Streamlining Illinois ROEs Commission Report - isbe.net · richly diverse state with a long history of local control is fundamental to instituting an effective ... Learning Environments

Findings from the Illinois State Board of

Education Listening Tours for Local Perspectives

on the Every Student Succeeds Act

Public Comments

October 2016

Contents

Page

AdvancED ....................................................................................................................................... 1

Eddie Anguiano, Metropolitan Family Services, Director ............................................................ 5

Doug Baker, Northern IL University .............................................................................................. 8

Mary Barteau, Belleville West High School................................................................................. 11

Katrina Bromann, Librarian .......................................................................................................... 13

Jennifer Kolar-Burden, Illinois Virtual School (IVS) ................................................................... 15

Cassie Creswell, More Than A Score ........................................................................................... 17

Megan Cusick, American Library Association (ALA) ................................................................. 19

Wendy Evans, Elgin Symphony Orchestra ................................................................................... 38

Aaron Golding, Columbia College Chicago ................................................................................. 41

Tom Gross, Washington Community High School #308 ............................................................ 42

Shawn Healy, Robert R. McCormick Foundation ........................................................................ 43

Sarah Hill, Young Adult Library Services Association ................................................................ 45

Stephanee Jordan, Moline-Coal Valley CUSD 40 ........................................................................ 47

Sean Kerwin, Washington Community High School District #308 ............................................. 49

Alecia Lutz, North Clay Elementary/Jr. High and High School ................................................... 51

Sonia Mathew, Robert R. McCormick Foundation ...................................................................... 52

Phil Pritzker, Wheeling 21 ............................................................................................................ 53

Jacob Roskovensky, Charleston Community Unit School District .............................................. 55

Christy Semande, Canton USD #66 .............................................................................................. 57

Amy Walsh, Joliet Township High School................................................................................... 60

Jon Weber, The Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra ........................ 61

Andrew Wise, Olympia School District ....................................................................................... 63

Section 1: Consultation and Coordination

As the recognized global leader in continuous improvement, serving 34,000 institutions impacting more

than four million educators and 20 million students in 70 countries, AdvancED is appreciative of the

opportunity to provide comment on Illinois’ first draft plan.

Illinois would benefit by taking a systems approach to implementing its continuous improvement

framework. As state leadership is aware, coordinating resources and programs helps eliminate barriers

and silos to achieve the state’s vision for student success. It empowers the education community to

design improvement plans that best serve their students’ needs within the constraints of unique

educational settings in which they operate. Intentionally designing flexibility and recognizing Illinois is a

richly diverse state with a long history of local control is fundamental to instituting an effective

continuous improvement system. AdvancED is assisting multiple State Education Agencies and stands

ready to be of service to Illinois, as well to offer its depth of experience and broad expertise cultivated

through research and historical perspective in the continuous improvement arena.

Section 2: Challenging State Academic Standards and Academic Assessments

By the very nature of AdvancED’s policies, it embeds continuous improvement into its own processes to

ensure current research is used to identify those elements most effective in improving schooling. Using

multiple data points as its guide to identify priority districts, it is AdvancED’s recommendation the state

should adopt research-based improvement strategies to be implemented in those districts which

require comprehensive services. As part of its continuous improvement framework, Illinois should give

serious consideration to execute the intervention used by the state’s takeover districts which required

their leadership to work with a national organization to pursue and achieve district-wide accreditation.

Working with AdvancED, a customized approach was designed which has yielded reliable, evidence-

based data to inform district-wide improvement plans and differentiated to the needs of the schools it

serves. Using this approach has helped facilitate preparations for hosting a national peer review team in

2016 – 17 to examine the district’s culture and climate data, student achievement data, and degree of

implementation of research-based standards to provide an evidence-based Index of Education Quality™

(IEQ™) and recommendation for accreditation. After nearly four years of using AdvancED accreditation

and continuous improvement processes, it is anticipated this district will be removed from the takeover

list. Plans are underway for a second district to host a national team in the 2017 – 18 school year with

the same expectations for positive outcomes.

Pre Accreditation Reviews and systems accreditation are just two of the many proven, results-oriented,

research-aligned improvement strategies AdvancED can offer. Leadership Audits, Diagnostic Reviews,

culture and climate surveys, student engagement assessment using eleot® (Effective Learning

Environments Observation Tool®) and student- based surveys, Impact of Instruction assessments, and a

host of other continuous improvement services are readily available to help Illinois design a customized

approach for its continuous improvement system and facilitate meaningful outcomes on behalf of the

students it serves.

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“Our mission is to lead and empower the education community to ensure that all learners realize their maximum potential.”

Section 3: Accountability, Support and Improvement for Schools

Shifting paradigms from accountability to continuous improvement system is not a familiar path for

many educators, however this concept is not new to Illinois. It has invested millions of dollars for a

statewide system of support over the past 20 plus years and has yielded limited improvement as a result

of its efforts despite well-developed plans nuanced to include student growth and other school

effectiveness factors. A timeline is provided below which delineates the state’s focused efforts to build

its own improvement models.

Illinois Improvement Historical Perspective

Building upon the past, with an eye toward the future, key learning points can be harvested from these

efforts and school improvement in general to inform future decision making.

School Improvement Insights

1. Leverage existing proven processes rather than recreate or reconstitute new ones.

2. Focus on what’s most important – student success for each and every learner. When

everything is important, nothing is important.

3. Some institutions will not have the capacity to improve on their own and will need

specialized coaching and support.

4. All stakeholders must work collaboratively and coordinating efforts is vital. Delivering

consistent communication is crucial.

5. As research indicates, change for most challenged schools will take time. Stay the course,

appreciate their journey, and assume positive intent.

6. A single assessment cannot paint the picture of the whole child.

7. Clearly articulate the vision, goals, and metrics for accountability. If only a psychometrician

can explain it, then it is too complicated.

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92 ISBE established a school

improvement division. The 7 Step School Improvement Process was created and adopted. Quality review teams were trained and visited schools throughout the state. The agency was not resourced with the expertise or the financial means to sustain such a system. It fell under its own weight.

Mid

90

s Illinois created a statewide system of support using the Regional Offices of Education/Intermediate Service Centers as coaches and support for struggling schools.

Illinois created an Educator in Residence program to support those schools most in need of assistance. Once again, the system collapsed due to lack of resources and funding.

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01 Illinois has a second run at a

quality review process. David Green was invited from England to join the agency and create a Quality Review System for Illinois schools. Within three years, this sytem ceased to exist.

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10 External evaluation data

reinforced the limited capacity of agency and ROE staff. As such, the Illinois Center for School Improvement was conceptualized and created. Rising Star was adopted as the improvement framework and a coaching model was established for focus and priority schools.

CSI developed and implemented Core Functions and Indicators

2“Our mission is to lead and empower the education community to ensure that all learners realize their maximum potential.”

8. Do not denigrate the efforts of the past. Build on what works and re-direct where necessary.

There is no magic bullet or quick fix.

As noted above, Illinois has created multiple state specific frameworks. ESSA provides an opportunity for

Illinois to adopt an international framework of excellence proven to deliver consistent, meaningful

results. This move would follow other State Education Agencies’ lead including Kentucky, Michigan,

North Dakota, South Carolina, and Wyoming that use AdvancED improvement processes customized to

state-specific needs. AdvancED continuous improvement process is a framework used in institutions

around the world, and here in Illinois, has been the chosen intervention to facilitate improvement in the

state’s most historically broken school systems – and it’s working as a catalyst to bring about meaningful

change in them. While change has happened incrementally over time within these districts (3 to 5

years), positive outcomes are occurring as evidenced by student achievement on the rise, lower rates of

teacher and administrator turnover, and increasing levels of stakeholder satisfaction – all positive

indicators of effective schooling.

