Illinois State Board of Education Policy Planning Committee met Oct. 6

By Angelica Saylo Pilo

Jan 3, 2023

Illinois State Board of Education Policy Planning Committee met Oct. 6.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

I. Roll Call

Chair Susie Morrison brought the meeting to order at 12:39 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present with three members. Chair Morrison was physically present, and Dr. Donna Leak and Jaime Guzman were present via video conference.

Committee Members Present

Susie Morrison, Committee Chair

Dr. Donna Leak

Jaime Guzman

Committee Members Absent

None

Other Board Members Present

Dr. Steven Isoye, Chair of the Board

Staff Present

Dr. Carmen I. Ayala, State Superintendent

Kirsten Parr, Board Services Coordinator

Kim Clarke, Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent

Dr. Brenda Dixon, Research and Evaluation Officer

Maureen Font, Director of Data Strategies and Analytics

Rae Clementz, Director of Accountability

Krish Mohip, Deputy Operational Education Officer

Nehemiah Ankoor, Lead Manager of Learning Renewal

Carisa Hurley Davis, Director of Early Childhood

Norma Moore, Supervisor in Early Childhood

Dr. Erica Thieman, Director of Standards and Instruction

Jeff Aranowski, Executive Director of Safe & Healthy Climate

Dr. Jason Helfer, Deputy Instructional Education Officer

Dr. Jennifer Kirmes, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning

Oriana Wilson, Executive Director of Programs

Robert Wolfe, Financial Officer

Irma Snopek, Policy and Communications Officer

Jeremy Duffy, Legal Officer

II. Public Participation

Cynthia Lund, legislative director of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, spoke on assessment. She advocated for ISBE action on Center for Assessment Recommendations 4 (provide better and more efficient reporting), 6 (shortening the Illinois Assessment of Readiness), and 7 (investigate the possibility of an adaptive test design). She believes that individual districts have shown initiative in assessment reform and encouraged continued work with the Center for Assessment.

Chair Morrison asked for an in-depth discussion on assessment action at the next meeting.

Dr. M Cecil Smith, dean of the School of Education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, spoke on the Grow Your Own Illinois (GYO-IL) proposal. He advocated for the proposal, which allows individuals to obtain an associate degree and more easily access teacher licensure programs. He believes it aligns with ISBE Strategic Plan Goal 3.1 by creating greater access for a more diverse set of teacher candidates, and that this serves to benefit children.

Tim Spielman, director of academic advising at Rock Valley College, spoke on GYO-IL. He advocated for approval of the grant, noting its role in making the transition from community colleges to teacher preparation programs more seamless.

Paul Zavitkovsky of the Center for Urban Education Leadership spoke on assessment. He reviewed recent discussions and shared updates on collaborations between individual districts and assessment organizations to work on changes to assessment. He believes their work has shown promise in creating a more balanced system of assessment and encouraged committee members to review their findings.

Jennifer Johnson, director of educator success at Northern Illinois University, spoke on GYO-IL. She advocated for its implementation, highlighting its potential to allow teachers to be more representative of the communities that they serve.

Dr. Antoine Reed, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer of Rockford Public Schools, spoke on GYO-IL. He noted that having a more diverse set of teachers has been shown to benefit not only students of color, but the entire school environment. He advocated for the proposal and shared that many current staff were looking to utilize the program’s offerings.

III. Approval of Minutes: September 8, 2022

Mr. Guzman moved for the Education Policy Planning Committee to approve the September 8, 2022, meeting minutes. Dr. Leak seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote.

IV. Discussion Items

A. My Data Dashboard

Dr. Dixon and Ms. Font presented on this item.

Dr. Dixon introduced this item, thanking the departments and organizations that contributed to the My Data Dashboard enhancement. She shared that the Ed360 system was underutilized, and that these changes were meant to make the service more accessible and widely utilized.

Ms. Font discussed the changes implemented. She shared that it had been renamed for clarity, and it had been relocated to MyIRC so that it could exist alongside other tools that are utilized by districts. She discussed increased platform customization and more options for data visualization.

Ms. Font demonstrated various parts of the dashboard website, including new data visualization options.

Chair Morrison thanked the team for its work and asked about the status of the website. Ms. Font confirmed that it was released on September 30, 2022. Chair Morrison asked who in districts had access. Dr. Dixon said that administrators could decide who could access certain levels of data.

Chair Morrison asked about feedback groups. Ms. Font said that there were stakeholder feedback meetings that have informed the team’s efforts. Chair Morrison asked about expenditures on creating this tool since the first Ed360 efforts in 2015. Ms. Font said she could follow up.

