From the Desk of Robin Steans - The Moment is Now to Support and Invest in Illinois’ Youngest Learners

From the Desk: The Moment is Now to Support and Invest in Illinois’ Youngest Learners

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As school communities across the state continue to address the ongoing challenges created by COVID-19, and amidst significant and ongoing gaps and complexities in district and state data, Advance Illinois applauds ISBE for releasing as much crucial information as possible in its 2021 Illinois Report Card . Unsurprisingly, these data were sobering and echo much of what we have been hearing from educators, parents, and school communities over the last 20 months.  

While a number of areas stood out as needing additional thought, attention and support (e.g., chronic absenteeism and freshmen on-track rates), alarms should be going off for our children in the earliest grades. Traditionally, we do not have a great deal of visibility into student progress from PreK-2nd grade.  There are limited state level data available, and ISBE has yet to finalize its P-2 indicator for school designations. It’s hard to know how we are doing in a normal year, let alone during this pandemic. This year’s report card, coupled with what we have heard from families and early childhood providers and programs, however, is worrisome and worth attention. Specifically:  

• Enrollment declines in the early, formative years - Spring 2021 Prekindergarten attendance was down 17 percentage points from the previous Spring. In SY20-21, 10,800 fewer children attended Kindergarten than SY19-20 – that’s an eight-percentage point drop. In addition to being concerned about whether these unserved children are in safe and stable environments, we should also be worried about the stimulation and learning these students missed. Research has shown time and time again the importance of the foundational social and academic skills developed in these years. We are facing a generation of kids starting their educational journey behind or with significant developmental and academic gaps. 

• Declines in academic proficiency in core subjects - While still preliminary and incomplete (and requiring cautious interpretation and use), preliminary assessment data show that 3rd grade English Language Arts and Math scores for students from low-income households went down 10.5 percentage points and 12.4 percentage points, respectively, between 2019 and 2021.  This decline echos national research that showed loss of academic learning gains in 3rd and 4th grade compared to SY18-19. This matters because these represent foundational years and skills. And while Illinois schools have traditionally done a pretty good job making progress in closing achievement and opportunity gaps, these data should have us concerned.  

• Lack of data/information about Kindergarten readiness - While we don’t have reliable state level data from SY20-21, KIDS is a researched-based and universal tool that can support and inform stakeholders in understanding where our children are developmentally and academically as they enter Kindergarten. This provides a foundation for the state to build upon when addressing the impact of disrupted learning and care in the early years. 

• Growing awareness of acute social and emotional needs and support - And while no state level data exist, reports from the field suggest educators and schools are struggling with behavior challenges and social emotional development, particularly among the youngest students. 

What to do?  

While there is no quick or easy response, there are some immediate and medium-term actions that districts, stakeholders and the state might consider, including: 

• Immediately ensuring that the PreK-3rd grades are getting a proportionate (or truthfully, maybe even an outsized) amount of federal stimulus resources. Resources are available to help school and district leaders plan and invest these funds. District leaders and stakeholders should re-examine their ARP ESSER plans and amend as necessary to drive resources to serve our PreK-3rd grade students.  

• Supporting efforts to align, improve and stabilize the state’s system of early childhood and care by investing at least an additional 10 percent in all programs in FY23. And all of us should be championing the federal Build Back Better package, which is poised to invest billions into childcare and PreK. 

• Learning more about and joining We, The Village, a coalition which advocates to advance equity and quality for early learning and care in Illinois.  

• In the medium term, we need to invest in data collection and tools to better understand the exposure and impact of trauma and the social-emotional needs of all of our students, particularly our youngest students. This will be critical in addressing unprecedented levels of student (and staff) need that will likely cast a shadow for years to come. Further, efforts to build better understanding of mental health in addition to universal and readily available screening tools can inform stronger and more systemic supports and true trauma-responsive practice into the future.  

• Evaluate and learn from the state’s Jump Start grants, designed to support Kindergartners and 1st graders who received little to no in-person instruction in SY20-21. 

  Advocate and invest in our ECE workforce and educator pipeline so that every child has access to well-prepared, equitability compensated, and diverse educators. This will include high-quality implementation of the new EC Consortium and scholarship opportunities, along with planning now for scaling and sustaining these efforts once federal relief dollars are gone.  

