Registration Open – ISBE Career Connections Conference

ISBE Career Connections: Building Community before the IACTE Annual Conference – February 15, 2023

Join the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on February 15, 2023, for a day of networking and collaboration with and among Illinois CTE educators and state administrators before attending the annual IACTE conference.

Morning sessions at the ISBE Career Connections Conference will provide timely information and support for specific groups including:

• Agriculture Grant Recipients
• Career Exploration/Career Development Experience Grant Recipients
• College and Career Pathway Coordinators
• District/School CTE Administrators
• Ed Pathway Grant Recipients
• EFE Directors
• Innovation Grant Recipients
• New or Nearly New CTE Teachers
• Regional Work Experience Career Exploration Programs
• School Counselors

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend a specialized networking lunch and afternoon breakout sessions providing opportunities for individuals to broaden their knowledge and skillsets related to various CTE topics.

In addition, the ISBE Career Connections Conference is hosting an evening keynote event to help kick-off the IACTE Conference (February 16-17). Dr. Amanda Bastoni, Educational Research Scientist at CAST, as well as former CTE teacher and administrator, will bring her energetic and highly-informative presentation style that will provide significant insights into what schools of all sizes and in all settings across Illinois can do with and through CTE to improve learning and increase student success.

Participants have the opportunity to register for the Day Conference Event, the Keynote Dinner Event, or both events. Don’t miss this opportunity to grow your knowledge and skills while interacting with CTE colleagues from across the state. Register now for the ISBE Career Connections Conference!

And register for the 2023 IACTE Conference on February 16 and 17, 2023. 

P-20 Network Meeting Explores Educator Shortage and Educator Retention

The Illinois P-20 Network hosted its Fall 2022 Meeting at NIU Naperville on Thursday, October 27, with a return to an in-person meeting for the first time since October 2019. Nearly 100 educational leaders from across Illinois were in attendance. Approximately 40% of attendees were school district leaders. 40% of attendees were postsecondary leaders, and the remaining 20% were leaders in state agencies and other professional and advocacy organizations.

The meeting began with NIU President Lisa Freeman, who shared the very personal story of her mother as a career-changing teacher in the 1960s and the impact she had on her students and their families, and Dean of the NIU College of Education Dr. Laurie Elish-Piper, who explored all the ways that educational institutions can engage and support teachers through a career pipeline from their early career exploration as middle school students through their in-service teaching and even how they can continue to support students and schools in retirement.

A series of Ignite presentations followed. Each of these presenters specifically addressed key, unique aspects of the educator shortage and/or solutions to it. The presentations included:

• Alyson Sprehe, a middle school teacher from Community Consolidated School District 21, who described how moving across all three middle schools and teaching at all three middle level grades over the course of her 25-year career has helped keep her fresh and innovating.
• Dr. Laura Hedin, department chair of Special and Early Education in the NIU College of Education, who spoke about NIU’s LEAP program, which is currently in place in both Rockford Public School District 205 and in School District U-46 and which supports practicing paraprofessionals with earning their licensure as a special education teacher while working on an accelerated timeframe.
• Bob Cofield, the director of school partnerships at Waubonsee Community College, who shared about the work that has taken place between Waubonsee, East Aurora, West Aurora, and NIU to create a modified 1+1+2 program that ensures students’ dual credit experiences in twelfth grade transfer into their degree program as education majors while also giving them a strong understanding of their work as future teachers.
• Arturo Senteno, principal at West Leyden High School, whose doctoral research has focused on the keys to teacher retention specifically for Latinx teachers. As part of this presentation Arturo provided specific recommendations for teachers and principals that should broadly help ensure high levels of performance and job satisfaction and that lead to strong retention among Latinx educators.
• Dr. Teresa Lance, assistant superintendent of equity and innovation in School District U-46, communicated six key themes for supporting teachers from diverse backgrounds in helping to lead transformative change in schools and districts. As Dr. Lance stressed, while these themes and their corresponding actions are critical for retaining teachers of color, these are also practices that all educators should employ each day.