AdvancED also partners with school districts in Illinois that choose to use its process as an alternative to

the state’s improvement processes simply because district leadership finds it effective in facilitating

positive change and helps focus their work on those elements which will yield the highest desired result

to positively impact student achievement. Districts from collar counties to those in those in rural

southern geographies use AdvancED as it is effective regardless of educational context or school setting.

The underlying philosophy of AdvancED’s continuous improvement model is education systems should

be designed as learner-centric and include high expectations for all students served by them. A

foundational belief which should be embedded in a continuous improvement system is that all learners,

with the right instructional support and guidance, can achieve optimal outcomes in academics,

emotional development, and social wellbeing. This fundamental belief and focus on the whole child is

non-negotiable in AdvancED’s continuous improvement framework.

Section 4: Supporting Excellent Educators

The AdvancED Continuous Improvement journey includes a core set of quality factors that influence

effective schooling and facilitate desired outcomes for educators and their ability to achieve shared

visions for student success. The approach to improvement is not a one-size-fits-all solution, rather it is a

set of factors all of which have the potential to transform an education community, not by using

outcomes as goals, but instead focusing on changing processes, practices, and actions and thus drive

improvement. AdvancED’s deep experiential base combined with a 21st Century perspective on the

Effective Schools research led to the identification of seven school quality factors key to drive

improvement. The factors build on and amplify what has been learned about how to change a school’s

culture, conditions, processes, practices, and actions and are also an effective way for schools and

systems to organize and focus their improvement efforts. They are:

Clear Direction. The capacity to agree upon, define and clearly communicate to stakeholders

the direction, mission and goals that the institution is committed to achieving

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Healthy Culture. The shared values, beliefs, written and unwritten rules, assumptions, and

behavior of stakeholders within the school community that shape the school's social norms and

create opportunities for everyone to be successful

High Expectations. An institution’s stated commitment and demonstrated actions in support of

high expectations for all stakeholders, including excellent student learning outcomes and

success, high levels of teacher quality and support, leadership effectiveness, proactive

community engagement, and valuable parent involvement

Impact of Instruction. The capacity of every teacher to purposefully and intentionally create an

environment that empowers all students to be successful in their learning and reach expected

levels of achievement, including readiness to transition to the next level of learning or career

pathway

Resource Management. The ability of a school to plan, secure and allocate its resources

(human, material, and fiscal) to meet the needs of every learner

Efficacy of Engagement. The capacity to engage learners and other stakeholders in an effective

manner to improve learning outcomes

Implementation Capacity. The ability of a school to execute, with consistency, actions designed

to improve organizational and instructional effectiveness

These factors provide touchpoints and serve as guideposts to help educators produce the positive

outcomes and successes Illinois students deserve. Tools and resources such as culture and climate

surveys, teacher and student inventories, instructional impact assessment, self assessments, student

engagement assessment, and others can be used to measure their degree and depth of implementation

within schools and provide data to drive meaningful improvement throughout the education system.

Section 5: Supporting all Students

The need for adopting AdvancED’s framework as the statewide continuous improvement system is

compelling and the benefits of effecting improvement are obvious. It is widely acknowledged there are

far-reaching benefits to accurately identify, consistently apply, and effectively implement the drivers of

institutional improvement. These drivers may not only improve the performance of schools, school

systems, and students, but are also valuable to the broader community in terms of economic impacts

and quality of human capital resources throughout Illinois. However, it is recognized the challenges are

complex and diverse. It is clear that effective application of a comprehensive, research-based, and

results driven continuous improvement model leverages student success as evidenced by AdvancED

data collected from over 34,000 institutions in 70 countries.

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Investing in Community Schools: A Holistic Education Model that Ensures Every Child Has the Opportunity to Succeed

Illinois State Board of Education Hearing: Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 Tuesday, April 26, 2016, 430 pm

Introduction Good Evening. My name is Eddie Anguiano and I am the Director for Metropolitan Family Services’ Southeast Chicago Center. I oversee many of our afterschool youth development programs, including services for all 25 of our community schools. Metropolitan’s community schools serve a total of 7,194 children and youth grades Kindergarten through 12, spread throughout more than 10 communities on Chicago’s Northside, Southwest Side, Southeast Side and Southside. Our community schools are supported by $2.7 million in funding, which we supplement with in-kind contributions and services. Through long-standing community partnerships with organizations like the Beverly Arts Center, Common Threads culinary arts, and the Chicago Fire soccer team, we implement the highest quality of programming for enrolled students. Metropolitan has been a strong leader at the forefront of the community school movement since it was first implemented in Chicago in 1996.

Each year, Metropolitan Family Services reaches over 68,000 annually with community-transformative Education, Emotional Wellness, Economic Stability and Empowerment services, employing nearly 900 employees through seven community centers and dozens of satellite locations in Chicago, suburban Cook and DuPage Counties.

Over a career in social services that spans more than 29 years, I have personally developed an incredible appreciation for high-impact services and community transformation made possible through positive youth development movement. I have learned and relearned many times over that our young people are the cornerstone and key to a better society – one that is just, caring, and a place where all people can thrive. Young people are gifts waiting to be discovered, not walking pathologies waiting to be fixed. Our job, as adults, must be to help these youth unravel, understand the wonderful talents they possess, and to use those talents to the best of their ability to make our society a better place.

About Metropolitan’s Community Schools Over the years, Metropolitan Family Services has engaged a variety of evidence-based best practice strategies to enhance student academic achievement and success in life. We have found the most effective strategy to be the Community Schools model because of its holistic approach and unwavering commitment to identify and expand access to wrap-around community resources, leveraging these to address and alleviate the non-academic barriers that so many students in our distressed schools face, which prevent them from performing academically to the best of their ability.

The community schools model lifts up our schools as hubs, life forces, and centers of the community where learning takes place from the time the first morning bell rings throughout the day, with lessons learned following students home when the leave for the day. At Metropolitan, community schools-sponsored activities include cooking classes where students learn about nutrition, STEM classes where they learn to to build robots, bridges, and structures to better appreciate and understand guiding math and science principles of math, and the restorative justice classes where they learn to develop coping techniques and channel feelings in a more productive way.

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ISBE ESSA Hearing – Investing in Community Schools Page 2

In addition to afterschool programming for kids, community schools engage our families in healthy lifestyle / stress relief activities like Zumba and Parenting Fundamentals programming to understand child developmental stages, so parents can express their inherent love for their children in a more productive manner.

Finally, community schools call on the entire community of stakeholders – including school administrators, community businesses, and community residents – to stand up and ask, “what can we do to help our kids grow up safe, happy, engaged in learning, and challenged give their best?” Community volunteers get involved through a variety of opportunities – mentoring students, providing free classes, chaperoning field trips, and monitoring the streets to ensure students can return home safely.

It is truly this holistic community partnership and collaboration – and the undeniable attitude that we are all responsible for the well-being of our young people – which translates to their success in school and life. In the most recent academic year:

89% of youth indicated coming to the after school program helped them do better in school. 85% of parents reported that our community schools program helped them learn more ways to

support their child's education. 95.8% of youth shared that, as a result of programming, they were able to work better as a team with

other students.