• Double down on our commitment to (1) the Governor’s ECE Commission Recommendations, and (2) fully funding EBF. State and federal investments here are key, but we also must have strong aligned systems that advance equitable funding and resource stability to ensure that our children and communities have access to high-quality programs and classrooms into the future.  

Right now, we know we must respond to the significant immediate threats and issues facing our children, but we must not do so at the expense of longer-term planning to develop and strengthen programs and systems that have the potential to positively impact students and families far beyond this immediate crisis. We must not aspire to get back to normal. Instead, we should work now to ensure we come out of this once-in-a-century crisis better equipped to support all students. Intervening and doubling down now on our youngest children and students is both the powerful and the right thing to do. They cannot wait, and we cannot wait.  

Robin Steans

President

From the Desk of Robin Steans - Prioritizing Learning Renewal

From the Desk: Prioritizing Learning Renewal

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are now at a vital turning point in our nation’s response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 28, 2021, over half of the country and 40 percent of Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated; children 12 and over are eligible for vaccines; billions in federal relief funds are flowing to Illinois business, child care programs, schools and agencies; and our state’s economy is seeing a rebound. While this is all exciting news, we must not overlook the work our schools will begin to put in toward learning renewal and addressing the social and emotional needs of our students. To say this past year has been challenging is an understatement. It will take considerable and collective effort to overcome the impact the past year has had on students, families, and educators, and it cannot be done hastily or quickly – it will take a multi-year effort to recover and come back stronger than ever. 

With Illinois’ investment of $350 million in the evidence-based funding formula (thank you, General Assembly!) together with significant federal stimulus dollars the state received this past spring, our schools and educators will have significant funds to resource renewal efforts. With these funds, our K-12 districts and schools are in a position to provide the additional instructional and planning time widely recommended to implement the evidence-based supports we know will help our students thrive. 

For the past 16 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education in every community, exacerbating systemic racial, ethnic and socio-economic inequities and creating unprecedented challenges for children and families as well as educators. Over the past year, Advance Illinois has shared research, analysis and studies examining this impact and the potential long-term implications of months of disrupted learning environments. As more national and state data become available, we must continue to adjust our thinking and plans and take advantage of every opportunity to better understand how students are doing – academically, socially, emotionally and beyond. 

In response to this once-in-a-century crisis, we are heartened by the tremendous state and local leadership emerging and by efforts to elevate and coordinate research-based practices to inform short and long-term recovery and renewal efforts from early childhood through postsecondary. These efforts include the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development’s enrollment campaign; stabilization and restoration grants for child care providers; ISBE’s ESSER investments in the digital divide, high-impact tutoring, bridge programs, mental health professional development and supports, and interim assessments; encouraging higher education institutions to fund work-study programs in hardest hit communities; proposed investment in the educator workforce; the Illinois P20 Council Learning Renewal Resource Guide; and the recent adoption of the Extended Time Resolution (SR0232), which encourages districts statewide to add additional time to the school day and/or school year to help all students address the unprecedented need brought on by COVID-19 learning disruption. Many educators across the state have already begun to establish and adopt strong foundations for renewal, but we know that these plans are just the beginning of what is needed and there is still work to be done. 

With over $5 billion American Rescue Plan resources available to support K-12 learning renewal in Illinois (the vast majority at the district level), we must continue to ensure these dollars are invested thoughtfully and equitably in an effort to ensure our schools are meeting the full and comprehensive needs of all our students. Here, the state has the opportunity to take a leadership role in: 

• coordinating and building local capacity to investigate, select, and implement evidence-based supports; 

• maintaining a focus on equity in how resources are distributed and monitored;  

• collecting and analyzing data on both the impact of COVID-19 across our education system as well as the success of the planned interventions and supports; and 

• using its bully pulpit and state level investments to drive our ecosystem to build back better.  

Furthermore, in addition to the requirement that at least 20 percent of these resources be used to support evidence-based interventions to support “learning loss,” at a local level, leaders can: 

• Ensure transparency in both the process and implementation of learning renewal efforts. This includes following US Department of Education requirements to meaningfully plan and consult with local stakeholders around how these funds will be used, which includes but is not limited to engaging students, families, civil rights organizations, tribes and schooladministrators and educators. 

• Invest resources in a way that accounts for the historic and growing inequities exacerbated by COVID-19. 

• Collect information and data on implementation and student progress and be willing to adapt plans as we learn more about the depth and breadth of our children’s social, emotional and academic needs. 

