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FEBRUARY 4, 2025
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After reading the book "Henry Helps with Laundry," students at the Oak Lawn – Hometown School District 123 Early Learning Center had some fun “doing laundry.” Their teacher, Heather Barnish, knew that would help them develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and life skills.
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ILLINOIS EXCELS ON THE NATION'S REPORT CARD
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Dear Colleagues:
Last week, we received our 2024 NAEP results, and I want to congratulate all Illinois educators for your efforts in helping our students across the state achieve results we can all be proud of. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is known as “The Nation’s Report Card” because it is the only assessment that provides a common measure of what U.S. students know across the nation. Our eighth graders outperformed the national averages in both reading and math, while our fourth graders matched the national average. Illinois students’ performance also held steady across all subjects and grades from 2022 to 2024, despite the nation showing significant reading declines for students in Grades 4 and 8.
I hope you caught the positive coverage of the NAEP release in the Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, Capitol News Illinois, and State Journal-Register, among others.
NAEP uses three terms to report results. “Basic” generally indicates performing at grade level. “Proficient” signals a higher level performance. “Advanced” indicates superior achievement. Among our fourth grade students, most (59 percent) performed at or above NAEP basic in reading, and 74 percent performed at or above NAEP basic in math. Our eighth graders’ scores in reading and math met the basic threshold or above at rates of 70 and 62 percent, respectively. These results confirm what the Illinois Assessment of Readiness has shown – that our students have held steady or increased their academic performance since the pandemic.
Of course, we still have work to do. Test scores from our Hispanic and Black students have been stable since 2022, but their scores continue to lag those of White students. In fact, the gap between scores for White and Black students has not changed in any statistically significant way over the past 10 years. This disparity spotlights the vital importance of continuing to emphasize equity and inclusion in our schools, which simply means that, rather than approaching learning as a one-size-fits-all task, our systems should acknowledge that students have different and differing levels of both need and adversity, and we should take steps to ensure that each and every student has the supports and resources they need to succeed.
Lastly, I want to thank our friends at South Cook Intermediate Service Center for hosting the first stop on our Assessment & Accountability Redesign Listening Tour. We had a packed house and received a lot of great feedback. The goal of this work is to provide better, more accurate, more actionable data to support continuous school improvement in every school. If you have not yet signed up to join us at one of the remaining seven tour stops, you can RSVP at isbe.eventbrite.com.
All my best,
Tony
Dr. Tony Sanders
State Superintendent of Education
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Please note this is not a complete list of events, meetings, and deadlines. Visit the ISBE Weekly Message Dates & Deadlines webpage for the complete list.
Feb. 4 | 1-3 p.m.: IWAS to MyISBE Listening Tour (East St. Louis)
Feb. 6 | 3:30 p.m.: Webinar: PreACT 9 Secure and PreACT Secure Test Day Training
Feb. 6 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: School Finance Workshop (ROE 32, Kankakee)
Feb. 11 | 3:30-4:30 p.m.: Informational Webinar: Spring 2025 RSSI REACH Communities of Practice
Feb. 13 | 10 a.m.: Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan Capacity Builders Webinar Series Session 5: Evaluating Curriculum and Instructional Practices
Feb. 18 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: School Finance Workshop (ROE 40, Jerseyville)
Feb. 18 | 5-6 p.m.: Webinar: Creating Culturally Responsive Teaching and ‘The Magnitude of Us’
Feb. 19 | 5 p.m.: Deadline to apply for spring 2025 RSSI REACH Communities of PracticeFeb. 20 | 8:30 a.m.-noon: School Finance Workshop (ROE 13, Centralia)
Feb. 25: 2025 Success Network Conference
Feb. 25 | 2-3 p.m.: Webinar: My Data Dashboard – Welcoming and Empowering District & School Administrators
Feb. 26 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: School Finance Workshop (ROE 21, Marion)
Feb. 28-March 1: Illinois Teacher Leadership Summit
March 1: Deadline to report the intent to move to from half-day kindergarten to full-day kindergarten for the 2025-26 school year
March 4: ACCESS testing window closes
March 5: McKinney-Vento Conference
March 5 | 12:30-2:30p.m.: School Finance Workshop (ROE 8, Freeport)
March 6 | 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.: School Finance Workshop (ROE 19, DuPage)
March 10 | 1-3 p.m.: Assessment & Accountability Redesign Listening Tour (Parkland Community College, Champaign)
March 12 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: School Finance Workshop (West 40 ISC 2, Maywood)
March 13 | 10 a.m.: Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan Capacity Builders Webinar Series Session 6: Key Literacy Strategies and Concepts
March 13: Deadline to submit feedback on the Full-Day Kindergarten Task Force Final Report
March 15: Deadline to submit ISBE Career Connections Conference Exhibitor Interest Form
March 18 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: School Finance Workshop (ROE 20, Carmi)
March 19: IWAS to MyISBE Listening Tour (Vandalia)
March 21 | 1-3 p.m.: Assessment & Accountability Redesign Listening Tour (Hall High School District 502, Spring Valley)
March 26 | 1-3 p.m.: IWAS to MyISBE Listening Tour (Rantoul)
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See More Dates & Deadlines
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NEW! FINANCE
In Case You Missed It: Dr. Sanders Addresses the Federal Executive Orders
In case you missed it, Dr. Sanders addressed the federal executive orders in his Weekly Message column on Jan. 30:
“I understand that district leaders, teachers, and families have a lot of questions about the recent Executive Orders and memos issued by the federal government.
