinois Regional Teacher of the Year. Per its website, educators in the program use their classroom experiences to lobby for legislative or policy changes. 'We kind of planted the idea for this Racism Free Schools Act — although it wasn't called that, then. We were just thinking of ways to retain and recruit teachers of color,' Thornton said in an interview. 'And then every cohort has taken it a little bit further — and now it's on the governor's desk.' 'The passage of SB 90 is also a victory for Teach Plus Illinois,' Thornton said, proving that 'teachers can really champion things on the floor.' The organization is a national one with individual chapters in 12 states, including Illinois and Indiana. Its goals are to propose and support policies drafted or shaped by teachers. The Racism Free Schools Act takes affect Aug. 1, 2024. (Lyndsay Jones, WGLT). Read the full article here. IL Senior Fellow Madeline Wood Featured in ISBE's Soar Educator Recognition Newsletter "Madeline Wood, who is the 2023 West Central Regional Teacher of the Year, was teaching in 2017 as an instrumental music teacher at United High School in United Community Unit School District 304 when some of her students approached her, worried about a classmate. The student, Darrin Ross, eventually decided to confide in Ms. Wood and share his identity as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. 'Being queer in a rural space can be challenging and isolating. Though I appreciate my rural upbringing and working-class background now, I used to feel shame and disdain towards my home and who I am,' said Darrin. 'Part of the reason why I do not think this way anymore can be attributed to the lengths in which Madeline went to ensure that I, along with my queer peers, had a voice. Having teachers, like Ms. Wood, creating support systems for queer youth in schools made my life as a student much less difficult.'" Read the full article here. IL Senior Fellow Kim Tate and IL Policy Fellow Kellyn Sirach Featured in WAND News Policy Fellow Kellyn Sirach and Senior Fellow Kim Tate comment on the first draft of the literacy plan that they advocated for. Both serve on the committee that drafted the plan. "'Teachers are increasingly frustrated because they weren't taught this in their teacher prep programs and they are having to then go pay out-of-pocket for additional training if they want to help these students,' said Kellyn Sirach, a reading content specialist with the Illinois Specific Learning Disability Support Project. 'Everybody says that teachers have big huge hearts. Yes, but it's not fair to have to pay out of your own pocket and be in a place that, perhaps, your school district administration don't see literacy as the thing that students need to succeed.' Sirach said she has encountered many teachers that want to learn more to help their students. Her organization develops and provides free educational resources to teachers so they can bring those skills back to the classroom. 'It is really important that we have those five pillars and that we understand, for our multilingual learners, oral language development is going to be really important too,' said Kim Tate, a dual language teacher with Champaign Unit 4 schools." Read the full article here. Opportunities Help Advance Illinois Find Excellent Educators to Join the Educator Advisory Council! Advance Illinois is seeking accomplished, innovative, and passionate educators who have made a significant impact in the lives of students, peers, and/or their community to join the 2023-2025 cohort of the Educator Advisory Council. The Council gathers on a regular basis to build an understanding of the education policy landscape in Illinois, share the vital perspective of educators to inform Advance Illinois’ education policy agenda and statewide policy broadly, and build members’ leadership in advocating for issues that advance educational equity statewide. Read more about the Educator Advisory Council and Advance Illinois. Nominate an Educator! If you know outstanding educators that would be great candidates, please let us know by nominating them! As one of our partners in this work, we value your input. Click to apply for the 2023-2025 Educator Advisory Council Cohort. Tell The Illinois State Board Of Education (ISBE) You Want Accountability! Low literacy rates in Illinois are unacceptable. We are outraged by a national report this week that shows most Educator Prep Programs in the country, along with some of the largest in Illinois, fail to train teachers about proven methods of reading instruction, yet the state credentials those institutions. The State Board of Education (ISBE) not only has the authority – but the responsibility – to hold Educator Prep Programs accountable to standards through the approval process. Those who choose to devote themselves to teaching invest significant time and money to attend an ISBE-approved program. They deserve to know ISBE's stamp of reauthorization means a program is aligned to ISBE's literacy standards, which are widely recognized as high-quality. But this report shows that there is a deep disconnect between ISBE's standards and the course content in many accredited Illinois programs. It is a new day at ISBE, with a new State Superintendent, new board members, and new focus on literacy outcomes. We call on the agency to leverage its authority in program reauthorization to ensure all of Illinois' educator prep programs include high-quality, comprehensive literacy content aligned to ISBE's standards. Let's do better by our teachers – and in turn, all children. Please read