No images? Click here Teach Plus Illinois Honors Women's History Month Celebrate Women's History Month with us as we honor the remarkable achievements and contributions of women throughout history, especially in education. Join us in recognizing the resilience, strength, and leadership of women in our communities and worldwide. Together, let's continue to empower and uplift women in all aspects of society! From Teach Plus Illinois Dear Educators, Happy PI Day! I know that you’re in the midst of the longest part of the year -- that awfully long period in February and March without a day off and testing either just started or just around the corner. Thank you for sticking with it and spring break really is on its way! This will be a policy-heavy update, because there are a lot of important bills and issues moving in Springfield that you may want to track (or write your legislator about)! Here is a sampling:
Thanks for reading - now go have a piece of PI! Warm regards, Fellow Highlights IL Policy Fellow Sarah Said Published in Edutopia "When thinking about a trauma-informed approach, restorative and mindfulness practices usually come to mind. While those are very important to a trauma- informed classroom, instructional practices that teachers use also support a comforting space. Working to make these practices more intentional for a nurturing classroom climate not only can increase students’ sense of safety and belonging in the classroom, but eventually can support their academic growth. I make it a point to intentionally plan time in our lessons when students can get in touch with their voices. This gives students a space for creativity and to feel validation. In my classroom, we’re devoted to journaling. At first, students were reluctant. I found that this was mainly because they wondered, 'Is my writing good enough?' (especially when English is their second language). I gave students the simple option of writing three sentences or one to two with a picture. I also demonstrated what my own journals look like. Students were given paper journals donated by a community organization that they got to collage and take ownership of as 'their writing space.' They write daily and love it when I respond to them." Read the full article here. Teach Plus IL Policy Alumni Join ISBE's 2024 Teacher of the Year Cohort Congratulations to two Teach Plus Il alumni, IL Policy Fellowship alum Dillin Randolph, and IL ECE Policy Fellowship alumna Michelle Zurita-Sharpe! Cook County – Dillin Randolph, English teacher at Niles West High School in Niles Township High Schools District 219 Early Childhood – Michelle Zurita-Sharpe, prekindergarten special education teacher at Blair Early Childhood Center in Chicago Public Schools District 299 Read the full press release here. IL Policy Fellows and IL Affinity Group Facilitators Deliver Testimony Pictured: IL Policy Fellow Meg Lavery Two current policy fellows, Meg Lavery and Ashlay Kannan, testified to the higher education committee in favor of HB5414 and paid student teaching. Two current Affinity Group Facilitators, Nicole Moody and Shelby Greene, testified in favor of supporting the Illinois Affinity Group Network. Senator Don Harmon Joins IL Senior Policy Fellow Ashley Kannan's Classroom Senior Fellow Ashley A. Kannan's African-American Studies students had a chance to sit down with Senator Don Harmon and ask policy based questions about what can be done to confront the realities young people face. They developed questions, shared the stories that prompted their questions, and created opportunities for discussions of policy around issues like resource allocation, the current challenges with new arrivals to Illinois, artificial intelligence, and gun violence. Mr. Kannan had previously met with President Harmon to discuss pressing issues in education, and is remaining connected with his office to ensure his students' realities are at the top of legislators' minds as the Senate deliberates education policy this spring. IL Policy Fellowship Alum Bob Chikos Featured in 25News Teach Plus IL Policy Fellowship Alum Bob Chikos was interviewed for this piece on addressing teacher shortages through the Grow-Your-Own program, Educators Rising, a program Teach Plus helped establish as a statewide organization and helped win funding for implementation! "More than 700 people attending the Educators Rising Conference at Illinois State University on Monday learned just how much teachers are in demand in rural locations. Bob Chikos, a presenter at Monday’s conference, highlighted where these shortages are. 'Those jobs are highly concentrated in special education and bilingual education and also in rural and urban areas,' said Chikos. Out of the 1,410 special education positions in the IARSS shortage study, over 60% remained open or underfilled. However, Chikos said the suburbs aren’t as impacted by this shortage. 'When we have openings for special education, which is a shortage area, we get slammed with applications because many people want to come into our district. But special education in more rural areas, they can’t find teachers at all,' said Chikos. Chikos said students should consider getting certified in multiple and specialty areas, and high school senior, J Beto, plans to do just that by teaching in agriculture education." (Jolie Rodriguez, 25News). Read the full article here. Opportunities Applications for all Teach Plus Illinois Programs are Open! Teach Plus Illinois is thrilled to announce four different fellowships for educators this fall:
Teach Plus Illinois’ programs are highly selective leadership opportunities for outstanding teachers looking to expand their influence without leaving the classroom. They span the 2024-25 school year and offer selected teachers a generous stipend for their time and effort. The Change Agent Fellowship supports Chicago teachers who see a problem they want to address at their school, the Policy Fellowships are for teachers throughout Illinois who want to advocate for policy change on behalf of their students, and the Affinity Group Fellowship is for teachers who want to facilitate supportive environments for teachers of color. Grow as a teacher leader by exploring one of these four opportunities! For all programs, Teach Plus Illinois is seeking cohorts of excellent teachers who reflect the cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity of our students. Additionally, applicants:
Apply today to be a Fellow, Change Agent, or Facilitator! For more information on any of the four, please contact Kimberly Nguyen at knguyen@teachplus.org. Register for our Virtual LGBTQ+ BIPOC Affinity GroupThe Illinois Affinity Group Network seeks to cultivate authentic, inclusive, intersectional spaces, shaped by and for educators of color. These affirming and supportive spaces, rooted in an asset-based understanding of diversity, will support educators in navigating and improving their school environments and will be connected to a larger network to build alliances and address systemic issues. This group will be held completely through an online forum via Zoom/Google Meet. Meetings will be held on the third Thursday of every month @ 5:30pm-6:30pm:
If you are interested in joining a virtual LGBTQ+ and BIPOC affinity group, please click here. Event date: TEAACH Professional DevelopmentThe 2023-2024 school year is here, and Illinois public schools are required to teach Asian American history. Advancing Justice | Chicago has trained more than 1,400 educators through our professional development workshops to date. Please help spread the word! All are welcome to attend.
Bystander Intervention Trainings“Advancing Justice | Chicago held a bystander intervention training at [my child’s high school]. Students, parents and teachers all participated. We had been having a very challenging time tackling issues of racist incidents and systemic racism, and this event was a helpful concrete step we could take as a school community to empower students and adults to acknowledge and provide tools to address the reality of anti-Asian sentiment in our school and wider community.” - Bystander Intervention Training Participant Advancing Justice | Chicago continues to host virtual bystander intervention trainings where participants learn the historical roots of anti-Asian harassment, the 5Ds of bystander
intervention to safely intervene in a public situation, and more.
Call for Submissions from English teachers (IATE Fall Conference)The Illinois Association of Teachers of English (IATE) is having their annual conference this fall. Proposals for presentations to share knowledge and practices of English and literacy pedagogy are now being accepted! This opportunity to open to teachers of English Language Arts of all levels and experience. This year’s theme is “Cultivating Humanity: Refining Our Traditions to Forge a Better Future.” The conference will be held on Friday and Saturday, 25 & 26 October 2024, at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. Visit the IATE website at iateonline.org to submit your proposal. Deadline: April 1, 2024. Questions? Contact Andrew J. Rodbro at arodbro@wths.net Register for SELCON 2024 - "Mindful Connections: Nurturing SEL in School Communities"SELCON 2024, co-sponsored by the Wolcott College Prep Tyree Institute, the Illinois P-20 Network, and SEL4IL, is an opportunity for educators to collaborate and learn together about how we integrate social and emotional learning (SEL) into ourselves, our students, our classrooms, and our school communities. Small breakout session workshops on a broad range of SEL topics will provide you with tangible resources and ideas to apply immediately. Compelling speakers will energize you and provide important guidance to integrating SEL into our daily lives. We also build a community of learners among participants who support each other and come back year after year. This intimate, local conference is a perfect way to dig into the essential topic of social and emotional learning. Cost – $299 per person; Parking – Some parking is available at the Wolcott Arts and Athletics Center (1950 W Hubbard Street) as well as street parking where allowed. Apply for The Summer Education WorkshopThe Institute for Research on Race & Public Policy (IRRPP) invites educators to an in-person, 4-day workshop from June 10th to the 13th. The Summer Education Workshop (SEW) is for educators broadly defined including K-12 teachers, community-based organization educators, and early childhood educators interested in advancing racial justice in their classrooms, schools, and organizations. CPDUs are available. If your organization, school, education space, or school district does not cover professional development costs, educators may be able to use our scholarship funds to offset the cost of attendance. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Find out more, including how to apply here. Share your views on Dual Credit!The Dual Credit Quality Act in Illinois was originally passed in 2010 and updated in 2019 with revision that called for a statewide model partnership agreement developed cooperatively between ISBE and ICCB accompanied by various other supporting documents. We are attempting to gather information on awareness, impact, and implementation of those changes and would welcome feedback via the below surveys to to ensure and enhance early college quality and accessibility for all students. For graduated students who have taken part in any dual credit and or dual enrollment while in high school: https://forms.gle/QuJ6x1UXWaPCp19b6 For teachers who have/are taught dual credit: https://forms.gle/PXug8EBRj7WrUpEaA Chalkbeat Survey for Chicago ParentsChalkbeat is running an open survey asking Chicago parents, teachers, community members, and students what questions they have ahead of the upcoming school board elections. They will aim to answer questions through our reporting as we follow campaigns and elections this year.
Interviewing Teachers on Technology in ClassroomsShare your views about technology in classrooms! One of our alumni, Adelaida Jiyun Kim, is a master's student studying Learning Technology Experience Design at NYU. Her research is about using technology to enhance student learning. She’s looking to interview teachers about their experience with technology in classrooms. If you are interested, she would like to schedule a 30-minute chat to hear about your expertise. Good Reads In My Classroom, Storytelling Helped Unlock New Perspectives on Palestine"In my role as a public school educator in Evanston, Illinois, I work in a community of learners with intimate ties to what today is called Israel and Palestine. There, I have struggled, alongside students and colleagues, with how to cultivate honest, ethical and just learning environments to understand and address what is happening in Gaza. The schools in Evanston — a suburban city to the north of Chicago — serve many Jewish students as well as students who are immigrants and refugees from countries in the Middle East and elsewhere that have been acutely affected by the violence of U.S. militarism. Despite that threat, educators across the country are refusing to be silenced. Just as we strive to teach our students about the vast suffering and violence that is also occurring in other parts of the world like the Congo, Sudan and Nagorno-Karabakh, we are striving to open discussions about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. In recognizing this struggle, educators should and do have the ability to build humanizing learning environments that promote understanding about Palestine, Palestinian history and Palestinian lives in ways that disrupt the violent erasures and oppressive realities that Palestinians are experiencing in real time." (Corey Winchester, Teach Plus Policy Fellowship Alum, Truthout) Read the full article here. Bridge Builders: Connecting Restorative Justice and Anti-Racist Research to Practice"We are a collection of scholars and practitioners who are dedicated to supporting schools and educators who want Strengthening the Illinois Educator Pipeline Should Involve Investing in the Student Teaching Experience"Student teaching is a vital part of an educator’s preparation. The experience gives them a chance to practice and hone their craft with the support of an experienced (cooperating) teacher. There’s room to improve this experience in Illinois. Student teachers and cooperating teachers face challenges as a result of being unpaid for their services. Given the backdrop of persistent teacher shortages in various subject areas and geographies, and the disparate impact this has on students across lines of race and income, it is timely and right to address this issue." (Jim O'Connor, Advance Illinois). Read the full statement here. Illinois Senate approves plan for how Chicago would elect 10 of 21 school board members in 2024"The vote on Senate Bill 15 firms up the districts that elected school board members would represent ahead of a looming April 1 deadline to draw a map lawmakers pushed back last spring. It also comes ahead of March 26, when candidates can begin circulating petitions to get on the Nov. 5 ballot. They would need to collect at least 1,000 but not more than 3,000 signatures by June 24 in order to run." (Becky Vevea and Samantha Smylie, Chalkbeat Chicago) Read the full article here. |