Attendees then selected one of the following break-out sessions, in which they explored solutions to different aspects of the educator shortage and engaged in dialogue about those potential solutions. The break-out sessions were:

• Induction and Mentoring, which was led by Dr. Jodi Megerle, superintendent, and Kristy Seifert, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, in River Trails School District 26.
• Diversification of the Teacher Workforce, which was led by Dr. Eric Junco, director of equity for the NIU College of Education.
• Supporting Dual Credit Teacher Credentialing, which was led by Anne Brennan, assistant vice president for academic affairs at Oakton Community College and by Dr. Patrick McGill, director for teaching and learning, curriculum and pathways in Glenbard School District 87.
• Avoiding Chutes out of the Profession; Building Teacher Career Ladders, led by Dr. Jason Klein, senior director of education partnerships and learning solutions at Northern Illinois University.

Finally, everyone came back together for a working lunch that featured table discussions about everything that people had heard and in which the tables identified the top three priorities to support educator retention for each of the following groups in Illinois: state government, postsecondary institutions, school districts, and the Illinois P-20 Network. At this time, the Illinois P-20 Network leadership team is organizing and analyzing the data from this activity, and the team will be publishing an action plan in an upcoming newsletter that will align to our Illinois P-20 Network Areas of Focus and lead to an updated mission statement for the Illinois P-20 Network.

Provide Feedback on CTE Standards to ISBE

ISBE wants your feedback on potential Illinois Career and Technical Education (CTE) Standards. All Illinois educators are encouraged to watch this recorded 15-minute webinar then complete this feedback survey. Links to all of the relevant elements of the webinar are below:

• Slides
• ISBE CTE Industry Feedback Tour Themes

Draft Career Pathway Standards Documents

• Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources
• Arts and Communications
• Finance and Business Services
• Health Sciences and Technology
• Human and Public Services
• Information Technology
• Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology, and Trades

The individual feedback survey is available to all educators in Illinois through November 6, 2022.

Register for the In-Person Fall P-20 Network Meeting

Registration is now open for the Fall 2022 P-20 Network Meeting, which will be hosted at the NIU Naperville Conference Center on October 27, 2022, from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM. We are looking forward to gathering for a half-day of learning, conversations, and planning. The Fall Meeting will provide leaders from across the State of Illinois an opportunity to explore the root causes of today’s educator shortage as well as to learn about solutions that local institutions are putting in place to develop, recruit, retain, and diversify our educator workforce.

The 2022 Fall Meeting will feature a mix of short Ignite-style keynote speeches, a panel presentation, and breakout sessions to offer both information for leaders to take back to your own organizations as well as opportunities to discuss potential solutions and needed supports that will provide a focus for ongoing Illinois P-20 Network efforts.

The cost to attend is $35 per individual to help defray meeting costs. Lunch will be provided.

Return of the Career Pathways User Group

In collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Innovation team, the Northern Illinois University CTE Project hosts the state-wide Illinois Career Pathways User Group to support the adoption, growth, and ongoing improvement of the Illinois College and Career Pathway Endorsements, with authentic learning, integrated learning, and work-based learning at the heart of these efforts for all students across Illinois.

This video is the September 2022 meeting of the Illinois Career Pathways User Group. During this meeting, updates were provided to all participants about the growth in earned Endorsements across Career Pathways since the start of this policy in 2020, about recently passed HB3296 and its requirements to implement the Endorsements and the PaCE Framework, and with information about the application process for school districts. Watch the video of the meeting below or on the Illinois P-20 Network YouTube Channel.

If you are not already part of the Illinois Career Pathway User Group, register today in order to access the Google Group and meeting invitations.

ISBE CTE Standards – Teacher Feedback Wanted

This summer, CTE educators explored the data from the CTE Industry Feedback Tour and considered it in light of identified best practices nationally in CTE in order to make recommendations regarding our need for CTE standards and supporting professional development in Illinois.

An additional opportunity for educators to provide input will take place in the format of a webinar focused on gathering feedback on options for adopting CTE Standards within the State of Illinois. Sessions will be held from 7.30 until 9 AM and 3.30 until 5 PM on September 29, 2022. Participation is open to all educators, teachers and administrators, who teach or support Career & Technical Education programs in Illinois.

