Sprinting toward new priorities

Following the Illinois P-20 Network Meeting, held on November 29, 2023, the leadership team of the P-20 Network has spent time organizing, coding, and analyzing the feedback about short- and medium-term priorities from participants in the Meeting. 

A new approach to project management to accomplish tasks and be agile

Based on that feedback, first, the Illinois P-20 Network will be adopting a modified sprint planning approach to project management. In this approach, short-term goals are identified and set-up for accomplishment over an equally short period of time. This approach to project management is most frequently used in software development, in which 6-week sprints are often the norm. Following each sprint, a project team typically takes the following week for bug fixes in the software as well as for identifying the goal of the next 6-week sprint and laying out a corresponding project plan for that sprint. 

Educational organizations typically organize around 1-year goals and plans (e.g., School Improvement Plans) and longer 3- to 5-year strategic plans. Schools, school districts, and postsecondary institutions benefit from the long-term focus over time that is tied to sticking with a consistent small set of goals over many years to move the entire organization forward in deep and lasting ways. For the Illinois P-20 Network, on the other hand, sprint planning is beneficial because it allows Network members to quickly see tangible benefits from the Network’s work on an ongoing basis and because it allows the Illinois P-20 Network to be nimble and adjust to changes in policy and/or the needs of its constituent member organizations. 

To this end, each of the workgroups has set targeted goals for the third quarter of the 2023-2024 academic year. We will update all Illinois P-20 Network members on our progress toward each of these targets this spring. 

Next steps for Illinois P-20 Network Workgroups

Dual Credit Think Tank – With the successful and large in-person gathering at the Fall P-20 Network Meeting, the Dual Credit Think has continued to provide direct opportunities for practitioners at both the school district and postsecondary levels to offer feedback on Stand for Children Illinois’ proposed amendment to the Dual Credit Quality Act. In the weeks to come, the Dual Credit Think Tank will focus on facilitating conversations for practitioners to continue to influence the legislative process as it unfolds in Springfield with their on-the-ground experiences. A second priority that the Dual Credit Think Tank will undertake alongside this effort, a series of professional learning opportunities regarding developing a common understanding of the 2022 amendment to the Dual Credit Quality Act will take place in February, March, and April. If you are not already in the Dual Credit Think Tank and would like to be, please contact Rodrigo López.  

IPIE – Based on feedback from the Fall P-20 Network Meeting and the ongoing work of IPIE, over the next three months IPIE will offer monthly online sessions focused on supporting districts with analyzing district and school data for the planning and implementation of their work around the ISBE Equity Journey Continuum. To become involved in IPIE and/or attend upcoming meetings, please complete this short IPIE interest form. 

KEEP Illinois – Over the next few months, KEEP Illinois will publish three white papers based on the existing literature on the following topics: educator retention broadly, instructional coaching and its impact on educator retention, and the impact of wellness policies and practices on educator retention. Each of these will also be presented as a practitioner-focused webinar as they are completed. During this period, KEEP Illinois will also commence a regular pattern of monthly meetings to discuss research, best practices, and additional action steps. If you are not already a part of KEEP Illinois and would like to be, please contact Tim Dohrer. 

Exploring the ISBE Equity Journey Continuum

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 IPIE workgroup worktime follows below. 

The Illinois Partnership of Educators for Inclusion and Equity (IPIE) focused its workgroup time on engaging in a data-driven equity workshop. IPIE is dedicated to connecting DEI leaders from school districts, community colleges, and universities across Illinois and to share resources across the group on a consistent basis. This workshop, led by Shavina Baker and Eric Junco, unveiled a treasure trove of resources including the group’s listserv using Google Groups, an online chat space using Discord, a web-based resource bank, and details about NIU’s Social Justice Summer Camp. These resources are intended to support equity leaders in their efforts to create positive changes and to support personal and professional learning in their communities. 

