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Press release: State, national leaders to talk equity, degree completion at 60 by 25 Conference
SPRINGFIELD (Feb. 2, 2018) – Dr. Tony Smith, State Superintendent of Schools, and other state and national education leaders will speak at “Scaling for Impact,” the Fifth Annual 60 by 25 Network Conference on Tuesday, February 6, 2018, at the DoubleTree in Bloomington. Dr. Smith will deliver his thoughts on how Illinois can expand equity among its public schools to an audience of 200 business and community leaders, advocates and early childhood, K12 and higher education practitioners who are working toward degree completion in their local communities.
The 60 by 25 Network, formed in 2013, supports communities to increase meaningful and equitable postsecondary attainment and civic engagement. The state’s goal is to increase the proportion of adults in Illinois with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by the year 2025. This year’s conference will highlight the programs in local communities that are helping our state achieve its goal.
Now in its fifth year, the Network has achieved many accomplishments including building and strengthening partnerships among high schools, postsecondary institutions and businesses. For example, East St. Louis, where only 9% of adults have a college degree, concluded its first “Running Start” program. This program enables high school students to earn an associate’s degree and high school diploma simultaneously, significantly cutting the cost of higher education for families. East St. Louis is one of the 13 communities that will be sharing best practices for fostering degree completion through collective impact efforts.
Other conference speakers include Dr. Al Bowman, Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and Dr. Karen Hunter Anderson, Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board. The keynote address “The Equity Imperative,” will be presented by Alex Fralin, Chief of Schools, Madison (Wis.) Metropolitan School District. Dr. Landon Mascarenaz of A Plus Colorado and Achieve Inc. will speak during a breakout session on parent-teacher home visits to improve student outcomes. See the full agenda for more.
What: Fifth Annual 60 by 25 Network Conference
When: Feb. 6-7 (Supt. Smith speaks 10:10-10:25 a.m. on the 6th)
Where: DoubleTree by Hilton, 10 Brickyard Drive, Bloomington, IL 61701Registration still open: Click here for more information.
About the Illinois 60 by 25 Network
Powered by Advance Illinois, Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University, and Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the 60 by 25 Network supports communities to increase meaningful and equitable postsecondary attainment and civic engagement.
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Press release: Advance Illinois receives Game Changer of the Year award at industry summit
School funding campaign resulted in fix to Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation formula.
SAN FRANCISCO (October 27, 2017) – Advance Illinois received industry recognition last night for its five-year campaign toward school funding reform. The Policy Innovators in Education Network, which includes 77 organizations in 34 states, named Advance Illinois its Game Changer of the Year at its annual network summit in San Francisco. Advance Illinois Deputy Director Ben Boer was named MVP of the network for his work on Illinois’ new school funding model. The push by Advance Illinois and its partners in the Fix the Formula Illinois campaign and the Funding Illinois’ Future coalition resulted in the signing of a new funding formula into law Aug. 31.
Advance Illinois staff on hand to accept the award were, from left, Bob Dolgan, Ben Boer, Ginger Ostro, Teresa Ramos, Jim O’Connor and Jessica Catlin.
“We’re grateful to all of the partners who fought alongside us to put kids first,” said Ginger Ostro, Executive Director of Advance Illinois. “We hope our victory in Illinois can be a model that inspires other states to address funding inequity and drive resources to needy students.”
The Game Changer of the Year is awarded to a PIE Network member or partner campaign that set a new precedent, offered a leading model, moved the goal line for other states, or had other national implications for advancing the work of reform. Other Illinois advocates recognized Thursday included Stand for Children Illinois, Educators for Excellence Chicago, One Chance Illinois, and the Foundation for Excellence in Education.
Advance Illinois sparked the school funding debate in Illinois by developing a report in 2013, Funding Expectations, that laid out the inequity in the state’s school funding system. Advance Illinois was the architect of a statewide coalition of superintendents, teachers, parents and civil rights leaders that called for reform. The Education Trust ranked Illinois worst in the nation for school funding equity in 2015.
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois was founded in 2008 to serve as an independent, objective and nonpartisan voice promoting a healthy public education system that prepares all students for success in college, career and civic life. We are equity-driven, student-centered, data-focused and connected to community and educators. We identify, design and advocate for policies that are tailored to the needs of students, from early childhood education to K-12 to higher education. To learn more, visit www.advanceillinois.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Press release: Advance Illinois applauds new, more equitable school funding formula, culmination of years-long, collaborative effort
CHICAGO (August 31, 2017) – Advance Illinois applauds Illinois’ new, more equitable school funding formula that puts kids first and ends an era of the state having the most inequitable school funding system in the country. The new formula drives dollars to the neediest school districts, those that have the fewest local resources and are the least well-funded. While much work remains before Illinois will achieve funding equity and adequacy, the law sets every school district in the state on a path toward providing a quality education.
“The enactment of bipartisan school funding reform fixes a problem that has faced Illinois for decades,” said former Gov. Jim Edgar, Founding Co-Chair and Advance Illinois Board Member. “Illinois now has a funding formula that improves the prospects of children across the state, regardless of where they live.
”The last update to Illinois’ school funding system took place 20 years ago. Advance Illinois has advocated for the passage of a new formula for four years in partnership with superintendents, teachers, parents and civil rights leaders as a member of the Fix the Formula Illinois campaign and the Funding Illinois’ Future coalition.