The goal of this work will be to provided teachers, schools, and school districts with the tools necessary to ensure that there are high-quality and equitable CTE opportunities for all students across Illinois and for the ISBE CTE team and its partners to best support educators in meeting those goals.

Sessions will take place via Zoom and are expected to last no more than 60 minutes. Zoom links will be sent to those registered the day before each session.

If you would like to attend both sessions, we do ask that you complete the form separately for each session.

Dual Credit Think Tank Policy Brief Released

Strategies to Support Teachers in Credentialing for Dual Credit

In January 2022, the Illinois P-20 Network’s Dual Credit Think Tank launched a state-wide survey to gather examples from school districts of contract language, policies, procedures, and practices that support dual credit teacher licensure. Particularly in the face of the teacher shortage, school districts must identify new strategies to address these credentialing issues. While the recent amendment to the Illinois Dual Credit Quality Act includes an extension for teachers to secure a professional development plan which allows them to start teaching dual credit courses while they finish the minimum teaching qualifications as prescribed by the Higher Learning Commission, school districts continue to face significant challenges in supporting the necessary number of teachers in becoming credentialed to teach dual credit classes.

Additional support and resources are necessary to increase the number of teachers with dual credit credentials. Understanding school districts’ need for guidance on how they can leverage existing mechanisms, the Dual Credit Think Tank has published Strategies to Support Dual Credit Teacher Credentialing, a policy brief for educators and advocates that highlights best practices for schools to adopt in their aim to further support teachers’ journey towards meeting the minimum qualifications to teach dual credit courses. Specifically, the brief offers recommendations, based on the responses to the survey from earlier this year, on how school districts can collaborate with teachers via their collective bargaining agreements to implement financial assistance and incentives.

Summer Speaker Series Videos Online

Today, the final educator panel in this year’s Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) CTE Summer Speaker Series was held, and now, we are pleased to share all three keynotes and all three educator panels online as resources for professional learning moving forward for educators across Illinois in Career and Technical Education (CTE) and beyond. The theme for the ISBE CTE Summer Speaker Series was CTE for ALL students and for EACH student, with a clear focus on equity and inclusion and providing support to schools to overcome barriers in order to give all students access to high quality CTE and Career and College Readiness instruction.

Each of the events listed below is linked to the corresponding YouTube video for that event. All of the YouTube videos are also organized into a single ISBE CTE Summer Speaker Series 2022 YouTube Playlist.

Family & Community Engagement and Postsecondary Placement

• Keynote – Dr. Ayanna Brown, Elmhurst University & Thought Spectrum, LLC
• Educator Panel

Active Recruitment of Special Populations into CTE Programs and Nontraditional Careers

• Keynote – Dr. Amanda Bastoni, CAST
• Educator Panel

Elimination of Barriers for Individual CTE Students

• Keynote – Dr. Valerie Milton, Michigan Department of Education
• Educator Panel

Free Administrator Academy Workshops to Kick-Off 2022-2023

As part of our Career ConneCTEd Illinois professional learning efforts, we are excited to host three online, half-day workshops at the beginning of August. Participants in these workshops can earn Professional Development Hours (PDHs) or Administrator Academy credit. Registration is free, and will close 48 hours prior to each workshop. A Zoom link and other information about each workshop will be sent to participants 48 hours ahead of each workshop. Each workshop will take place from 9 AM until noon. 

• August 3 – Social and Emotional Learning Leads to College and Career Readiness – Register 
• August 4 – PaCE Framework Overview – Register 
• August 5 – Illinois Career Pathways Overview – Register 

CTE Professional Learning Opportunities – 2022-2023

We are pleased to announce the initial ISBE CTE Professional Development calendar for the 2022-2023 school year. This calendar is considered an initial calendar because we are already adding additional events to it. We are also excited to share that there is no cost to participate in any of the events being run solely by ISBE and the NIU Illinois CTE Project. 

All sessions are open free of charge to all Illinois educators, including teachers, clinicians, counselors, and administrators from Early Childhood through twelfth grade settings as well as postsecondary educators. For example, Administrator Academy workshops are not only open to school administrators, but to all educators. Participants who complete workshops will earn Illinois Professional Development Hours or, when applicable based on the workshop and one’s position, Administrator Academy credit. 