• Follow the urging of national education leaders and advocates, as well as the Extended Time Resolution (SR0232) and Dr. Ayala’s guidance and leverage federal and state resources to provide students and teachers with additional in-person instructional and planning time in an equitable, meaningful and aligned manner to enable academic and non-academic recovery. 

While we look forward to “going back to normal,” it is not an option to simply revert to a status quo that was not serving all children well. Instead, we have a once-in-a-century opportunity – and need – to look ahead and redesign our system to support student recovery and renewal, and do so in a way that leads to lasting and stronger academic and social supports. The federal government and the state have responded to this crisis with the financial resources needed to begin our path toward renewal. We must now all roll up our sleeves and do the hard work to help our children and students get on a path to live out their true potential. We look forward to working with partners and leaders across the state to monitor student needs, progress and opportunities for transformative change. 

Sincerely and in partnership,

Robin Steans

President

Acknowledging the Present, Working Toward a Just Future

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

There has been much to process over the past year: the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial reckoning that convulsed much of 2020, the uprising at our nation’s Capitol, the death of Daunte Wright, the death of Adam Toledo (aged 13), the death of Jaslyn Adams (aged 7), the death of Ma’Khia Bryant (aged 16), mass shootings in multiple cities across the country and the understanding that we have deeply-rooted issues of racial equity and violence that continue to plague our society and prevent our children from realizing their potential. Violence and racial injustice are not only taking lives – but leaving pain, trauma and other wreckage in their wake.

In the face of tragedy and wrongdoing, it has always been my impulse to work that much harder. But while all of us at Advance Illinois will continue to pursue high-quality and equitable education for Illinois students, to make sure that race, income, geography and citizenship status do not limit any child’s potential or growth, we also commit ourselves to working harder and in better partnership with civil rights, racial justice and community-based organizationsto reimagine a public education system that is no longer business as usual.

Yesterday's guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd represents a step toward justice, but it is also a profound reminder of how far we have to go. We are committed to standing in solidarity with all communities – Black, Latinx, Asian-American, LGBTQIA, and more – as we work to address, tackle and dismantle the systemic racism and prejudices that are embedded within the fabric of our country and, sadly, within our education system.

We know that when we work together, we can move mountains. We have done so before. Let us stay the course so that all children have the opportunity to be children – to pursue their dreams free from fear, discrimination, trauma and violence and surrounded by adults, schools and communities that support, challenge and nurture them.

In partnership,

Robin Steans

President

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members” – Coretta Scott King

From the Desk of Robin Steans - 2021: A Year of Building Back Better

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Like many of you, I was glad to say goodbye to 2020. However, even as vaccinations are underway and we can begin to imagine returning to a new “normal” in the year ahead, it is clear 2021 will present its own challenges. COVID-19 is still surging, civil unrest continues, and data is emerging that confirms the impact this pandemic is having on students, especially our youngest learners and across lines of race/ethnicity and income. As we consider the year ahead, Advance Illinois has a number of interconnected priorities. 

We must invest in B-20 education continuum and we must do so equitably 

There is no question, 2021 will be a tough budget year for Illinois. In addition to ongoing fiscal challenges, Illinois now faces a confluence of events and issues that will place enormous stress on our finances. 

The reality is that education in Illinois is deeply underfunded, and our needs just went up. As challenging as it will be, it is time to treat our educational system – early childhood, k-12, and higher education – as one interconnected structure that will adequately and equitably serve all Illinois students.

We have an opportunity to reimagine early childhood education and care.

In recent years, the state has been working to address and improve access to high-quality and affordable early childhood programs. We applaud Governor Pritzker for creating the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding to take a hard look at how we fund and operate our early childhood system and to develop recommendations to make Illinois the best state in the country for raising a family. When the commission reports out in March, we expect it – for the first time in the state’s history – to calculate how much the state should be spending to ensure equitable access to quality care and programming. That’s a necessary step, and we expect the gap to be in the billions. With that information in hand, as sobering as it may be, we will have an obligation to put ourselves on a path to meet those needs and to implement other commission recommendations on how to more strategically and equitably support families and providers.   

We have an obligation to live up to our commitments to support equitable K-12 funding.

Having taken a “pause” in growing the state’s K-12 funding last year, it is essential that the state renew its commitment to putting at least $350 million into its Evidence-Based Funding formula.  Doing so permits districts to create strong, sustainable educational programs and to use federal relief funds for their intended purpose: to safely reopen schools for in-person learning and support students socially, emotionally, and academically as they recover from the many ways in which COVID-19 has disrupted their development and learning.   