Dr. Leak shared her district’s use of the dashboard and expressed appreciation, particularly noting the value of automatically generating reports rather than manually exploring data. She encouraged a focus on ensuring that districts are informed of the tool through information and demonstration sessions.

Chair Morrison asked about the rollout process. Ms. Font said that team members had collaborated with Communications to create videos and plan for webinars after the release of the Illinois Report Card. Chair Morrison encouraged them to work with Regional Offices of Education (ROEs), and Dr. Leak said that outreach to ROEs prior to the Report Card release could be useful.

Mr. Guzman asked about the availability of data on utilization rates for the tool, and how the team might ensure it is used. Ms. Font said that they would inform the Board of usage analytics over time.

B. Amendment No. 3 to the Illinois Every Student Succeeds Act Plan

Ms. Clementz presented on this item, which is focused on potential changes to exit criteria for schools identified as being in need of support for improvement. She shared the context behind the development of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) policy, with a focus on cases that require less need for state intervention and discussed metrics of consideration for both schools overall and groups within the school setting.

She shared the potential recommendations for the amendment, noting that no new exit criteria are being considered, but that more focused tracking of school progress and changes to levels of state support were being considered.

Chair Morrison asked about leadership of the Illinois Balanced Accountability Measure (IBAM) Committee and their meetings; Ms. Clementz provided information. Chair Morrison asked about IBAM’s progress on ESSA reforms. Ms. Clementz said that discussion on and crafting of recommendations has been consistent and productive.

Chair Morrison shared her perspective on the need for greater intervention in many cases. She asked about updates to a needs assessment that had been discussed at previous meetings; Dr. Helfer said it was under review with the Procurement Office. Chair Morrison affirmed her support of continued action in this area.

Mr. Guzman emphasized concerns on sufficiently rigorous evaluation and making sure that recommendations were most helpful to schools.

Dr. Leak expressed interest in ensuring that stakeholders have an opportunity to participate in feedback and mentioned a particular concern for students in situations that need the greatest assistance. She discussed the importance of targeting root causes in schools with persistent issues.

Chair Morrison emphasized a need to investigate ways of addressing root causes. She thanked Ms. Clementz for the presentation and asked for updates as they become available.

C. Pandemic Recovery Update

Mr. Mohip and Mr. Ankoor presented on this item.

Mr. Mohip started by sharing that the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) I cycle had ended, and that the agency is on track to ensure remaining funds are utilized by the January 28, 2023, deadline. He shared that Local Education Agencies (LEAs) have utilized the vast majority of funds, and Mr. Wolfe clarified that the small amount remaining from ESSER I could not be viably redistributed. Mr. Mohip shared information on ESSER II and ESSER III utilization, noting that 67 entities have not applied for a substantial amount of funds in ESSER III.

Mr. Mohip shared that ESSER I fund utilization was focused mostly on supplies and materials. ESSER II and III dollars were mostly used for salaries.

Chair Morrison asked if trends were representative of expectations for expenditures. Mr. Mohip said that the impacts of COVID-19 were not the same for each district, so needs varied. Dr. Ayala noted that for ESSER III -- given that only 20% of districts had spent funding so far -- trends would become clear with time. Mr. Wolfe affirmed this and discussed retroactive funding.

Dr. Leak said that districts understood the one-time nature of the funding and likely considered investments to the learning environment. Mr. Guzman asked about the data, and Mr. Mohip confirmed that the presentation showed the top five priorities, but not each category.

Mr. Ankoor discussed state usage of ESSER funds, sharing data on categories compared to the national-level approach. He discussed the state’s approach to the process, addressing shifting needs from districts as circumstances and their capacities changed. He reviewed goals for improving support of districts, reviewing their outcomes, and working with LEAs, ROEs, and state agencies to promote opportunities.

Mr. Ankoor shared more utilization data, including participation in Learning Renewal programs, sharing that it was high.

Dr. Leak asked about participants in Learning Renewal, and Mr. Ankoor clarified that non-LEA participants were only involved in the Community Partnership Grant. Mr. Mohip said they could follow up with more detailed information and emphasized that they are always working to promote opportunities. Mr. Ankoor noted they were focused on assisting districts that needed support the most. Dr. Leak emphasized the importance of addressing the needs of individual communities.

Mr. Guzman asked about the utilization of presented data by districts. Mr. Mohip said he could follow up with specific details, but that consideration of best methods to promote these opportunities is always a part of the process.

Chair Morrison thanked them for the presentation.

V. Review of October Board Action Items

Chair Morrison stated as a reminder that these items had been reviewed at the September meeting.

A. Approval for Publication - Part 25 (Educator Licensure) Public Acts 102-702, 102-710, 102-713, 102-717, 102- 852