Check out the full (and growing!) ISBE CTE Professional Development calendar – Registration links are continually being added over the coming weeks. 

Introducing the NIU Illinois CTE Project Team

Earlier this school year, the Illinois State Board of Education and Northern Illinois University’s Illinois P-20 Network and NIU STEAM entered into a multi-year partnership to further develop and implement Career & Technical Education (CTE) solutions and strategies with regards to:

• Professional Learning
• Teacher Recruitment and Retention
• Instructional Materials and Strategies

Given the nature of the 2021-2022 school year, additional new staff members for the NIU Illinois CTE Project Team were hired during the spring for Summer 2022 start dates so as not to pull educators from schools and districts during a complex and challenging school year. The NIU Illinois CTE Project is excited to add the following team members beginning July 1, 2022:

CTE Educator – Ben Owen, who has served as a business and technology teacher as well as a Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS) Coordinator, Dean of Students and Athletic Director at Genoa-Kingston and Hiawatha High School. During his tenure as a teacher, among the courses he taught, Ben implemented INCubator successfully and saw enrollment in the course increase year-over-year, and this work is just one example of Ben’s focus of providing project-based and authentic learning experiences for all students. Prior to becoming an educator, Ben used his original Bachelor’s Degree in Business and his MBA as he worked in the private sector in human resources and operations management roles.

CTE Educator – Bill Rose, who has served in various teaching and leadership roles in the Rockford area. Bill has taught both Business and Social Science courses. Bill also holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Master’s Certificate in Reading. In addition to his  strong CTE background, which has included serving in a CTE leadership role at Rockford East High School, Bill has also been deeply involved curriculum and professional development work related to Project-Based and Problem-Based Learning, career-ready certifications and credentials for students, and Competency-Based Instruction.

DEI Educator – Shavina Baker (Pierre), who has served as a teacher, RTI specialist, athletic director, after-school program director, as a director of operations, and most recently as a principal in Rockford. Prior to becoming an educator, Shavina worked in the insurance industry, bringing additional workplace experience to her work on this state-wide CTE initiative. Shavina has extensive experience in her school leadership roles in implementing strategies that promote and developing a culture that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion. Additionally, in those same school leadership roles, she has developed and led professional learning as well as having worked extensively with curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

In addition to these team members, the NIU Illinois CTE Project team is being led by Jason Klein and Rodrigo López, who facilitate the Illinois P-20 Network, and the team includes key members of the NIU STEAM team, including Dr. Kristin Brynteson, the Director of NIU STEAM, Debbie Kerman, the Assistant Director of NIU STEAM, NIU STEAM Program Coordinator Lise Schlosser, and NIU STEAM Instructor Kerri Sosnowski.

Over the coming weeks and months, each of these new team members will be out and about and look forward to meeting and working with educators from across Illinois as well as learning in and with schools and districts across the state.

High-Quality CTE – White Paper & Webinar

ISBE’s Career ConneCTEd Illinois and the NIU Illinois CTE Project, under the leadership of NIU STEAM and Illinois P-20 Network, have released High-Quality CTE: What the Literature Says About Standards, Curriculum, Instruction, and Partnerships. The white paper provides an overview of the most effective and inclusive practices related to curriculum, instructional resources, instructional strategies, and business and community partnerships specifically in the context of secondary school CTE. 

In addition to the full written report, an overview of the white paper was provided via a webinar on June 15, 2022. Watch the recording of the webinar presentation, and learn more about the key takeaways from the analysis! 

Expansion of Leadership for the Illinois P-20 Network

In recent weeks, a new, integrated collaborative structure between Northern Illinois University’s Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development (OERD) and the College of Education has been launched to support the Illinois P-20 Network. This internal change is designed to only have positive impacts on all of the partners that comprise the Illinois P-20 Network, and we are excited to announce a new key member of the team.