“These actions do not require school districts to make any immediate changes at the board or classroom level. At this time, there have been no changes to federal legislation, regulations or funding that would warrant a local response, and all Illinois state laws remain intact.
“In the meantime, I urge district leaders to continue normal operations. Thank you for your day-to-day leadership in providing a high-quality education to all Illinois students.”
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School Maintenance Project Grants Quarterly Expenditure Reports Due
All fiscal year 2025 Round 1 School Maintenance Project Grants are in the process of being approved by ISBE and submitted to the Comptroller’s Office. Your district may or may not have received its payment as of this notice. Please know payments are forthcoming.
All recipients approved for FY 2025 Round 1 School Maintenance Project Grants are required to submit a Quarterly Expenditure Report for the period that ended Dec. 31, 2024. These reports are available in IWAS under School Maintenance Project Grants. Note: If your district has not yet started the approved school maintenance project(s) and/or has not expended any funds, please report accordingly by entering “$0.00” in the appropriate blank.
Please follow the instructions to complete the Quarterly Expenditure Report. Note the following:
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Quarterly reports must be done even if you have not started any of the work items on the grant. Please enter “0” for any work item that has not been started.
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Quarterly Expenditure Reports must be submitted until the Final Expenditure Report has been submitted in IWAS to close out the grant.
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All work items must be updated every quarter until the work item is 100 percent completed.
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A Final Expenditure Report must be submitted within 20 days after the project is 100 percent completed. Please follow the instructions to submit a Final Expenditure Report.
Please contact Alexandria Alvey at 217-785-8779 or SMPG@isbe.net if you need assistance.
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SY 2025-26 EBF Funding: Half-Day to Full-Day Kindergarten Conversion
The Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula creates an Adequacy Target for each district based on total average student enrollment, English learner (EL) enrollment, and low-income student count. Kindergarten students are assigned a value of 0.5 in the data if they attend a half day and a value of 1.0 if they attend a full day. Per the EBF statute, a school district may inform the State Board of Education of its intent to convert from half-day to full-day kindergarten. Doing so will prompt conversion of all half-day students to appear as full-day students in the fiscal year 2026 EBF calculation data for both average student enrollment and EL enrollment. The statutory deadline to report the intent to move to full-day kindergarten instruction is March 1.
Any school district that wishes to make this change for the 2025-26 school year must email ISBE with a board resolution expressing the intent to make the change for the next school year, as well as the minutes from the meeting when the resolution was approved. If you have questions, contact sff@isbe.net or 217-782-0249.
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NEW! ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
2025 Apprenticeship Expansion Notice of Funding Opportunity
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has launched the 2025 Apprenticeship Expansion Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to support high-impact Apprenticeship Intermediaries.
Program Highlights
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Funding Available: $5 million-10 million (from the U.S. Department of Labor).
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Grant Range: $200,000-$1,000,000.
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Eligible Applicants: Community-based organizations, municipalities, education institutions (e.g., school districts, community colleges), industry associations, state agencies, workforce boards, and nonprofits.
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Key Populations: Adults, youth, and individuals with disabilities to be placed in apprenticeships.
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Application Deadline: March 21 to be included in the first application review cycle.
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Anticipated Grant Commitment Date: July 1.
Informational Sessions
DCEO will coordinate at least three information sessions for this NOFO. Attendance is recommended but not required. The in-person sessions will include options to attend a “Grants 101 Session” and/or “NOFO Information Session.”
For More Information
Learn more about the 2025 Apprenticeship Expansion grant on the NOFO website.
Contact Chase.Martin2@Illinois.gov for questions. You also may submit questions to the FAQ page, where they will be posted and answered.
