LM Oct.2017

Message From the Executive Director

Spotlight nowfocusedsquarely onpublic education in Illinois

Dr. Brent Clark

Public education is in the spotlight as never before in Illinois. Many did not believe we would have passed school funding reform with it becoming the top priority for the General Assembly in 2017. With that historically elusive equity hurdle finally cleared, our focus now shifts to implementation. State Superintendent Dr. Tony Smith alluded to the fact that public education now is under the microscope when he spoke at our recent annual conference. “Everybody is going to be looking and saying ‘You got more money.’ If we don’t get after it like we’ve never gotten after it, that’s on us,” Smith said. “We now have a chance to change the conversation about public education. I am more energized and excited than I have been in my three years here. We have to make sure we have done everything we possibly can for kids whose lives do depend on it.” Superintendents from districts large and small, urban and rural from all over the state coalesced around the idea of wiping out the equity gap and helped push the landmark school funding reform legislation across the goal line. The Evidence-Based Model (EBM) that four years ago began as a vision—the centerpiece of a Vision 20/20 pillar called Adequacy & Equity—now is the law of our state, thanks to many of you. Similar to the dog that finally catches up to the car it has been chasing forever, we now have to figure out what to do with this elusive target. IASA and its partners stand ready to help you implement the EBM with fidelity. We will continue to push for full funding of the new model every year, and we already have begun the process of trying to share information about the EBM with superintendents throughout the state. Dr. Michael Jacoby, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO), LeRoy Superintendent Gary Tipsord and the Illinois Principals Association (IPA) have collaborated to produce a series

of five videos to help explain the EBM. You can view these videos by clicking on the links below: Four Major Components Overview Adequacy Target

Base Funding Minimum Local Capacity Target Tier Distribution

Additionally, IASA held a Northeastern Super Region meeting on October 11 in Lisle to discuss the EBM. We had a great discussion with a packed house of nearly 400 attendees. We have scheduled a Northcentral Super Region meeting from 1–3 p.m. Wednesday, October 18 at Heartland Community College in Normal, and a Southern Super Region meeting from 1–3 p.m. Thursday, October 19 at Rend Lake Community College in Ina. Please click on one of the links above for more details and to register. Looking further down the road, we are planning to hold a series of three interconnected workshops at 10 locations around the state beginning in January of 2018. The January workshops will be designed to inform you about the new school funding model and the 26 elements of the EBM. The February workshops will be built around the Illinois ESSA plan and how to align the EBM with the state plan. The March workshops will help you to actually write an implementation plan for your district. The dates and locations of the workshops are still being determined, and we will get that information to you as soon as those details are finalized. Tony Smith was spot on when he noted that the focus is now squarely on us as public school educational leaders. Spotlights can generate some uncomfortable heat, but I am reminded what General George S. Patton, Jr. said about pressure during World War II: “Pressure makes diamonds.” We now have the opportunity to make diamonds.

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