Veronica or Vero, as she likes to be called, lost her father when she was in 7th grade. She was an A/B student before this tragedy happened. After her father’s passing, she was lost. Her working mother, taking care of Vero and two other children, had a difficult time moving forward. Vero’s grades began to drop, until she was one day invited by a friend to join what her friend described as a “cool program where you can meet a lot of people and learn new things.” It took several months, but Vero finally found the courage to give this program a chance. Not much time elapsed before Vero’s grades and outlook on life began to improve. She is now a freshman in high school looking forward to a great future.

Donna and Melissa are two diverse learner students with downs syndrome who attend Hernandez Elementary School. Both students were previously described by their parents as withdrawn and shy. Having been connected by coordinator Jose Gutierrez with the community schools-sponsored Spanish dance class Ritmo Latino, they have met other students with downs syndrome, made new friends and finally feel they are part of a community.

How Metropolitan Can Partner with ISBE to Implement the ESSA Along with our afterschool youth development partners across the state, Metropolitan Family Services firmly believes that the community schools strategy must be a component ensuring the success of efforts to transform low-performing schools and positively impact outcomes for students, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to succeed. In considering how to best allocate $662,713,846 in Title I-A funding, we specifically encourage the Governor and the Illinois State Board of Education to:

Prioritize authentic parent and community participation in the community asset mapping and planningprocess.

Ensure the definition of “well-rounded education” incorporates as central access to high-qualityafterschool programming, coordinated wrap-around services, social-emotional learning, behavioralhealth supports, and family and community engagement.

Include in “conditions for learning” positive school climate and culture, family engagement, andrestorative practices that remove non-academic barriers to learning.

Set guidelines around flexibility for Titles I & IV funding that allocates specific funding for thecommunity schools manager / community resource coordinator role, which provides an essentialfunction through building school-family-community relational trust, coordinating positive develop

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ISBE ESSA Hearing – Investing in Community Schools Page 3

youth development resources, and maximizing funding capacity through expanding community partnership opportunities.

Now more than ever, we need investment in models that work like community schools For almost ten months, Illinois has been without a state budget – a structural failure that is damaging our economy, hurting thousands of people, and causing irreparable damage to communities served by organizations like Metropolitan Family Services. Our student Vero was enrolled in Metropolitan’s Teen REACH program, whose services mirrored the community schools model. When Metropolitan’s enriching Teen Reach afterschool programming was suspended due to lack of funding, 100 youth and families on Chicago’s Southwest Side and in the Northside Belmont-Cragin community lost access to these services. If services are not paid by June 30, 2016, an additional 50 youth will lose access to Mental Health Juvenile Justice services, including intensive clinical and academic support services and community-based restorative justice interventions.

In the midst of an increasingly unstable climate for youth development funding, the future of Illinois’ young people hinges on our state’s ability to make smart, dedicated investments in models that work, like community schools. Addressing non-academic barriers is critical to the success of any strategy for improving student outcomes, including for low-income children in some of Illinois’ most distressed schools. Working with young people is a full-time job that extends beyond the academic school day and outside of the classroom to include the family, community and greater society. In 2016, we have to change the way we approach educating our children.

Metropolitan Family Services joins with our partners in looking toward the future with hope, anticipatory about the opportunity for increased capacity, enhanced standards of excellence, and strong investment the future of our students provided through implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Contact: Taneka Jennings, Policy & Strategy: [email protected] or 312-986-4227

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To: Illinois State Board of Education RE: Feedback on Illinois’ Draft ESSA Plan Date: October 5, 2016

Thank you for adding a listening session in DeKalb to hear feedback on the first ESSA plan. NIU welcomes the chance to share a post-secondary perspective on ISBE’s plan.

Fundamentally, we regard ESSA as an opportunity to support elementary and secondary schools in graduating all students ready for college and careers so that we can meet this goal:

60% of Illinois adults will attain a post-secondary degree or credential by 2025.

Why should ESSA be focused on this goal? Our state has been presented with overwhelming evidence that our economic future depends on having adults with the skills needed to fill workforce shortages. Experts from various state agencies have clearly explained that Illinois needs to achieve a higher rate of educational attainment in order to be competitive. Given this context of workforce needs, and that we know that education has been called the “fastest ticket to Middle Class” for our families in poverty– we recommend that Illinois’ ESSA plan be re-envisioned to be more aligned to the 60 by 25 goal shared by the entities in the Northern Illinois P-20 Network.

This current Illinois ESSA draft contains many strategies that are familiar from the NCLB era. While we expect these activities to continue, we ask you to consider emphasizing a different direction throughout the plan. Over the past two years, the Northern Illinois Regional P-20 Network has researched innovative strategies and identified best practices that will provide graduates of our high schools with the skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education and the workforce. We believe that now is the time to reimagine and reinvent our collection of educational components into a system focused on regional P-20 networks and local collective impact strategies. Following are some suggested progressive, community-based approaches to ESSA that would transform Illinois' educational institutions and programs into systems that more effectively serve 21st Century communities, families, and children.

The first ESSA activity for a transformed P-20 educational system that we recommend would be to require meaningful collaboration with higher education. Some examples based on our experience include 1. Create P-20 networks of leadership in regions throughout the state that would include early

childhood, elementary and secondary education and the workforce.

2. Coordinate new efforts by higher education and high school faculty to align standards andexpectations. This coordination would result in

a. more early college credit opportunities for high school students determined to becollege and career ready

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b. effective transitional opportunities for high school students determined to be notready for college and careers

c. reduction in needed remediation at the post-secondary level

Without this, the disjunction between levels that we have now will continue.

3. Focus funding and personnel on student support services for college access like improvedhigh school advising and higher rates of FAFSA completion for seniors.

4. Expand the HB 5729 pilot for competency-based systems with IBHE and ICCB to includecompetency-based advancement and outcomes in higher education.

5. Deepen current P-12 family engagement efforts to include more intensive activities suchas Parent Universities and ambassador programs for the families of our most at-risk andfirst-generation students.

A 2nd ESSA activity we recommend for a transformed P-20 educational system is to Promote collective impact strategies in our communities to create and sustain career pathways and college enrollment

Some examples of this include, 1. Involve local employers, educators, social service agencies, and faith-based organizations in

college and career ready activities such as those described in the On PaCE to Thrivecommunity guide developed by the NI P-20 Network.

2. Create career pathways that include work-based learning, endorsements, and earlyemployment opportunities in all 16 of the career clusters.

3. Include career ready indicators in the state’s secondary school accountability system.

A 3rd ESSA activity we recommend for a transformed P-20 educational system is to Build on the promise of our abundant but fragmented early childhood programs

Some examples of this include 1. Requiring K-3 coordination with all publically funded early childhood providers

2. Allowing the use of Title funds to support Birth-3rd grade initiatives such as providercoordination, vertical professional development opportunities and assisting the earlychildhood centers with high risk student populations in attaining Gold Ratings.

3. Maybe even include kindergarten readiness as a factor in accountability for K-3 and earlychildhood.

Our last recommendation for a transformed P-20 educational system is to

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Implement micro-credentials as a way to differentiate educator expertise without further-complicating licensure

A micro-credentialing system can be used for best-practice areas not related to content. Examples include integrated, hands-on STEM activities; innovation and student inquiry; problem-based learning; social justice; career guidance; and more. Implement a competency-based system for micro-credentials that mirrors competency-based approaches being piloted for students.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft of Illinois’ ESSA plan. We are hoping that our Regional P-20 Network experiences with these activities can be used to re-focus ISBE’s vision for accountability.

