Leadership Matters November 2013

Suggested Vision 20/20 Talking Points

1. The goal of Vision 20/20 is to develop a roadmap for public education in Illinois, specifically looking at the areas of Governance, Finance, Digital Learning, Assessment and Accountability, Leadership, and Organizational Transformation. 2. For too long, the real educational professionals in Illinois – the practitioners – have been reacting to mandates and plans fostered by politicians and reform groups. There has been a leadership void. A good analogy is a ship without a captain, navigation system or charted course being tossed around in stormy seas. Public education in our state is at a crossroads. Instead of surrendering, quitting or sticking our heads in the sand, it is time to stand up and fight for the children of Illinois and their future education. 3. Vision 20/20 will be an Illinois plan developed by Illinois educational leaders for Illinois children. 4. The key to implementing the Vision 20/20 plan must be at the grassroots level, one community at a time, in every region of our state. It is about planning for the future and it is also about regaining more local control over local schools. 5. 661 superintendents in the state participated in a survey. Less than 20% of those educational leaders agreed that public education in Illinois is heading in the right direction. 6. The top five priorities of superintendents, according to the survey results, are: 1) Funding of public schools in Illinois, 2) High-quality teachers, 3) High-quality administrators, 4) Flexibility of local school districts to meet the needs of students, and 5) High standards and expectations for students. 7. Some of the types of issues the Vision 20/20 committees are focusing on include:  Governance: Those who draft educational policy/reform must work closely with those who implement policy/reform.  Finance: State revenue must be predictable and appropriate to meet the basic mandates of a public education in Illinois.  Digital Learning: All students require access to a reliable broadband network and appropriate hardware in order to prepare for a modern world of work.  Assessment & Accountability: The primary purpose should show academic growth of our students and lead instructional decisions.  Leadership: The more difficult the moment, the more leadership matters.  Organizational Transformation: Bold solutions are required, stresses are becoming too great to ignore 8. Once a plan is finalized, achieving unity in support of that plan. Each school district can be viewed as a ship and the superintendent as the captain of that ship. If all of our ships are joined together, we can amass a mighty armada. If the same message is being heard by legislators in every region, from polar opposites in our state, from urban and rural districts, rich and poor districts, north, south, east and west, that’s how we can make Vision 20/20 connect and become a reality in Illinois.

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