We are overdue to revamp higher education funding.

As for higher education, not only must we reinvest, but we must do so with a commitment to equity.  Disinvestment in higher education over the last few decades, particularly during difficult budget years, has forced institutions to more than double tuition and fees in order to stay open, and students from low-income households bear the brunt of this burden. That must change. We are encouraged by the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s strategic planning process, which has spotlighted the need for funding reform, appreciate the suggestions coming from the Partnership for College Completion, and applaud the support and urging of the Illinois Black Caucus and General Assembly. We intend to work with these and other leaders to articulate a clear understanding of the cost and develop an equitable funding mechanism for higher education that not only drives resources where they are needed most, but can serve as a national model. 

After 12 months of disruption, we have a responsibility to support students and educators – socially, emotionally, and academically – and to build back better. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education in every community, exacerbating systemic racial/ethnic and socio-economic inequities and creating unprecedented challenges for children and families as well as educators. Research suggests that the disrupted schooling over the past year, if left unaddressed, will impact students’ educational outcomes and reduce their lifetime earnings. We must act boldly and collaboratively to make sure our students and educators have the supports and tools they need to recover and thrive beyond this crisis, recognizing that recovery and renewal will take years and acknowledging the equity imperative at the core of this work.   

We are heartened that the Illinois P20 Council is working with leaders, practitioners and experts from across the state to coordinate research-based practices to inform short- and long-term recovery and renewal efforts from preschool through postsecondary. Through a combination of guidance, statewide programs, and partnership on locally-driven efforts, leaders are working to craft and employ a multi-year plan to that prioritizes research-based strategies. While work is still in process, priorities include: increasing access to mental health supports, along with trauma-informed training; creating mechanisms to identify and re-engage students who have dropped out or had limited access to education throughout the pandemic; providing students and teachers with additional in-person instructional and planning time; and strengthening digital access and virtual teaching and learning. 

While we all look forward to going “back to normal,” the hard reality is that recovery and renewal will likely take years. We need to support local efforts, even as we recognize the state has a unique responsibility to ensure an equitable recovery for all. We hope the tensions that have challenged communities over the past year will not prevent us from coming together to support the next generation. 

Never have we needed data more to help understand how children and students are doing and to inform the path forward. 

As we begin the new year, we are starting with a number of unanswered questions: How are our children and students faring academically and socially during COVID-19? Who has needed supports and services? What is happening to the students that didn’t show up for school or programs? Are the impacts of COVID-19 playing out differently by geography/race/income/age? What is happening to our educators and workforce? Are teachers and leaders getting the training and supports they need to address unprecedented levels of trauma and/or the vagaries of remote instruction? While some national, state, district, and/or school data exists, it varies by locality and very little is available at the state level to answer these and other pressing questions. 

We know enrollment in PreK and kindergarten is down – but by how much and in what communities? We know we have lost postsecondary students. Is there a pattern that might shed light on how to re-engage students? And with 852 different districts measuring attendance in 852 different ways, what do we know about student engagement and learning as we work to ready ourselves for what’s ahead? This is not just an Illinois problem, but a national one, too. 

We must take advantage of every opportunity to better understand how students are doing – academically and beyond. We know student learning and development has been disrupted, but we cannot address serious issues without basic information about what has happened, recognizing that this pandemic has not affected all students and communities equally. As importantly, we will not know whether we are making necessary progress without critical data points along the way. While this need has become more acute with COVID-19, having quality and comprehensive data is true at all times to help inform and improve educational supports and services. 

The need to strengthen and diversify the education profession is more critical than ever. 

Teachers are the most important in-school factor impacting student learning. Every parent understands that even more keenly now! Unfortunately, Illinois is struggling to maintain a strong and diverse educator pipeline. In SY20-21, Illinois had over 1,700 unfilled teaching positions in public schools, and while 53 percent of Illinois students are non-White, just 18 percent of our teaching force is of color.  

The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus made important strides for our state’s educator pipeline this January, passing HB2170, also known as the Education Omnibus bill. Among the bill’s many highlights, it updated Illinois’ Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship to better support teacher candidates of color, removed state-mandated GPA entrance requirements that restricted alternative program participation, and laid out a path for better educator preparation course alignment and articulation. In early childhood education and care, it encouraged agencies to provide targeted scholarship funding and coaching and to address barriers to accessing higher education. These are important steps in the right direction.  