Sincerely yours,

Doug Baker President, Northern Illinois University

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Mary Barteau, Belleville West High School, teacher-librarian for 20 years.

The last 15 years at BW. BW enrollment is over 2300 students each year.

What do school librarians do? We elevate student achievement through collaboration and

instruction. Our students’ reading scores are going up. Why? Because 5 years ago we knew

that we had to do something to improve reading levels. A high percentage of students were

coming to BW reading below grade level. In fact, this year alone, more than one third of

entering high school freshmen are reading two or more years below grade level. That is the

highest rate ever. At the same time as the reading levels have fallen, many of our feeder

elementary schools eliminated certified school librarians.

How did we turn it around? Five years ago we became a Community of Readers, not just the

students but the entire learning community. The BW Librarians collaborated with the English

Department and the program spread to include, all academic departments, support staff,

administrators, custodians, as well as students. In the first year of the program, our students’

ACT and PSAE scores rose. Prior to the program, 45% of our students met or exceeded the

state average. After starting the Community of Readers, their scores went up to 60% meeting

and exceeding and last year our PARRC scores made us smile.

What did we do? We gave or students time to read and focused on independent pleasure

reading. Teachers know that if there is down time, students can pull out a book to read

because ever one has a book. We continually offer a variety of programs.

Every year we promote the Million Page Challenge: Each class year, 9-12 competes to read

1,000,000 million pages. By May each year our students have read well over 4 million pages

and in the 5 years each class has made the mark.

Another program is One Book, One Team: During summer sports training camps our Mighty

Maroons football and basketball team members read the same book and then the library host

an Author Skype Visit and breakfast for the teams in the library. This reading initiative was

designed to build a sense of team and community while promoting literacy. The players

become reading role models for fellow students. The coaches read the books too. The teams

have read respectively Chris Crutcher’s Deadline, Geoff Herbach’s Stupid Fast and Black and

White by Paul Volponi and had the opportunity to talk to each of these author’s to discuss the

book via Skype.

Those are just two examples of the numerous reading promotions we do in collaboration with

students and teachers. Our efforts were recognized nationally two years ago, when we were

award the Follett Challenge Grand Prize. The Follett award allowed us to achieve One Book,

One School. We read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay who just did the

Illustrated Harry Potter book. And when I say we, I mean every student, teacher, support staff,

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maintenance, custodians, cafeteria employees, board members, mayor, fire chief, and other

prominent community members received a book and shared a reading experience. As a side

not, the book is coming out as a movie in October, starring Liam Neeson as the Monster.

Yes, we are about books but we aren’t all about the books.

We instruct students on digital and information literacy skills. We instruct students on GUM.

Yes, gum. We work with them to Get, Use and Manage information. Whether it is teaching

Google advanced search strategies or evaluating sources as they Get information. (Critical

thinkers, not sheeple.)

Or teaching them how to create a chart or table in Excel to Use information to organize their

ideas and information.

Or providing resources and training to Manage their ideas and information so they can

communicate their ideas and research in the form of a written paper, Powerpoint, Prezis,

podcast, book trailers, and even augmented reality projects.

Our mission is to ensure students and teachers are effective users of ideas and information.

GUM is sticky. We tell our kids we will stick with them to help them be the best citizens they

can be when they leave West and we hope that ISBE will stick with us and support us, the

school teacher-librarian, not just locally, but statewide and nationally, so we, the school

teacher-librarian can continue to support and elevate our students academically.

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Testimony submitted for ISBE ESSA Listening Tour My name is Katrina Bromann and I would like to speak about the importance of including school librarians and effective school library programs in Illinois’ ESSA Implementation Plan. I am currently taking a year off from teaching, but for the last three years I was the school librarian at Earlville School, a preK-12 school just northeast of here, and before that I was the school library media specialist at Oak Ridge Elementary School in Hickory Hills. I have also had student teaching experiences in Wheaton, Mendota, and Loda. In each of these very different communities I’ve had the chance not only to see the effects of my own school library program but also to work with other librarians in the district and to see what an impact these licensed professionals have had on the schools. I’d like to speak briefly about …. Accountability As ISBE considers ways to implement an accountability system that acknowledges meaningful differences between schools and addresses the success of all students as well as sub-groups of students, we encourage you to adopt accountability policies and processes that utilize effective school library programs and school librarians as drivers for success. An effective school library program provides instruction designed to maximize student growth and progress, student academic achievement, and student progress in English language proficiency. Effective school library programs help close student performance gaps and increase post-secondary readiness. ISBE’s goals of increasing graduation rates by providing comprehensive and rigorous instructional support across all grade levels and content areas should acknowledge and integrate school libraries and licensed librarians for their significant and sustained work supporting in student achievement. This past spring, I attended a professional development day at Illinois Valley Community College, along with other school librarians, high school English teachers, and faculty from IVCC. We spent the afternoon talking about the career- and college- readiness of our graduating seniors, and how to address what appeared to be a gap in what they learned in high school and were expected to know by college. It was clear from this day that the school librarians were integral players in this discussion, because they were directly involved in the teaching of the English language curriculum. At my school, I taught introductory research classes to the high school students. Already last May, one English teacher wanted to schedule a day with me to go over the research process with her incoming class, and it broke my heart to tell her that I wouldn’t be there to do it. I believe that a strong accountability system within ESSA will rely on effective school library programs and licensed school librarians because they are integral to the development of the academic indicators of academic achievement and English language proficiency.

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Perhaps you can even use school libraries and certified school librarians as an indicator for individual school performance. If ISBE made having a certified school librarian in an effective school library program one of those indicators, we know it would improve student achievement and at the same time it would provide schools with the incentive to hire properly trained school librarians in every single building in the state. It would be easy to measure. It would be effective. It would transform the educational experience of an entire generation of students.

Katrina Bromann [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

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IVS is the Illinois State Board of Education’s statewide virtual school. The VS program is administered through the

Peoria County Regional Office of Education, a member of the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of

Schools (IARSS). IVS provides leadership to facilitate adoption and use of successful online programs within Illinois.

IVS works with public, private, and home schooled students in an effort to expand educational opportunities and

provide equitable access to high quality, ILS-aligned courses for students. IVS-PD provides customizable, flexible and

low cost professional development programs for educators to increase success towards long-term goals.

IVS’ partnerships with public, private and home schools provide:

• An opportunity for students to take courses not offered by their face-to-face school, such as AdvancedPlacement, foreign languages, CTE and other enrichment opportunities;

• Flexibility in scheduling and continuous access to course content;

• Credit recovery options for students to graduate on time;

• Individualized instruction that occurs anytime, anywhere, and any pace via teacher taught courses; and

• Professional learning in self-paced, blended or facilitated options customizable to any school/district.

Since IVS partners —not competes—with schools, the local school retains their students and is able to offerexpanded learning opportunities.

IVS & ESSA Highlights

• IVS’ mission is in line with ESSA goals as our pedagogy has consistently centered around equity of access,collaboration, data-driven decision making, personalization, alternative realities and solutions wrappedaround high quality standards aligned content and taught by Illinois certified, highly qualified teachers.

• Courses are developed around ILS, NextGen, UDL & Quality Matters standards and coded to the ISCS.