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NEW! SAFE & HEALTHY CLIMATE
Checkout ISBE's New Resiliency Toolkit
As part of ISBE’s Strategic Plan Goal 2.1.2, we are excited to introduce the Resiliency Toolkit, a collection of resources designed to foster safe and healthy school climates. These resources are aligned with ISBE’s definition of resilience, aimed at supporting the well-being and growth of students, educators, and the broader school community.
We kindly invite you and your staff to provide feedback about the toolkit through a brief survey. Your insights are invaluable in ensuring that the resources meet the needs of all stakeholders and continue to support the development of resilient, safe, and thriving school environments. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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McKinney-Vento Conference
The annual McKinney-Vento Conference is scheduled from 9 a.m.-4:15 p.m. March 5 at the Bloomington-Normal Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. This is a free event -- with lunch included! Registration for the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Liaison Conference is open to the first 150 registrants or until Feb. 21.
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Nurses Expanding Their Role on the Team for Special Education
Who performs medical reviews for your students? ISBE is sponsoring “RNs in Schools – Expanding Your Special Education Role,” an online course designed for districts with nurses who meet the minimum education requirements (bachelor’s degree in nursing, education, or a related field).
Please contact schoolnurse@isbe.net if you have questions.
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RSSI REACH and SEL Hubs Partner for Building Resilient, Supportive Schools
This spring, the Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois (RSSI) REACH initiative continues collaboration with the Social-Emotional Learning Hubs to unite school staff statewide around developing resilient supportive school communities. Statewide and regional Communities of Practice (CoPs) enable educators to engage in hybrid sessions, combining in-person and virtual meetings and offering participants a chance to "learn, share, and grow.”
These tailored Communities of Practice provide an exclusive platform for educators to exchange insights, experiences, and best practices, and nurture inclusive learning environments. Participants collaborate and work on individual transformation over a series of sessions to create a collective impact on school communities.
The spring session offers five regional Communities of Practice from late-February to mid-May. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Feb. 19.
Two statewide, virtual CoPs also are available. Priority is given to RSSI REACH school community members, yet applications from community members outside RSSI REACH schools are welcomed. Professional Educator License hours and Continuing Education Unit hours are available.
Curious but want more details? Attend an informational session from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Feb. 11.
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NEW! STANDARDS & INSTRUCTION
Full-Day Kindergarten Task Force
Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/10-22.18e) created the Full-Day Kindergarten Task Force for the purpose of conducting a statewide audit to inform the planning and implementation of full-day kindergarten.
The task force may recommend that ISBE consider an additional criterion when granting a waiver to the establishment of full-day kindergarten for two additional years under 105 ILCS 10-22.18(b). ISBE shall make a final determination regarding this additional factor and provide public notice of that determination no later than July 1, 2025.
The Full-Day Kindergarten Task Force met five times, beginning on Nov. 27, 2023. There are two required reports that the task force must submit to the General Assembly and Office of the Governor. The first, an interim report, was submitted in June 2024.
ISBE requests your feedback on the recommendation in the second and final report, which was submitted in January 2025. Additional information may be found on the Full Day Kindergarten Task Force webpage. The public comment period is open Feb. 10-March 13.
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Science Professional Development Opportunities
Calling all science educators! ISBE is partnering with the National Science Teacher Association and Regional Office of Education 47 to provide educators with the following virtual professional learning opportunities that take a dive into the Next Generation Science Standards and building strong inquiry-based lessons.
What is Sensemaking?
4:30-6 p.m. Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25
Through four 90-minute Zoom sessions, participants will delve into the four critical attributes of effective sensemaking: engaging phenomena, science and engineering practices, student ideas, and disciplinary core ideas. This learning experience will equip educators with the knowledge and strategies to effectively enact these attributes in their classrooms, promoting equity and providing all students with opportunities to develop as scientific thinkers.
NGSS Capacity Builders Series: Evaluating the Science Classroom
9-10 a.m. Feb. 24
This workshop will explore how to effectively evaluate science teachers implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). We will delve into defining effective science instruction, including student-centered learning, 3-dimensional learning, and culturally responsive teaching. We will then discuss strategies for bridging the gap between current evaluation practices and the realities of NGSS instruction, such as aligning rubrics with NGSS, exploring alternative evaluation methods, and supporting teachers and administrators in this transition. By the end of this session, participants will be able to identify key characteristics of an effective science classroom and develop strategies for improving teacher evaluation to accurately reflect the quality of science instruction.
For a full listing of upcoming Science Professional Learning opportunities, visit the ROE 47 website.
