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What we’ve been up to... 

We’ve continued to work near and far over the past two weeks across Illinois and beyond. Check out what has been going on... 

• ECN Foundations of Instructional Coaching – Jim Knight kicked off this year’s Foundations of Instructional Coaching series at NIU Naperville with educators from across Illinois as part of the Educational Coaching Network. Listening and sharing are the foundations of any successful coaching relationship, and the Better Conversations workshop is the perfect kick-off to this series! 

• Room to Grow Career Readiness Framework Planning – We were excited to spend the day with a number of school districts from throughout Northwest Illinois as well as leaders from Highland Community College and Regional Office of Education 8. Throughout this workshop, we explored the key components of the Illinois PaCE Framework, discussed students’ range of future careers and their postsecondary paths to those careers, and challenged ourselves to consider how we best engage all families in these processes. Each school district began planning what it needed to include to best serve students and families. 

• Career Pathways Student Conversations – Geneseo High School – Four Years Later – Along with retired principal Travis Mackey, we followed up with three Geneseo High School alums that we had previously met with when they were in 12th grade. (See this Career Pathways Student Conversations video.) Getting together again, we discussed what they are doing now and where they are headed with their careers, and we looked back on what did and did not prepare them for life after school. Check out this Career Pathways Student Conversations – Four Years Later video! 

• Ortus Foundation Mental Health Symposium – Alongside his co-author, Tom Golebiewski, Tim Dohrer attended this week’s Ortus Foundation Mental Health Symposium in Wyoming. Tim and Tom engaged other participants around their book, The Schools We Need Now. 

• GCAMP Manufacturing Breakfast at Tech Center DuPage – We were able to join industry professionals along with representatives from College of DuPage in engaging with students and teachers in manufacturing-related classrooms at Tech Center DuPage (TCD). This event was co-hosted by TCD and GCAMP. 

If you will be attending the Illinois Joint Annual Conference on November 22 or 23, let us know! We’d love to connect in-person! 

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Temple Grandin: Great Minds Are Not All the Same – Free Event Open to the Public 

Please share with educators and your communities broadly! 

On Tuesday, November 19, from 6.30 to 7.30 PM, Temple Grandin will be presenting Great Minds Are Not All the Same at the Holmes Student Center at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Dr. Grandin is the Distinguished Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University and has presented broadly about autism and neurodiversity for decades.  

Prior to Dr. Grandin’s presentation, educators, families, and community members are invited to attend the free Celebration of Neurodiversity: Activity and Resource Fair at the Holmes Student Center from 5 to 6.30 PM. 

We look forward to having students of all ages, families, educators, and other community members join us on November 19, 2024, at NIU! 

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ECN announces new Coaching and Wellness Workshop 

Instructional coaching and supporting the wellness of both educators and students alike are two keys to long-term retention of teachers.  

On December 10, 2024, at NIU Naperville, the Educational Coaching Network will host its newest workshop – Coaching and Wellness: Creating a Mentally Healthy Classroom. This workshop supports both keys to educator retention mentioned above! 

The workshop is timed perfectly to allow teachers, instructional coaches, support services professionals, and school administrators to engage in thinking about classroom practices that support mental and emotional well-being and provide a stronger foundation for academic learning.

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NIU Social Justice Summer Camp Registration Open 

Back for its eighth year, this three-day summer camp from June 10 to 13, 2025, brings together teams of new and returning campers (educators!) to investigate multicultural and social justice education. Campers will have significant opportunities to discuss social justice issues, both general and specific to their schools, with experts and colleagues, as well as time for individual reflection and group activities.   

The content of this professional learning experience is customized to meet the needs of educators in school districts and community colleges, and with organizations sending everything from one individual educator to dozens, there are a wide range of campers to learn with and from. 

Learn more and register now on the Social Justice Camp for Educators website. 

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