• Recent trends have shown Middle Schools are focusing on access to advanced math, world language, creditrecovery and bridge opportunities. The question around expanding high school courses into middle school

remains credit transfer to the high school.

• IVS has the ability to implement ELL supports but has not had any scale requests. We are investigatingexpansion of curriculum beyond ELL support towards native language with English integration.

• SAT preparation, any assessment preparation, can be delivered efficiently online.

• School Accountability indicators can be supported by IVS such as: expansion of arts, enrichment, advancedcourses, CTE/certification offerings, career pathways, dual credit, SEL courses & programs, bridge programs,

increased attendance (anywhere access), expulsion/suspension options, and improved drop out/graduation

rates (student retention).

• Student growth/success indicators can be tracked using data provided by the IVS systems.

• Teacher training, certification and retention may positively be affected via IVS-PD.

• IVS-PD has established relationships with ROEs, LTC5, lSCs, etc. and can efficiently develop and/or delivercontent in association with MTSS plans.

IVS welcomes increased access to broadband and devices as we have seen the digital divide first hand across the

State. Many rural communities are interested in removing barriers to learning but simply do not have theinfrastructure to support online access. If connectivity were improved, IVS could provide training to schoolpersonnel and opportunities to students in every corner of Illinois.

TUAL.org10112 West Dubois Road, P.O. Box 103 - Edwards, IL 61528 309/676-1000

15

FY2016 Snapshot

FY 16 student enrollments: 6487 student enrollments (25.5% increase over FY15)

IL Schools Served: 516 School Partnerships

85% of top 25 are IVS partners - http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/illinois/rankings)

FY 15 Completion Rate: 91% for full-service courses

Grades Served: Middle and High School

Online Courses Offered: 142 full service semester courses; 26 credit recovery

FY 16 Professional Development enrollments: 990 educator enrollments (5,144 since 2011 inception)

Program Inception Date: 2001

Total Enrollment Since Inception: 40,300

Approvals and Memberships

College Board Illinois Chief Technology Officers (IL-CTO)NCAA Consortium of School Networks (CoSN)Quality Matters International Association of K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL)

Virtual School Leadership Alliance fVSLA)

IVS has built and manages the online delivery system for statewide middle/high school and professional

development (IVS-PD) as part of the Illinois State Board of Education’s contract. By developing its platform, IVS and

IVS PD have made available a robust, registration and content delivery system for stakeholders to use as a one stop

location for school directed 5-12 and state and regional directed educator professional development coursework.

Based on the IVS Spring 2016 partner school survey, 97% either strongly agreed or agreed with the

statement, “Our school is satisfied with the IVS program and services offered.”

To learn more about how VS delivers high quality content across the State, please contact:

Cindy Hamblin Jennifer Kolar-Burden Danielle Brush Lewis

Director Coordinator of Curriculum Coordinator of Professional Development

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

TUAL.org1C)112 West Dubois Road, P 0. Box 103 - Edwards, IL 6Th28 309/676 1000

ILLINOISVIRTUAL SCHOOLBRIDGING EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY

IVS Data

16

Testimony submitted for ISBE ESSA Listening Tour Remarks prepared for 19 May 2016, Chicago IL

My name is Cassie Creswell. I’m an organizer with More Than A Score, a coalition that has been fighting overuse and misuse of standardized testing here in Chicago for three years, building on several decades of organized resistance to standardized testing in Chicago.

Parents and students in Chicago, Illinois and around the country are sick to death of the overemphasis on standardized tests in public schools, which has distorted the fundamental purpose of the public education system in Illinois.

More than 44,000 students did not participate in state testing in Illinois last spring---nearly 5% of eligible students. If our state does not create an accountability system that significantly decreases the role of standardized tests, these participation numbers will simply continue to drop.

The claim that PARCC and other Common-Core aligned standardized tests are a new generation of assessments that can meaningfully tell parents, teachers and the public about higher-level thinking skills is simply unfounded. First, like all standardized tests, they are primarily a measure of the socio-economic status of a child and their community. They only approximately capture student performance on a very limited set of skills.

Moreover, the use of automated scoring methods on even essay and extended response answers belies the claim that these tests will provide high-quality instructional feedback for teachers and students. The core technology is simply manipulating statistical data; it is not evaluating whether a student is making a thoughtful, creative, logical argument or narrative. It cannot identify communicative intent or assess its effectiveness.

Given these concerns, as the state develops new policies to comply with the changes to federal law, our organization has two primary asks of the IL State Board of Ed:

One, Illinois must develop high-quality assessment systems for schools and students that go beyond standardized tests, and to demonstrate a real commitment to that goal, Illinois must apply to participate in the federal government’s pilot program on Innovative Assessments.

Illinois parents want a system of authentic assessment practices that have value to students beyond just proving their competency in academic endeavors. Substituting once-a-year high stakes tests with “stealth assessments” embedded in ed tech programs is not the type of innovation that we want to see.

Two, apart from participation in such a pilot, Illinois must create a truly balanced accountability system. Doing the minimum that the federal government allows to take into non-test score measures is simply unacceptable. Although the incorporation of 5 Essentials survey data is a start, data from self-report questionnaires suffers from huge methodological issues. A broad array of culture and climate quantitative measures are needed including things like teacher turnover, discipline data. But qualitative information and observational data must also play a significant role. A school and its challenges and successes can never be adequately captured by numbers and spreadsheets. As any parent knows, there is no substitute for a visit to a school and conversations with parents, teachers and students. The New York City public schools have a

17

school evaluation system that incorporates expert observations, interviews and narrative description that could be an excellent model.

Finally, it is deeply concerning to us that Chicago---a municipality that represents one-fifth of the population of the state, only had a date tacked on as an afterthought to this “statewide” listening tour. Chicago Public Schools have suffered some of the most negative repercussions from federal and state accountability policy. Despite attempts to pin the blame for the overuse of standardized testing in CPS on local decision makers, the truth is this phenomenon is directly traceable to these failed state and federal policies. The implications for the stakeholders in the largest district in the state should not be a last minute addition.

Sincerely, Cassandre Creswell, PhD Organizer, More Than A Score Board Member, Raise Your Hand Action 2507 N Sacramento Ave Chicago IL 60647

18

50 East Huron Street Chicago, Illinois 60611-2795 USA

Telephone 312 944 6780 Fax 312 440 9374 Toll Free 800 545 2433 E-mail: [email protected] www.ala.org

Illinois State Board of Education ESSA Listening Tour Remarks submitted by: Megan Murray Cusick, American Library Association September 27, 2016: Simeon Career Academy [Revised and submitted September 28, 2016] Good evening. My name is Megan Cusick and I am a former Chicago Public School librarian. This evening, I am here on behalf of the American Library Association (ALA), headquartered here in Chicago, and the thousands of our members who make Illinois their home and have watched with dismay as public schools in Chicago and around the state eliminate a critical component of a rigorous and well-rounded education. We thank you for creating these opportunities across the state to provide feedback on the state�s

implementation plan for this important legislation. Throughout the Every Student Succeeds Act, you see mention of effective school library programs and their role in instruction, literacy, digital literacy, differentiated and personalized learning, academic enrichment and professional development. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of ALA, provides the following definition of an effective school library program:

As a fundamental component of college, career, and community readiness, the effective

school library program:

1. is adequately staffed, including a state-certified school librarian who

a. is an instructional leader and teacher, b. supports the development of digital learning, participatory learning, inquiry learning,

technology literacies, and information literacy, and c. supports, supplements, and elevates the literacy experience through guidance and

motivational reading initiatives; 2. has up-to-date digital and print materials and technology, including curation of openly

licensed educational resources; and

3. provides regular professional development and collaboration between classroom

teachers and school librarians.