While the goals and values of the Illinois P-20 Network will not change, we are excited to announce that over the coming the months the Illinois P-20 Network will benefit from additional resources and an even closer partnership internally at Northern Illinois University with the NIU College of Education. For nearly three years, Dean of the College of Education Dr. Laurie Elish Piper has officially served in a co-leadership role for the Illinois P-20 Network, and now, as a result of an innovative partnership between NIU’s Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development and NIU’s College of Education, the Illinois P-20 Network will have even more resources and support moving forward.

Beginning this summer, Rodrigo López will serve as the Director of P-20 Initiatives as part of the Center for P-20 Engagement at Northern Illinois University. Rodrigo will serve alongside Jason Klein, who has started in a new collaborative joint appointment.

Rodrigo brings over a decade of experience in student and academic affairs in both high school and postsecondary settings, and throughout his career, he has led key college and career readiness initiatives across secondary and postsecondary education.

As a member of the College Advising Corps, he spent considerable time building partnerships between school districts, postsecondary institutions, and community-based organizations on behalf of Round Lake High School. Most recently, Rodrigo has served as Assistant Dean of College in High School Programs at Elgin Community College (ECC) where he managed the college’s dual credit partnerships and co-chaired the region’s college-career pathway committee. Rodrigo has provided state-wide leadership in early college experiences and policy as part of his roles as the government relations chair and president of the Illinois Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (ILACEP), the state’s chapter of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). He brings strong leadership and administrative experience in research, policy analysis, strategic planning, and program implementation. He received his B.A. and Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is completing his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Illinois State University.

ISBE CTE Summer Speaker Series 2022

CTE for ALL students & for EACH student

As part of the Career ConneCTEd Illinois efforts to support high-level Career and Technical Education (CTE) for all students throughout the state, this year, we are launching a Summer Speaker Series that will focus on ensuring access to and success in CTE classrooms. With a focus on the “special populations” and “nontraditional careers” of the Perkins V Act, the following three topics were identified by analyzing statewide CTE student data as well as through engaging CTE leaders from across Illinois.

For each topic, we will host a keynote presentation in June, and then, there will also be a corresponding educator panel for each topic that will be held in late July and early August prior to the start of the 2022-2023 school year. All of these events will be held online, and links will be sent to those who have registered the day before each event.

Family & Community Engagement and Postsecondary Placement

• Keynote – June 28, 10:30 AM – Dr. Ayanna Brown, Elmhurst University & Thought Spectrum, LLC
• Educator Panel – July 27, 9 AM

Active Recruitment of Special Populations into CTE Programs and Nontraditional Careers

• Keynote – June 21, 9 AM – Dr. Amanda Bastoni, CAST
• Educator Panel – July 28, 9 AM

Elimination of Barriers for Individual CTE Students

• Keynote – June 23, 9 AM – Dr. Valerie Milton, Michigan Department of Education
• Educator Panel – August 2, 9 AM

High Quality CTE Practices Webinar

Over the course of the spring, a national landscape analysis of best practices in Career and Technical Education (CTE) has been conducted in order to inform curriculum, instructional, and policy decisions related to CTE. As part of the ISBE CTE Project that is being facilitated by NIU STEAM and the Illinois P-20 Network, we are excited to launch a whitepaper with this analysis, and we will be hosting a free summary webinar at 1 PM on June 15, 2022.

ISBE CTE Educator Plan Time

Join us this summer to reflect on thoughts for schools from industry and to help provide direction regarding CTE Standards!

This summer, through the CTE Educator Plan Time series of events, educators from across Illinois will help plan next steps for state CTE standards. CTE educators will explore the data from the CTE Industry Feedback Tour and consider it in light of identified best practices nationally in CTE in order to make recommendations regarding our need for CTE standards and supporting professional development in Illinois. The outcome of this work will be to provide teachers, schools, and school districts with the tools necessary to ensure that there are high-quality and equitable CTE opportunities for all students across Illinois.

Participation is open to all educators, teachers and administrators, who teach or support Career & Technical Education programs in Illinois. Educators may chose from the following sessions:

• Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources – June 14 – 9 AM
• Arts & Communications – June 14 – 1 PM
• Finance & Business Services – June 22 – 9 AM
• Health Sciences & Technology – June 22 – 1 PM
• Human & Public Services – July 19 – 9 AM
• Information Technology – July 19 – 1 PM
• Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology & Trades – July 26 – 9 AM
• General/All Career Pathways – July 26 – 1 PM

Sessions will take place via Zoom and are expected to last two hours. Zoom links will be sent to those registered the day before each session.

