Advancing Positive, Engaging Environments for All Educators
The Fall 2023 Illinois P-20 Network meeting consisted primarily of worktime for each of three key Illinois P-20 Network workgroups: Dual Credit Think Tank, IPIE, and KEEP Illinois. A summary of the KEEP Illinois workgroup worktime follows below.
KEEP Illinois continued its work on several topics related to educator engagement and retention during the Illinois P-20 Network Fall 2023 Meeting. Arturo Senteno, Principal at West Leyden High School, provided important context and his own research on teacher and administrator engagement which reverberated throughout the remaining work session. Participants then broke into three groups based on topics identified in previous meetings as both important and achievable: research, wellness, coaching.
While research on retention and engagement exists, it is not collected or synthesized in ways that can be easily used in decision-making. Creating a research “hub” and lit review could be a potential next step to help. Educator wellness is another critical topic that needs to first be carefully defined and understood. KEEP Illinois members suggest creating a resource guide for teachers, administrators, and school board members to use in creating mental and physical wellness initiatives in their districts. There also should be exploration of how local and state policies can include a greater focus on adult wellness. Coaching for both teachers and administrators is another potentially powerful intervention to support engagement. Next steps include broadly sharing research with teachers, administrators, and professors on coaching, as well as best practices on how to create a culture of coaching in schools.
In the end, participants strongly endorsed continuing these efforts to improve retention and engagement across the state. Starting in January, KEEP Illinois will begin hosting monthly online forums and email updates to keep everyone connected and moving forward. Work will also proceed on an accessible platform with research on educator engagement, an educator wellness resource guide for organizations, and additional resources on instructional and leadership coaching.
The final portion of the Illinois P-20 Network meeting included each workgroup providing a summary of their work to all participants. Then, small group discussions considered what the 1-year and 3-year specific task priorities should be for the Illinois P-20 Network. As a next step, the Network’s leadership team will compile all of those suggested priorities, analyze them, and may then solicit additional feedback from across the Illinois P-20 Network. Ultimately, the goal will be that there are specific, actionable, and sustainable next steps for each of the workgroups.