I have attached the full explanation of this definition to my testimony, along with position statements from AASL on staffing, the instructional role of the school librarian, and the role of a school library

19



program. I also refer you to Linking for Learning, guidelines from the Illinois School Library Media Association that align library programs to instructional standards and describe the essential elements of an exemplary program. As you continue to draft the Illinois ESSA Implementation Plan and develop accountability measures for schools, it is critical that ISBE also develop systems to ensure that all students have equitable access to the resources that will help them succeed, including effective school library programs. Consider the dozens of studies that show certified school librarians positively impact student learning across all grade levels and in many ways, from reading achievement to high school graduation rates. One such study was conducted in Illinois in 2005 and concluded: links between high-quality school

library programs and academic achievement cannot be explained away�..[and] indeed, sometimes,

taking [these] contextual variables into account reveals a greater impact by school libraries or

librarians that was previously masked by other variablesi. If you want to get bang for your buck, improve student learning and close the achievement gap, school library programs are a proven investment. These benefits don�t stop when students leave twelfth grade. Effective school library programs also prepare students for success in post-secondary learning, in the workplace, and in our communities. Researchers have found that university freshmen who use their libraries are more engaged, have higher grades and are more likely to stay in school than their peers who do not use their libraries.ii So, why wouldn�t a student use their library? It turns out that some of the major factors are: lack of information literacy skills, lack of previous library experience, and lack of understanding about how to use databases and systems of organization.iii In short, these students lack exposure to components of an effective school library program and are not prepared for the demands of college level inquiry. This is an easily solvable problem, and that solution begins with effective school library programs in kindergarten through twelfth grade. School librarians are uniquely positioned to provide equitable access to resources and critical instruction for ALL students within a building and should be integral to your Title IV plans. They are experts in curating print and digital materials that deepen and extend classroom learning, recognize individual differences, encourage independent inquiry, and nurture the whole child. Moreover, school librarians are tech integrators, combining knowledge of the school�s curriculum and effective pedagogical practices with an understanding of technology tools that best facilitate student learning to build digital literacy, digital citizenship and critical thinking skills.

20



It is not just the students who benefit when a school has an effective library program. School librarians collaborate with colleagues across content areas and grade levels, provide resources to support instruction and assessment, and offer both formal and informal professional development. They team up with teachers and external partners to design innovative programming that enhances school culture. And they write grants! In addition to being identified as eligible for Title II funding, school librarians can help increase funding available to states and districts through Title IIB grant opportunities including LEARN and IAL. We urge ISBE to: recognize professionally-staffed school libraries as an essential indicator of a rigorous, well-rounded student learning environment; work with local administrators and school library leaders to ensure that all students have equitable access to school library programs; and identify state and federal funding sources to ensure the viability of those programs. Librarians from across the state are ready to join you in this effort. Thank you.

i https://www.islma.org/pdf/ILStudy2.pdf

ii http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/value/contributions_report.pdf

iii http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/hq/publications/ifla-journal/ifla-journal-41-4_2015.pdf

21

www.ala.org/aasl/positionstatements

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) supports the position that an effective school library

program has a certified school librarian at the helm, provides personalized learning environments, and offers

equitable access to resources to ensure a well-rounded education for every student.

As a fundamental component of college, career, and community readiness, the effective school library

program:

1. is adequately staffed, including a state-certified school librarian who

a. is an instructional leader and teacher,

b. supports the development of digital learning, participatory learning, inquiry learning,

technology literacies, and information literacy, and

c. supports, supplements, and elevates the literacy experience through guidance and

motivational reading initiatives;

2. has up-to-date digital and print materials and technology, including curation of openly licensed

educational resources; and

3. provides regular professional development and collaboration between classroom teachers and school

librarians.

Effective school libraries are dynamic learning environments that bridge the gap between access and

opportunity for all K–12 learners. Under the leadership of the school librarian, the school library provides

students access to resources and technology, connecting classroom learning to real-world events. By providing

access to an array of well-managed resources, school libraries enable academic knowledge to be linked to

deeper, personalized learning. The expanded learning environment of the school library ensures the unique

interests and needs of individual students are met. In this way, effective school library programs prepare

students for college, career, and community.

Under the leadership of a certified school librarian, the effective school library program delivers a well-

rounded educational program (AASL 2009). This program focuses on accessing and evaluating information,

providing digital learning training and experiences, and developing a culture of reading. The program uses a

variety of engaging and relevant resources. Robust school libraries have high-quality, openly licensed digital

and print resources, technology tools, and broadband access. This environment is essential to providing

equitable learning opportunities for all students. More than 60 studies in two dozen states show that the “levels

of library funding, staffing levels, collection size and range, and the instructional role of the librarian all have a

direct impact on student achievement” (Gretes 2013).

In an effective school library program, the school librarian serves as an instructional leader, program

administrator, teacher, collaborative partner, and information specialist (AASL 2009). Working with classroom

teachers, the school librarian develops information literacy and digital literacy instruction for all students.

Serving as an instructional leader, the school librarian contributes to curricular decisions and facilitates

professional learning. Additionally, as the library program administrator, the school librarian oversees and

manages the program and works with school and community partners. These partnerships result in expanded

and improved resources and services for all students.

22

| June 25, 2016


An effective school library program plays a crucial role in bridging digital and socioeconomic divides. School

library programs staffed with state-certified professionals provide an approachable, equitable, personalized

learning environment necessary for every student’s well-rounded education.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes language for “effective school library programs” in the

provisions of Title I, Part A; Title II, Part A; Title II, Part B, Subpart 2; Title II, Part B, Subpart 2, Section

2226; and Title IV, Part A. The definition of an effective school library program provides guidance to

administrators, school boards, and school librarians in implementing ESSA.

· Collaboration: Working with a member of the teaching team to plan, implement, and evaluate a

specialized instructional plan.

· Community Readiness: The ability to be a productive, active, engaged member of a democratic

society.

· School Librarian Instructional Role: Instructional Role of School Librarians Position Statement

American Association of School Librarians. 2012. 2012 School Libraries Count! National Longitudinal Survey

of School Library Programs.

www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/researchandstatistics/slcsurvey/2012/AASL-SLC-

2012-WEB.pdf (accessed May 20, 2016).

American Association of School Librarians. 2009. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library

Programs. Chicago, IL. http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards/guidelines (accessed July 7, 2016).

Gretes, Frances. 2013. School Library Impact Studies: A Review of Findings and Guide to Sources. Harry &

Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. www.baltimorelibraryproject.org/wp-

content/uploads/downloads/2013/09/Library-Impact-Studies.pdf (accessed May 25, 2016).

The position taken by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) represents the organization and

cannot be applied to individual members or groups affiliated with the association without their direct

confirmation.

June 25, 2016

23


The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) supports the position that every student in every

school, including independent schools and public charter schools, should have access to an updated school

library with a certified school librarian. The success of a school library program, no matter how well designed,

ultimately depends on the quality and number of personnel responsible for managing the instructional program

and the library’s physical and virtual resources. A certified school librarian, supported by technical and clerical

staff, is crucial to an effective school library program. Every student, teacher, and administrator in every

school building at every grade level should have access to a fully staffed library throughout the school day.

