P-20 Network Newsletter — June 14, 2024

Did you know that you can check your school’s FAFSA completion rate on the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) website? Did you know that FAFSA completion rates have been significantly lower this year?

There is still time to help your recent high school graduates and your current postsecondary students!

ISAC representatives remain available to host financial aid completion events for your students now and through the summer. They can also work with students and families one-on-one to assist them in completing their financial aid application.

If you have high school seniors who did not fulfill the FAFSA graduation requirement and you will be granting an administrative waiver, please have them complete this form so they can receive support from ISAC after graduation to help ensure they can access the financial aid for which they are eligible and meet their educational goals. Please share this flyer with your school counselors, grade 12 teachers, and recent graduates and their families.

The Educational Coaching Network (ECN) has announced its slate of professional learning opportunities for the 2024-25 school year. Registration is open!

The Foundations of Instructional Coaching Institute with Jim Knight and Michelle Harris is a series of five workshops about coaching, instruction, and collaboration. This is a great opportunity to train new coaches, get teams on the same page, and create a culture of coaching. With five sessions, this Institute promotes long-term, lasting learning over the course of the year.

In February and March, we will once again offer a series of Advanced Coaching and Leadership Workshops featuring Jim Knight and Mary Webb. The topics include Advanced Coaching Skills, System Design, and two days on Coaching for Leaders. Participants can sign up for one workshop or for the entire series to receive a discount.

The annual ECN Conference will feature Diane Sweeney and Student-Centered Coaching on April 24, 2025. This one-day event brings together coaches and administrators from across the region to dive deeply into this one aspect of instructional coaching.

All ECN events are located at NIU Naperville. Discounts are available for teams and early registration. As always, registration includes ample food and parking, books and materials, and Professional Development Hours.

Health and wellness, both mental and physical, are the focus of The Schools We Need Now, a new book by Tim Dohrer and Tom Golebiewski. This new book directly addresses our Area of Focus of Equity and Opportunity and indirectly addresses our Areas of Focus of Career and College and Readiness and Educator Engagement. To help launch it, the Illinois P-20 Network will host two webinars with Tim and Tom on June 25 and August 28.

The book lays out a “Mental Health Action Plan” that can guide educators to re-envision schools through the lens of health and wellness. It also provides school-based examples of prevention, intervention, and postvention steps for creating a healthy school culture.

Tim and Tom will be in conversation with Jason Klein and will take questions from the audience during the live webinars. Register below for either of the book launch webinars:

June 25 – 1 PM

August 28 – 3:30 PM

Did you know that in recent years the Illinois P-20 Network has collaborated with dozens of partner school districts, community colleges, and other regional organizations on everything from grant development and applications to instructional coaching, to student assessment, to school and institutional improvement and more?

We have worked on a wide range of topics, and there’s a wide variety of funding sources you can utilize to support such work at very cost-effective rates.

Consider your needs locally, learn more about customized and individualized partner services on our website, and contact us at p20network@niu.edu.

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.

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