If Illinois wants all students to have educators who are prepared to support their academic, social, and emotional learning, the state needs an ambitious and coordinated pipeline strategy to recruit, prepare, retain, and continuously support highly effective and diverse educators. This includes: 

• expanding high-quality high school pathways 

• ensuring our educator preparation programs are affordable for candidates 

• investing in proven program, including alternative certification programs 

• maintaining licensure expectations that are focused on evidence-based critical skills and practices supporting mentoring and induction programs (particularly for teachers and leaders of color) 

• combatting bias in hiring and promotion 

As we look ahead, exhausted from a long, hard year, there is more to do. COVID-19 and its aftermath have presented a once-in-a-century set of challenges, and all of us at Advance Illinois remain deeply grateful for the heroic efforts of so many across the state to tirelessly and creatively meet extraordinary needs.   

We hope you had a chance to renew at least a bit over the new year and look forward to working together to ensure this pandemic does not cast a shadow over our children’s futures and that we build back better in 2021 and beyond. 

Sincerely and in partnership,

Robin Steans

President

From the Desk of Robin Steans - Under Impossible Circumstances, Let’s Do Remote Right…

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

…But first, thank you. As we write, schools across the state are beginning to open. They do so amidst the most challenging set of circumstances we are ever likely to face and with only imperfect options. We want to begin by thanking administrators and educators and parents who are working tirelessly to make the best of an impossible situation with ever-changing information, insufficient resources and in the midst of serious health and safety concerns. We salute and admire your dedication. Please know that our effort to understand and share best practices comes from a shared sense of purpose – to help mitigate the negative impact of this crisis on the next generation. 

After listening to health and safety concerns of students, families and educators, Chicago Public Schools and many of the 851 other districts across Illinois plan for full or partial remote learning this fall. For many districts, this has been a gut-wrenching decision made amidst strong feelings and shifting information. Under normal circumstances, in-person instruction is best for most students, and most educators, students and families crave a return to normalcy. With that said, it is clear that remote and blended learning are here to stay for the immediate future. Accordingly, we must unite behind our schools and find creative ways to ensure that remote learning does not prevent students and families from getting the social, emotional, mental health and academic supports they need to be successful.

Sadly, we don’t have much insight or data into how remote learning went across the state this past spring, though survey data of the nation at large show vast inequities. The percentage of students logging in to remote learning differed significantly by race/ethnicity. Students at majority-White schools received graded assignments at a higher rate than those in majority Black and Latinx schools. Similar disparities appear in surveys on the hours teachers spent instructing and on other metrics of student engagement. Left undressed, these inequities may have lasting impacts for our students’ academic and long-term financial success.

To better understand the Illinoiscontext for this fall, Advance Illinois reviewed a sampling of districts’ spring remote plans against known best practices. While only a proxy for what actually happened, these plans highlight areas of strength, attention and need as we dive into fall semester.

What can we learn from remote learning plans posted this past spring?

As COVID-19 hit Illinois, districts were forced to adapt to remote learning with little time to prepare. While the Illinois State Board of Education released remote learning recommendations by March 27, 2020 – just ten days after remote learning was announced – it is unclear to what extent districts were able to incorporate best practices into remote learning this past spring. To explore this question, we identified commonly-recommended best practices in remote learning, then compared remote learning plans from a sample of 100 of Illinois’ 852 school districts. [1] [For an actionable summary of national best practices, click here.]  Our examination found that:

• The vast majority (89/100) of sampled districts published easily accessible remote learning plans, demonstrating admirably clear and transparent communication with families. At the same time, many plans reflected the pressures under which they were created. Specifically, most plans would have benefitted from greater specificity. While most districts noted that remote curricula should be aligned with state learning standards, fewer provided additional curricular support. And while the vast majority of districts noted that all students that receive EL, ILP, IEP or 504 plans would continue to receive accommodations​, very few districts were able to provide specific details on remote learning tactics and assistive technologies. Looking ahead, districts will want to provide as detailed guidance as possible for accessing and using the digital infrastructure needed to participate in remote learning; have effective, standards-aligned instruction and the ability to track student engagement; and social-emotional and mental health supports for students and educators.