The following minimum school library staffing requirements define an effective school library program

structured to transform teaching and learning throughout the school community:

1. The library program is serviced by one or more certified school librarians working full-time in the

school library.

2. The specific number of additional school librarians is determined by the school’s instructional

programs, services, facilities, size, and number of students and teachers.

3. In addition to library-degreed professionals, highly trained technical and clerical support staff are

necessary for all library programs at every grade level. Each school should employ at least one full-

time technical assistant or clerk for each school librarian. Some programs, facilities, and levels of

service will require more than one support staff member for each professional.

4. The school district is served by a district library supervisor who provides leadership and support for

the building-level school library programs by providing resources, professional development, and

leadership in developing and implementing the district’s school library program. The district library

supervisor is a member of the administrative team and helps determine the criteria and policies for the

district’s curriculum and instructional programs. The district library supervisor communicates the

mission, strategic plan, goals, and needs of the school and district library programs to the

superintendent, board of education, other district-level personnel, and the community.

The staffing of school libraries will be guided by the language for effective school library programs in the

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A certified school librarian is essential to an effective school library

program, yet only two-thirds of school libraries are staffed with certified school librarians (Davis 2010).

· Effective School Library Program: Definition of an Effective School Library Position Statement

American Association of School Librarians. 2012. 2012 School Libraries Count! National Longitudinal Survey

of School Library Programs.

24

| June 25, 2016


www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/researchandstatistics/slcsurvey/2012/AASL-SLC-

2012-WEB.pdf (accessed May 20, 2016).

American Association of School Librarians. 2009. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library

Programs. Chicago, IL. http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards/guidelines (accessed July 7, 2016).

Davis, Denise M. 2009. “The Condition of U.S. Libraries: School Library Trends, 1999-2009.” American

Library Association.

http://www.ala.org/research/sites/ala.org.research/files/content/librarystats/librarymediacenter/Conditi

on_of_Libraries_1999.20.pdf (accessed July 7, 2016).

Library Research Service. n.d. “School Libraries Impact Studies.” https://www.lrs.org/data-tools/school-

libraries/impact-studies

Scholastic Library Publishing. 2016. School Libraries Work!: A Compendium of Research Supporting the

Effectiveness of School Libraries. www.scholastic.com/slw2016.



confirmation.

June 25, 2016

25


The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) supports the position that school librarians are

instructors as well as collaborators with fellow educators in the pursuit of student learning in school libraries,

classrooms, learning commons, makerspaces, labs, and virtual learning spaces. School librarian instruction

results in students who read and utilize print and digital resources for curricular and personalized learning

needs. School librarians teach students how to be inquiring learners who evaluate and use both print and digital

information efficiently, effectively, and ethically, with the goal of developing lifelong learning and literacy

skills (AASL 2007). School librarians lead the way in digital learning and literacies by teaching and providing

professional development in their school communities and districts.

The role of the school librarian is to guide students and fellow educators through the intersection of formal and

informal learning. The instruction the school librarian offers is integral to a well-rounded education. As

educators and instructional partners school librarians are critical to teaching and learning in the school

community. The school librarian plays a prominent role in instructing students, faculty, and administrators in a

range of literacies, including information, digital, print, visual, and textual literacies. As leaders in literacy and

technology, school librarians are perfectly positioned to instruct every student in the school community

through both traditional and blended learning.

In the ever-changing information and education landscape, the instructional role of school librarians is vitally

important for staff and students. As print and digital literacies, inquiry, and reading motivation have become

crucial elements of teaching and learning, school librarians as educators and information specialists play a key

instructional role in successful schools.

· Digital Learning: Learning materials and resources displayed on a digital device and shared

electronically with other users. Digital learning content can be both open and/or commercial content

(U.S. Dept. of Education 2016).

· Digital Literacy: The ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate,

create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills (ALA 2013).

· Information Literacy: A set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is

needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information (ACRL

2000).

American Association of School Librarians. 2007. “Standards for the 21st Century Learner.”

www.ala.org/aasl/standards/learning (accessed April 28, 2016).

American Library Association. January 2013. “Digital Literacy, Libraries, and Public Policy: Report of the

Office for Information Technology Policy’s Digital Literacy Task Force.”

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| June 25, 2016


http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2012_OITP_digilitreport_1_22_13.pdf

(accessed August 15, 2016).

Association of College and Research Libraries. 2000. “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher

Education.” www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency (accessed May 25, 2016).

U.S. Department of Education. “Definitions.” http://www.ed.gov/race-top/district-competition/definitions

(accessed May 13, 2016).

American Association of School Librarians. 2010. ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School

Librarians.

www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aasleducation/schoollibrary/2010_standards_with_rub

rics_and_statements_1-31-11.pdf.

American Association of School Librarians. “School Librarians and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).”

www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/legislation/essa.

American Library Association. June 18, 2013. “ALA Task Force Releases Digital Literacy

Recommendations.” www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2013/06/ala-task-force-releases-digital-literacy-

recommendations (accessed May 13, 2016).

Association of College and Research Libraries. 2000. “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher

Education.” www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency (accessed May 25, 2016).

Johnston, Melissa. 2011. “School Librarians as Technology Integration Leaders: Enablers and Barriers to

Leadership Enactment.” School Library Research 15.

www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol15/SLR_School_Librarian

s_as_Technology_Integration_Leaders_V15.pdf.

U.S. Department of Education. “Every Student Succeeds Act.” www.ed.gov/essa (accessed April 28, 2016).

Wine, Lois. 2016. "School Librarians as Technology Leaders: An Evolution in Practice." Journal of Education

for Library & Information Science 57 (2): 207–20.



confirmation.

June 25, 2016

27


The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) supports the position that an effective school library

program plays a crucial role in preparing students for informed living in an information-rich society. The

school library program provides learning opportunities that enable students to become efficient, effective, and

creative users of information. Further, the school library program encourages students to examine the authority

of authors and the bias of sponsors; to assess the importance of currency of information to the topic at hand; to

determine the scope and relevance of information to meet their needs; and to create and share new ideas,

resources, products, and information. This instruction occurs best in the context of the school curriculum

where students are guided by a standard of excellence set by their classroom teachers in collaboration with the

school librarian.

The school library program is not confined by the school library walls, but rather, with the use of technology

and online resources, connects to the community and branches throughout the entire school. The school library

program provides the mechanism for students to access the resources they need 24/7, whether in the library, in

the classroom, or in the student’s home.

Beyond its curricular role, the effective school library program gives each individual member of the learning

community a venue for exploring questions that arise out of personalized learning, individual curiosity, and

personal interest. As part of the school library program, the school librarian provides leadership and instruction

to both students and staff on how to use information technologies constructively, ethically, and safely. The

school librarian offers expertise in accessing and evaluating information and collections of quality physical and

virtual resources. In addition, the school librarian possesses dispositions that encourage broad and deep

exploration of ideas and responsible use of information technologies. These attributes add value to the school

community.

School library programs also provide opportunities for learners to read for enjoyment. School librarians’ skills

in the selection and evaluation of resources are critical in providing students, staff, and families with open,

non-restricted access to a high-quality collection of reading materials that reflect personal interests and

academic needs in multiple formats. School librarians take a leadership role in organizing and promoting

literacy projects and events that encourage students to become lifelong learners and readers.