Dynamic Enhancements Coming to Illinois P-20 Network

While the goals and values of the Illinois P-20 Network will not change, we are excited to announce that over the coming the months, the Illinois P-20 Network will benefit from additional resources and an even closer partnership internally at Northern Illinois University with the NIU College of Education. For nearly three years, Dean of the College of Education Dr. Laurie Elish Piper, has officially served in a co-leadership role for the Illinois P-20 Network, and now, as a result of an innovative partnership between NIU’s Division of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development and NIU’s College of Education, the Illinois P-20 Network will have even more resources and support moving forward. More details will be shared in the coming weeks on the Illinois P-20 Network website, newsletters, and social media, but you can read more about this new partnership on the NIU College of Education’s website right now. 

State of Illinois Survey for HS Seniors – What’s next and why?

The Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC), in cooperation with the State of Illinois, wants high school seniors to fill out a survey to tell us about their decisions after high school. The survey focuses on the following questions:

• What are the factors influencing your decisions to pursue education after high school?
• What options are you weighing?
• Will you be attending college or a trade school?
• Will you stay in-state or go out of state?
• How are you making your decision?

Students can complete the survey here. It will take about 15 minutes.

Students’ survey results will be collected and analyzed by IWERC, a research unit at University of Illinois. The survey will not ask students for their name, and their responses will not be connected to themselves. Survey responses will be used to inform how we improve postsecondary options, access, equity, and enrollment in Illinois. Findings from the survey will be shared in research publications and with the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Governor’s office.

Please share this survey with your current high school seniors!

Dual Credit and Weighted Grades

As a result of conversations with a number of high school administrators in different school districts who wanted to understand the landscape of how school districts are weighting grades for dual credit coursework within their high school grade point average systems, the Dual Credit Think Tank conducted a survey asking school districts the question of if (and, if so, how) dual credit courses are weighted in their school district.

Based on each district’s answer to this single question and knowing what district each answer was coming from, deeper analysis was also able to take place based on a number of other demographic factors regarding students and teachers in each school district. The results of this survey, and policy recommendations from the Dual Credit Think Tank are contained in this slide deck, which was presented as part of a Dual Credit Think Tank Update webinar to ILACEP in March 2022. In short, the Dual Credit Think Tank recommends:

If you have weighted classes, ALL early college credit coursework should be weighted the same as advanced/accelerated classes.

Illinois P-20 Network Dual Credit Think Tank, March 2022

ISBE to host meetings about CTE Standards with professionals from across careers

Among educational leaders at all levels, the advancement of Career and Technical Education (CTE) is a high priority for students in middle school, high school, and in the full range of postsecondary institutions. As part of these efforts, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is developing Illinois’ first set of statewide student learning standards for CTE instruction. The CTE standards will provide broad targets on which school districts can develop their local CTE curriculum and which will provide a focus to teachers in creating student learning opportunities.

ISBE is planning regional meetings (north, central, and south) to gather feedback from professionals across a wide range of industries on the knowledge and skills that students need to be successful as they move into our current and future workplaces.

• April 15 – 9 AM – Mt. Vernon Airport
• April 18 – 1 PM – Heartland Community College
• April 19 – 10.30 AM – Elgin Community College
• April 22 – 9 AM – Online via Zoom
  (Zoom information will be sent to registered participants on April 21.)

Registration is free to these events, which are open to individuals from across all industries and professions. Please click here to register.

The results of these regional meetings will be used by educators from across Illinois in June to engage in similar activities around the CTE Standards. In partnership with ISBE, we hope to have a large turnout to support these efforts and ensure that our educational outcomes are on-target for our students, so please share this information with colleagues.