“Advance Illinois was founded to pass and implement game-changing legislation on behalf of Illinois’ public education students,” said William Daley, Founding Co-Chair and Advance Illinois Board Member. “This desperately needed school funding reform will position Illinois students to be more competitive nationally and globally.”
The compromise in SB1947 incorporates the evidence-based model and aligns with the school funding equity principles held by Advance Illinois and its partners. Those principles include: taking into account student needs and local property wealth, closing funding gaps between wealthier and low-income schools and keeping them closed, and providing a long-term stable funding system that helps all districts achieve adequate funding.
“The new funding formula is about helping kids in every corner of the state, from my hometown of Carmi to Chicago,” said John Edwardson, Co-Chair, Advance Illinois. “We are grateful for the thousands of supporters who have been working toward this day, and to the many legislators who have been committed to fixing the formula.”Fixing the school funding formula has been a priority of Advance Illinois’ since the 2013 release of Funding Expectations, a report that featured the inequities of the state’s school funding system.
In 2015, for every 81 cents spent on a low-income student, Illinois spent a dollar on a non-low-income student. The Education Trust, a national education policy organization, ranked Illinois last in the nation for equitable school funding.“Advance Illinois undertook the analysis necessary to understand how inequitable funding gaps were growing and impacting our most vulnerable students,” said Marin Gjaja, Co-Chair, Advance Illinois. “Improving academic achievement is the true promise of a new funding system, which has enormous potential for our students, for their readiness for college and career, and for the future of the state's workforce.”
Update: View more details on SB1947.
About Advance Illinois
Leaders from more than a dozen civic, philanthropic, business and education organizations from across the state came together to found Advance Illinois in 2008 to serve as an independent, objective and nonpartisan voice promoting a healthy public education system that prepares all students for success in college, career and civic life. Advance Illinois is equity-driven, student-centered, data-focused and connected to community and educators. Advance Illinois identifies, designs and advocates for policies that are tailored to the needs of students in Illinois. To learn more, visit www.advanceillinois.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Contacts:
Bob Dolgan, bdolgan@advanceillinois.org, 773-447-1980Anna Schneider, aschneider@advanceillinois.org, 217-242-9645
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Statement on Governor’s amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1
CHICAGO (August 1, 2017) -- Fix the Formula Illinois members, including Advance Illinois, released the following statement upon the Governor’s amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1.
We are disappointed in the Governor's amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, which promises a fair and equitable school funding system. At a time of scarce resources, this broad amendatory veto hits low-income school districts the hardest, cutting funding from poor kids while diverting dollars from low-income districts to wealthier districts, including a cut of more than $200 million from Chicago Public Schools by removing the cost of its block grants from the district's base funding minimum. The veto punishes all districts by putting a cap on regional costs, ignoring inflation, and removing protections for districts in the future in the event that local resources are used to pay for pensions. These actions are unfair and unacceptable to our coalition or parents, educators, civil rights leaders, and superintendents across the state.
Now we turn to the General Assembly to demonstrate leadership, put partisanship aside and make history by ending the era of inequitable school funding that has shortchanged low-income students in Illinois for two decades. Such bold, bipartisan action is needed now more than ever, not only to provide certainty to students and families who are wondering if their schools will be able to open on time and stay open this fall, but to do the right thing for generations of students to come. We call on the General Assembly to get this done for kids across Illinois and fix the school funding formula once and for all.
About Fix the Formula Illinois
Fix the Formula Illinois is a campaign of Advance Illinois, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Educators 4 Excellence, Equity First, Faith Coalition for the Common Good, Funding Illinois’ Future, Gamaliel of Metro Chicago, High School District Organizations of Illinois, Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education, Illinois Association of School Administrators, Illinois Association of School Business Officials, Illinois for Educational Equity, Illinois Parent-Teacher Association, Illinois Principals Association, Instituto del Progreso Latino, Latino Policy Forum, League of United Latin American Citizens, Noble Network, Ounce of Prevention Fund, Pilsen Neighbors Community Council, Quad County Urban League, South Suburban Action Conference, Springfield Urban League, Taylorville Citizens for Education, Teach Plus Illinois, Tri-County Urban League, United Congregations of the Metro East, Urban Muslim Minority Alliance and Vision 20/20. Learn more about the Fix the Formula Illinois campaign at www.fundingilfuture.org/fixtheformulaillinois.
Statement: We urge the Governor to sign SB1 and end an era of inequitable school funding
CHICAGO (July 7, 2017) — For years, Advance Illinois has been part of a coalition advocating for a fix to the state’s broken funding formula, which provides only 81 cents for low-income students for every dollar spent on wealthier students. The state can no longer afford to have the quality of a student’s education determined by zip code. SB1 passed the General Assembly May 31 and fixes this formula. Yesterday, the General Assembly ensured that a budget will be in place for this school year. But SB1 is the only school funding formula that can give school districts immediate and much needed certainty. We urge the Governor to sign SB1 and end the era of inequitable funding of our schools.
Statement attributable to John Edwardson and Marin Gjaja, Co-Chairs, Advance Illinois
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois serves as an independent, objective and bipartisan voice promoting a healthy public education system that prepares all students for success in college, career and civic life. Advance Illinois is equity-driven, student-centered, data-focused and connected to community and educators. Advance Illinois identifies, designs and advocates for policies that are tailored to the needs of students in Illinois.