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Creating Culturally Responsive Teaching and ‘The Magnitude of Us’
Join ISBE from 5-6 p.m. Feb. 18 for a transformative webinar focused on Culturally Responsive Teaching. Using The Magnitude of Us as a guide, this session will provide Grade 6-12 teachers and district leaders the tools to implement culturally responsive practices in the classroom. We will explore the core principles of culturally responsive pedagogy, including actionable steps to apply these concepts in your teaching, and engage in small group activities to reflect and collaborate with colleagues. Register today to gain valuable insights into creating more inclusive and equitable learning environments for all students.
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COMMUNICATIONS
Take the Weekly Message Poll
As you know, we use ISBE’s Weekly Message as our primary tool for sharing important updates and information with school administrators. To ensure that it meets your needs, we're asking for your feedback. What aspects of ISBE’s Weekly Message do you find most valuable, and how could we make it even better? Please take a moment to participate in our brief poll.
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IN BRIEF
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Educator Opportunities
IATD 2025 Spring Conference
The 2025 Illinois Association of Title Directors (IATD) Spring Conference is scheduled for April 21-22 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Please register via Eventbrite.
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Ed Leaders Network
Ed Leaders Network offers free one-hour webinars throughout the year to spotlight strategies, leadership tips, and tools. Upcoming webinars include:
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The Art of Communication
3 p.m. Feb. 12
There are so, so, so many aspects to the ART of communication. Andrew Marotta dives deep into this subject, which can make or break you as an educator. Andrew breaks it down into three areas: The one-on-one meeting, the large setting, and everything else. Andrew explores storytelling, listening skills, and techniques to help you thrive in your communication and interactions with others in the school setting! He will share concepts such as E+R=O, 8-37-55, and how to tell the right story at the right time to the right people!
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Creating a PEOPLE FIRST Culture Through Tiny Moments
3 p.m. Feb. 13
Ready to create a PEOPLE FIRST culture where everyone feels valued and energized? Join Phil Boyte for an engaging webinar packed with simple, practical ideas to help leaders take care of themselves and their teams. Phil will share real-world strategies to strengthen relationships, build trust, and make small moments matter. You’ll leave with fresh inspiration and tangible tools to foster a thriving, people-centered culture.
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‘Combat Hate’: a FREE Digital Media Literacy Workshop
Can your students spot identity-based hate online? If they spot it, do they know what actions to take? If not, the Mobile Museum of Tolerance’s “Combat Hate” may be the solution.
Combat Hate: A Digital Media Literacy Workshop empowers Grades 5-12 students to identify hate speech on social media, analyze manipulation and disinformation tactics, and curate a positive digital footprint.
“Combat Hate” is a free classroom-based workshop presented by the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Mobile Museum of Tolerance using five research lenses -- Media Literacy, Digital Citizenship, Upstander Approach, Empowerment Model, and Culturally Responsive and Sustained Teaching. Students will leave feeling empowered to combat online hate through education, informed action, and digital control for years to come. “Combat Hate” aligns with Illinois 9-12 Media Literacy Standards and has been adapted for Grades 5-8 as well.
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Summer PD Opportunities From the National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Education supports professional development programs for K-12 educators, higher education faculty, and humanities professionals to study a variety of humanities topics. Programs are offered in residential, virtual, and combined formats. Participant stipends are based upon program format and duration.
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Institutes are one- to four-week professional development programs that convene K-12 educators or higher education faculty from across the nation to deepen their understanding of significant topics in the humanities and enrich their capacity for effective scholarship and teaching.
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Landmarks of American History and Culture programs are one-week workshops held across the nation that enhance how K-12 educators, higher education faculty, and humanities professionals incorporate place-based approaches to humanities teaching and scholarship. The video below features educators who have participated in various Landmarks programs over the past 20 years discussing the power of place.
Applications are due March 5. Explore opportunities and apply on the National Endowment for the Humanities summer programs webpage.
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Student Opportunities
FARE Virtual Teen Talks
Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) hosts a monthly Teen Talk online. The next one is set for 4-5 p.m. Feb. 15. These events are open to pre-teens, teens, and young adults with food allergies or their siblings/friends (ages 11-22). Register for the FARE Virtual Teen Talk today.
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Featured ISBE Career Opportunities
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The Illinois State Board of Education is the State Education Agency for Illinois. Our mission is to provide each and every child with safe and healthy learning conditions, great educators, and equitable opportunities by practicing data-informed stewardship of resources and policy development, all done in partnership with educators, families, and stakeholders.
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