Dual Credit Think Tank Survey – Graduate coursework needs for dual credit teacher credentialing

The Illinois P-20 Network and ILACEP, the Illinois chapter of NACEP, know that there continue to be significant needs for secondary teachers to complete graduate coursework in order to be credentialed to teach dual credit classes in the high school setting. Both organizations also understand that it is critical that such graduate coursework is offered at times and in formats that work with teachers’ busy daily and annual schedules. This survey seeks to understand those areas which present the most pressing needs for additional graduate coursework in Illinois at this time. With a pair of redundant questions, we are asking for your five most critical areas for graduate coursework followed by a few quick, final questions about your school district.

Currently, graduate coursework in the content area is the key element necessary for most teachers to be credentialed to teach dual credit classes in line with the requirements on postsecondary institutions from the Higher Learning Commission.

This survey is designed to be completed at the school-district level by a district leader. Please share this survey widely with colleagues as data from across a wide range of school districts throughout Illinois will be critical to taking action to support teachers and school districts with the necessary coursework. This survey may be repeatedly regularly in the future.

Illinois Postsecondary Profiles Launches Equity Profiles

Last week, the Illinois Postsecondary Profiles (IPP) website launched its newest major component, Equity Profiles. The Equity Profiles will shine a light on the success of diverse populations in postsecondary institutions in Illinois. The Equity Profiles joins the site’s other major components: 

• Institutional Profiles, which allows users to discover the basics about postsecondary institutions, such as different types of schools, tuition, and what credentials are offered.
• Occupational Profiles, which lets users see the available majors, key employment data, and programs of study for the career pathways in which you are interested. 
• Regional Profiles, which presents metrics on a map by Illinois Community College district.

The IPP website is a joint effort of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community College Board, and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission that presents a wide range of postsecondary data from multiple state agencies through a single interface.

Middle School and High School Social and Emotional Learning Programs Landscape Analysis Survey

Along with our partners at RTI and IWERC, the NIU P-20 Research & Data Collaborative is pursuing a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to do a rigorous study of SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) programs in middle schools and high schools in Illinois.

As the research team begins its work, having a strong understanding of the types of programs Illinois school districts are currently using will help guide our research. Voluntary responses from as many school districts as possible across Illinois will help the team gather this data. A summary of the results of this survey will be shared state-wide via the Illinois P-20 Network and other partner organizations.

This survey will remain open through February 10, 2022. Thank you for your participation.

Early Childhood Staff Simulation Health & Safety Trainings Needs Survey

Please pass this information along to Early Childhood program leaders in your communities, community colleges, and school districts!

An inter-disciplinary team at Northern Illinois University, including the Illinois P-20 Network, is working in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago Rockford Medical School on a project to design and implement community-based simulation trainings on health, safety, and well-being for early childhood education teachers and staff. The goal is to support early childhood education professional development in maintaining healthy and safe environments for children.

The Gateways competencies model and ECE HSW (Health, Safety, and Well-Being) were used as a guide for this work.

2 Important Dual Credit Think Tank Surveys

The Illinois P-20 Network’s Dual Credit Think Tank is focused on collaborating with school districts and postsecondary to help continue refining practices to ensure that students across Illinois can access high-quality dual credit and dual enrollment offerings.

1-Question Survey about Dual Credit Classes & Weighted GPA

The Dual Credit Think Tank is also seeking information on this 1-question survey regarding how dual credit classes are weighted in GPA calculations in school districts. Please pass this 1-question survey on dual credit and GPA weighting on to as many school districts as possible – It should take less than 30 seconds to complete, and we will share the results through both ILACEP and the Illinois P-20 Network.

Survey about Contract Language, Policies, and Practices to Support Dual Credit Teacher Licensure

The Illinois P-20 Network’s Dual Credit Think Tank identified teacher licensure as the most important of a number of significant areas for additional work to further enhance and expand dual credit and dual enrollment early college offerings in Illinois high schools. A number of school districts have inquired about example collective bargaining contract language, school district policies, and school district practices (including administrative procedures) that are in place in districts across Illinois that are designed to support and encourage teachers with completing the additional requirements to teach dual credit courses. The Illinois P-20 Network Dual Credit Think Tank has put together this survey to gather examples of contract language, policies, and practices that support dual credit teacher licensure.

If you are able to offer any examples, those will be most welcome to other school districts!