This workshop gave participants an overview of how to incorporate data into their conversations around equity within their school districts using key features from the Illinois Report Card, specifically the Data Library and the Custom Report Card Builder. Participants engaged in rich discussions on student achievement, opportunity gaps, and student discipline data. The workshop also gave participants examples on how these data points could assist in writing an action plan for addressing these gaps within their Equity Journey Continuum narratives. 

IPIE participants expressed appreciation for the session through their feedback. Attendees described the session as “very powerful and practical,” appreciating the “fresh perspectives on opportunity gaps and best practices.” Another view of the disparities that participants found between groups of students in their district’s data fostered a newfound awareness and created a sense of urgency to address these issues. As part of the session’s focus on the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) Illinois Report Card website, the ISBE Equity Journey Continuum was central to the workshop’s activities. As a result of the discussions, participants advocated for the inclusion of specific achievement and opportunity gap data within their districts’ Equity Journey Continuum text to foster transparency. Additionally, given the public nature of the Equity Journey Continuum statements, these cannot only be used to inform community members but as a way for districts to find partners working towards the same goals and/or with similar strategies and action plans. This workshop provided a strong foundation for continued collective action and encouraged new participants to join IPIE in an effort to bridge existing gaps and to achieve equitable outcomes in education. 

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. 

Workgroup details for the Fall 2023 Network Meeting

With educators who serve students of all ages coming to Naperville on November 29, 2023, from across the state, you do not want to miss this important event. Colleagues from school districts, community colleges, and universities, as well as state agencies and professional organizations, will be attending to help move our educational systems forward together.

The majority of our time will be spent in three workgroups. Participants can join a workgroup even if they have not previously participated with that group in-person or online. All are truly welcome to roll-up their sleeves, attend, and participate!

IPIE – Illinois Partnership for Inclusion and Equity – This transformative data-driven equity workshop is the culmination of insights garnered from IPIE’s expansive membership. This workshop will first review annual trends in DEI before teaching participants to pinpoint and dissect achievement, opportunity, and racial discipline gaps with the precision of the Illinois Report Card. Join us and engage in rich discussions around local district data, sparking innovative strategies to amplify equity initiatives. This workshop concludes by bridging Illinois Report Card equity gap data with actionable steps; guiding districts in enhancing their Equity Journey Continuum. Elevate your district’s commitment to equity!

KEEP Illinois – Keeping Educators Engaged Professionally – The goal of KEEP Illinois is to keep educators engaged in learning and growing as professionals throughout their career. If we are successful with this effort, we will impact the ongoing educator shortage by stopping (or significantly decreasing) the flow of educators out of the profession and improve the daily lives of educators–and, as a result, their students. This work session will focus on developing action plans we will implement in the coming months to improve the conditions for teachers and administrators across Illinois.

Dual Credit Think Tank – The Dual Credit Think Tank will bring members of the dual credit community together to discuss how the recent policy changes that the Higher Learning Commission made to its faculty qualifications will affect policy and practice in Illinois. Participants will learn from secondary, postsecondary, and policy experts about dual credit teacher credentialing practices in Illinois. Members will work to outline the most pressing challenges faced by dual credit partnerships and aim to identify policy-driven solutions. Topics will include course selection, minimum qualifications to teach, partnership agreements, student services/development, and class size/caps.

Doing the Work: Illinois P-20 Network Fall 2023 Meeting

This year, the Fall Meeting of the Illinois P-20 Network will be held on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, from 9.30 AM until 1.30 PM at NIU Naperville. While we will spend a short period of time together at the beginning of the day to set the stage and to frame our work, the majority of the Meeting will be spent as dedicated, in-person worktime for each of the following Illinois P-20 Network workgroups: 

• Dual Credit Think Tank
• Illinois Partnership for Inclusion and Equity
• KEEP Illinois – Keeping Educators Engaged Professionally

For those that have been a part of these groups, we hope you can join us in-person in Naperville on November 29. For those that have not, please join us on November 29 and lend your voice to one or more of the workgroups – Everyone is not only welcome but encouraged to join us!

The day will conclude with a short sharing session and lunch. To help offset the costs of the in-person event, we are asking participants for a small registration fee of $30. Thank you for your understanding!