P-20 Network Newsletter — November 3, 2023

We are less than 30 days away from this year’s Fall Meeting of the Illinois P-20 Network. Please join us on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, from 9:30 AM until 1:30 PM at NIU Naperville. The meeting will kick-off with a welcome message from university officials that will set the stage for the following Illinois P-20 Network workgroups to engage in deep discussion about the work ahead:

Dual Credit Think Tank
IPIE – Illinois Partnership of Educators for Inclusion and Equity
KEEP Illinois – Keeping Educators Engaged Professionally

Everyone is welcome to join us! The day will conclude with a short sharing session and lunch. To help offset the costs of the in-person event, we are asking participants for a small registration fee of $30. Thank you for your understanding!

The ISBE Career Connections Conference provides educators across Illinois with a platform for collaboration, innovation, and motivation. The planning committee is excited to announce its call for proposals. CTE educators throughout the state are encouraged to share their expertise and insights! We welcome innovative ideas, best practices, and valuable experiences.

For more information, please visit the ISBE Career Connections Conference website.

Student-Centered Coaching is an evidence-based instructional coaching model that shifts the focus from “fixing” teachers to collaborating with them to design instruction that targets student outcomes. Over six days throughout the year, this institute will take a deep dive into this coaching approach with expert Diane Sweeney. Diane is an educator, coach, author, and highly sought-after facilitator.

Institute Overview

November 29-30 – Core practices for Student-Centered Coaching, including using standards and evidence from students to anchor coaching as well as examining the impact of coaching styles.
February 7-8 – Focus on school culture and teacher engagement through teacher self-efficacy and school improvement.
April 10-11 – Exploration of reflective dialogue with opportunities for practice and problem solving.

This unique, year-long Institute format of paired days separated over time provides coaches the chance to reflect and start implementing Student-Centered Coaching in your local school context. All six sessions will be delivered in person at NIU’s Naperville campus with plenty of parking, food, and camaraderie to make everyone’s learning experience positive and memorable.

Important for both our communities and our educational systems across Illinois, this week, the Illinois Community College Board announced significant growth in community college enrollment (e.g., full-time equivalent and unduplicated head count) across Illinois. Fall 2023 enrollments were 5.7% higher than Fall 2022 enrollments.

There are likely very positive implications of this enrollment increase not only for community colleges but also for school districts, universities, employers, and communities in general. We invite you to reach out to your local partners and to discuss these changes.

As we continue to provide customized solutions to specific school districts, community colleges, and regions, please feel free to contact our team about supporting your local initiatives for school, district, and institutional improvement. Read the Illinois Community College Board’s Fall 2023 Enrollment Report announcement and discuss locally what this may mean for your organizations!

On November 11 and 12, Northern Illinois University will host its two-day Food Sustainability Innovation Challenge on campus in DeKalb. This 24-hour event is free and open to all postsecondary students who are 18 years old and older. Meals, snacks, and a t-shirt are all included. Students can register as individuals or as a team of 4-6.

Please share with your students and encourage a team of students to represent your institution at this fun and important event. Learn more and share this link: https://www.niu.edu/divresearch/innovation/challenge.shtml

The National Career Clusters Framework is undergoing a modernization effort to ensure it remains responsive and relevant to the needs of students and employers for decades to come. An updated framework will be unveiled in fall 2024, but the voices of all educators are needed now for the development of this new framework. In Illinois, the National Career Clusters map into our own Illinois Career Pathways and thus remain important for a variety of reasons as a framework.

Share your perspective in the National Career Cluster Framework Implementation Input Survey, and please share with educators throughout your organization. This is an important framework for all educators from early childhood through elementary and secondary schools and through postsecondary institutions and adult education!

Learn more in this video about the National Career Clusters Framework Implementation Survey.

P-20 Network Email Newsletter —
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P-20 Network Newsletters will typically come out every two weeks on Friday. The newsletters include updates on critical policy developments, professional development opportunities, success stories from the Network and much more.

You are receiving this message because you have previously attended a P-20 Network Meeting and/or have been on previous P-20 Network emails. We encourage you to forward this email to others in your organization, such as principals, assistant principals, department chairs by using the Forward to a Friend link below. Others can subscribe by simply completing this very short form.