• The level of need in a district did not determine the quality of remote learning plans. While significant variation in district learning plans existed across the state (as one might expect), it is heartening to see that amongst our sample, the level of need in a district was not correlated with the detail or thoroughness of remote learning plans.

• Larger districts located in cities and suburbs tended to have more thorough and detailed remote learning plans. This finding likely reflects the particular challenges of rural districts in the face of COVID-19, including fewer staff to respond to rapidly-changing circumstances and disproportionately poorer internet access.

Districts deserve acclaim for their quick pivots to and transparent communication of remote learning plans – a considerable lift under difficult circumstances. Now, as remote and blended instruction continues, we have the opportunity to learn and improve. Parents are playing an increasingly significant role in their students’ day-to-day learning, and they need support and information. While remote and blended learning plans are only a proxy for actual practice, they prompt and reflect district planning and care, and they provide an important roadmap to help parents, educators and school leaders provide the best supports possible in challenging times.

SIDE-BAR [District Spotlights]

Bloom Township 206: Prioritized standards and course content developed by PLCs

Bloom Township’s remote learning plan prioritized learning standards that had been determined by teachers in PLCs; teachers were expected to teach course content in alignment with these prioritized standards.  

Champaign Unit 4 SD: Bilingual Parent Liaisons

Champaign schools’ plan noted several supports for bilingual students and families, including: Requiring that weekly messages to families from principals be translated into French and SpanishDesignating Bilingual Parent Liaison roles to ensure continued communication with bilingual students and families.  

Looking to the year ahead

As the continued threat of COVID-19 forces many parts of our state to continue remote or blended learning this fall, high-quality remote learning plans and implementation will be key to effective instruction. We know that, regardless of best efforts in the face of unprecedented challenges, student academic learning has suffered. While remote and blended instruction is certainly an immensely difficult transition for our teachers and schools, there is a real danger that this period will deepen disparities across income, race, language and learning style. As we look ahead, we have a shared goal of ensuring all students have access to high-quality instruction and support in these difficult times. For our state, this means providing:

• Supports for educators. Across the state, educators need resources, training and feedback to effectively serve students in this new context. This is especially true for new teachers, who will need particular coaching and support due to disruptions in their own preparation.

• Resources to close the digital divide. In order to access and deliver effective remote and blended instruction, students and educators need devices, internet connectivity, technical support and high-quality platforms and curricula designed for digital delivery. While Illinois has invested over $80M in new funds for devices, connectivity and professional development, this covers less than 15 percent of Illinois students, and a huge digital access gap remains.

• Rigorous and quality content expectations. Remote and blended learning environments mean entirely new methods of instruction. As 852 districts sift through an array of curricula, digital platforms and other resources, the state should work to ensure that every student is in a classroom with high-quality, culturally relevant instructional materials that are aligned to grade-level learning standards.

• Focus on the social-emotional and mental-health needs of our students and staff. Educators need training and support to identify and address trauma, including their own. 

• Intentional and meaningful family engagement. As remote and blended learning continues, family engagement is more crucial than ever. Collaboration between schools, communities and families is necessary to improve our students’ learning experiences over the next year.

• Data. We need to know the impact of COVID-19 on student learning and engagement in order to effectively address challenges. As remote and blended learning environments continue into the fall, the state and districts need new ways to understand student learning and engagement. We then must use this information to make real-time, mid-course corrections to our plans. We are in a fluid environment and must equip ourselves to adapt and improve.

We know that COVID-19 is impacting all students and families, but it is disproportionately hurting our communities of color and families of lower income background. This fall and beyond, we need to take an equity lens to our work and provide additional supports to highly-impacted student groups.

We are all in this together

It will take us years to recover and rebuild from the impact of COVID-19. Sadly, there is no vaccine for disrupted learning and missed opportunities. While it is essential to double down and focus on making the best of our current situation, we must also continue to plan true and meaningful recovery in order to continue to close gaps in opportunity across Illinois’ educational system. It will take all of us working together to make that happen. If we bring half the energy, dedication and spirit to longer-term recovery work that educators and families are bringing to this moment, then we are already on our way.

[1] Our sample consisted of a weighted sample of IL’s large, medium, and small school districts, while still including the 24 largest school districts. The final sample of 100 school district does closely reflect Illinois’ percentage of White students and percentage of low-income students, although we did oversample both large districts and those classified as cities.

Sincerely. and in partnership,

Robin Steans

President