the petition, sign below and share widely. Job Opening at the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation seeks to hire a full-time Grants and Operations Coordinator to support the Foundation’s grantmaking, program administration and day-to-day operations. This position works closely with members of the Program and Administrative teams, playing an integral part in supporting and coordinating various administrative, financial, and communications functions related to grantmaking within the Foundation. Salary is in the $40,000-$55,000 range, based on experience. Excellent employee benefits include 3 weeks of vacation, paid sick days and employer-paid health insurance (85% of the premium). A 403B retirement plan is available. Interested applicants should email a cover letter articulating how their skills and experience meet the responsibilities noted above, salary requirement, and a resume to search@fryfoundation.org. Subject line should read: Your Name Grants and Operations Coordinator. No phone calls please. The Foundation seeks to fill this position as soon as possible and will work actively to build a highly diverse pool of candidates. To read the full job description, click here. Institute for Common Power Truth and Purpose Learning Tour The Institute for Common Power partners with teachers, tutors, curriculum specialists, organizational foundations, and school system leaders across the country to provide an experiential learning opportunity for educators in the long historical arcs of Civil Rights, Voting Rights, and the African American experience in America. Truth in education is essential for democracy to work. We are dedicated to creating a nation of educators who understand and teach accurately, while being models for students to grow and work collaboratively in building a just and inclusive American democracy. Good Reads Educator Brandon Thornton embraces ‘living authentically’ "Brandon Thornton ’11, M.S. ’16, is a professional educator. He believes in his work as a special education teacher and in the social justice causes he is passionate about. An introverted person, he’s always been politically aware and even active, but he’s been understated when it comes to LGBTQIA+ activism. His thinking on the subject has evolved recently. 'The more and more I heard gay slurs tossed around as comedy, the more I realized I owed it to my students to live authentically,' he said. 'In turn, I’ve cultivated a safe space for many students to lean into who they are—whether that be their identity as a K-Pop fan, anime enthusiast, or as trans. Living authentically as a proud, out, Black male educator paved the way for that.' 'These new teachers are entering classrooms at a different time, a turning point really,' he said. 'Kids want to know who their teachers are, and they won’t follow you until they know you. I preach on the importance of living authentically whenever I’m invited to speak at conferences too.'" (John Moody, Illinois State University News). Read the full article here. Brandon is an IL Policy Fellowship alum who recently (and successfully) defended his dissertation at Illinois State University! Congratulations, Dr. Thornton! Racism Free Schools Act signed into law by Gov. Pritzker "The legislation requires each school district, charter school, or nonpublic, nonsectarian elementary or secondary school to create and implement a policy on discrimination and harassment based on race, color, or national origin. The legislation also requires the Illinois State Board of Education to create a data collection system to report on allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against students. Illinois House Representative Maurice West sponsored the bill and has reacted to its passing. 'Here in Illinois, we will not tolerate racism or discrimination within schools – period,” West said. “But with incidents of hateful conduct on the rise across our country, we must do more to protect students and teachers. That’s why the Racism-Free Schools Act is so important, because it will not only require districts to create and implement a policy on discrimination and harassment, but also help the state track incidents of racism so we can better understand and address concerning conduct. I want to thank the advocates who helped craft this important legislation as well as Gov. JB Pritzker for signing the bill into law.'" (Zach McKnight, WEHT). Read the full article here. Read more about the bill here. In Chicago’s early state test results, encouraging gains and some areas of concern "Chicago Public Schools students made encouraging gains on the Illinois state test this year, with reading proficiency almost back to pre-pandemic levels and a more modest recovery in math scores, according to preliminary, unofficial scores obtained by Chalkbeat. The portion of Chicago students in grades three through eighth who met or exceeded state standards based on the required Illinois Assessment of Readiness, which was administered this past spring, dipped in both subjects during the pandemic. This year’s rebounding on the English language arts test extended to all racial groups in the district, even as the gaping pre-pandemic disparities in proficiency Black and Latino students face persisted. Overall, 26% of students who took the reading test this year met or exceeded state standards — just two percentage points lower than results on the 2019 test, the last one before COVID upended learning. In math, 17% of students scored proficient, compared with 24% in 2019." (Mila Koumpilova, Chalkbeat Chicago). Read the full article here. |