The school library program is based on long-range goals developed through strategic planning that reflect the

mission of the school. The school librarian participates fully in all aspects of the school’s instructional

program, including federally mandated programs and reform efforts. The school library program provides

flexible and equitable access to collections, technology, and a state-certified school librarian for all students

and staff, physically as well as virtually. The collection includes materials that meet the needs of all learners,

represents various points of view on current and historical issues, and offers a wide variety of interest areas.

Policies, procedures, and guidelines are developed to maintain the effective school library program. The school

library staff and budget are sufficient to support the school’s instructional program and meet the needs of the

school library program’s goals.

For students, the school library represents one of America’s most cherished freedoms: the freedom to speak

and hear what others have to say. Students have the right to choose what they will read, view, or hear and are

expected to develop the ability to think clearly, critically, and creatively about their choices, rather than

allowing others to do this for them.

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| June 25, 2016


Citizens of this information world must have the skills and dispositions to access information efficiently and to

critically assess the sources they rely upon for decision making, problem solving, and generation of new

knowledge. The effective school library program plays a critical role in schools in instructing students on how

to access information efficiently and critically assess resources.

· Effective School Library Program: Definition of Effective School Library Position Statement

· Learning Community: A group of people (can include students) who share common academic goals

and attitudes who meet regularly to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve instruction

and the academic performance of students.

· Information Technologies: Modern information, computer, and communication technology products,

services, or tools, including the Internet, computer devices and other hardware, software applications,

data systems, personal electronic devices, and other electronic content (including multimedia content)

and data storage.

· School Librarian Instructional Role: Instructional Role of the School Librarian Position Statement

· Virtual Resources: Resources that are not physical in nature, such as computer hardware platforms,

operating systems, storage devices, computer network resources, electronic databases, and e-books.

Harvey, II, Carl A. 2010. “The Teacher's Take, Part 2: The Instructional Role of the School Librarian.” School

Library Monthly 26 (5): 45–47.

Heindel, Maegan Coffin., et al. 2014. “Demonstrating the Essential Role of the School Librarian.” Knowledge

Quest 42 (3): 74.

Young, Robyn. 2012. “Digital Learning: The Role of the School Librarian.” School Library Monthly 29 (1):

33.



confirmation.

June 25, 2016

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30

Reading is a window to the world.

Reading is a foundational skill for learning,

personal growth, and enjoyment. "e

degree to which students can read and

understand text in all formats (e.g., picture,

video, print) and all contexts is a key

indicator of success in school and in life.

As a lifelong learning skill, reading goes

beyond decoding and comprehension

to interpretation and

development of new

understandings.

Inquiry provides a framework for learning.

To become independent learners, students

must gain not only the skills but also the

disposition to use those skills, along with an

understanding of their own responsibilities

and self-assessment strategies. Combined,

these four elements build a learner who

can thrive in a complex information

environment.

Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught.

In this increasingly global world of

information, students must be taught to

seek diverse perspectives, gather and use

information ethically, and use social tools

responsibly and safely.

Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs.

Today’s students need to develop

information skills that will enable

them to use technology as an

important tool for learning,

both now and in the future.

Equitable access is a key component for education.

All children deserve

equitable access to

books and reading, to

information, and to

information technology

in an environment that

is safe and conducive

to learning.

31

Inquire, think

critically, and gain

knowledge.

Draw conclusions,

make informed

decisions, apply

knowledge to new

situations, and create

new knowledge.

Share knowledge

and participate

ethically and

productively as

members of our

democratic society.

Pursue personal

and aesthetic

growth.

LEARNERS USE SKILLS, RESOURCES, & TOOLS TO:

The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed.

Information literacy has progressed from the simple

definition of using reference resources to find

information. Multiple literacies, including digital,

visual, textual, and technological, have now joined

information literacy as crucial skills for this century.

The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.

"e amount of information available to our

learners necessitates that each individual acquire

the skills to select, evaluate, and use information

appropriately and effectively.

Learning has a social context.

Learning is enhanced by opportunities to share

and learn with others. Students need to develop

skills in sharing knowledge and learning with

others, both in face-to-face situations and

through technology.

School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills.

School libraries provide equitable physical

and intellectual access to the resources and

tools required for learning in a warm, stimulating,

and safe environment. School librarians collaborate

with others to provide

instruction, learning

strategies, and practice

in using the essential

learning skills needed

in the 21st century.

1

2

3

4

32

Inquire, think critically,

and gain knowledge.

1.1 Skills

1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-

based process in

seeking knowledge in

curricular subjects,

and make the real-

world connection for

using this process in

own life.

1.1.2 Use prior and

background knowledge

as context for new

learning.

1.1.3 Develop and refine a

range of questions to

frame the search for

new understanding.

1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and

select appropriate

sources to answer

questions.

1.1.5 Evaluate information

found in selected

sources on the basis

of accuracy, validity,

appropriateness for

needs, importance,

and social and

cultural context.

1.1.6 Read, view, and

listen for information

presented in any

format (e.g., textual,

visual, media, digital)

in order to make

inferences and

gather meaning.


1.1.7 Make sense of

information gathered

from diverse sources

by identifying

misconceptions,

main and supporting

ideas, conflicting

information, and point

of view or bias.

1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery

of technology tools for

accessing information

and pursuing inquiry.

1.1.9 Collaborate with others

to broaden and deepen

understanding.

1.2 Dispositions in Action

1.2.1 Display initiative

and engagement by

posing questions

and investigating the

answers beyond the

collection of

superficial facts.

1.2.2 Demonstrate

confidence and self-

direction by making

independent choices

in the selection

of resources and

information.

1.2.3 Demonstrate creativity

by using multiple

resources and formats.

1.2.4 Maintain a critical

stance by questioning

the validity and

accuracy of all

information.

1.2.5 Demonstrate

adaptability by

changing the inquiry

focus, questions,

resources, or strategies

when necessary to

achieve success.

1.2.6 Display emotional

resilience by persisting

in information

searching despite

challenges.

1.2.7 Display persistence by

continuing to pursue

information to gain a

broad perspective.

1.3 Responsibilities

1.3.1 Respect copyright/

intellectual property

rights of creators

and producers.

1.3.2 Seek divergent

perspectives during

information gathering

and assessment.

1.3.3 Follow ethical and legal

guidelines in gathering

and using information.

1.3.4 Contribute to the

exchange of ideas

within the learning

community.

1.3.5 Use information

technology responsibly.

1.4 Self-Assessment Strategies

1.4.1 Monitor own

information-seeking

processes for

effectiveness and

progress, and adapt

as necessary.

1.4.2 Use interaction

with and feedback

from teachers and

peers to guide own

inquiry process.

1.4.3 Monitor gathered

information, and assess

for gaps or weaknesses.

1.4.4 Seek appropriate help

when it is needed.

1

33

Draw conclusions, make

informed decisions, apply knowledge to

new situations, and create new knowledge.

2.1 Skills

2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-

based research process

by applying critical-

thinking skills (analysis,

synthesis, evaluation,

organization) to

information and

knowledge in order

to construct new

understandings, draw

conclusions, and create

new knowledge.

2.1.2 Organize knowledge

so that it is useful.

2.1.3 Use strategies to

draw conclusions

from information and

apply knowledge to

curricular areas, real-

world situations, and

further investigations.

2.1.4 Use technology and

other information tools

to analyze and organize

information.

2.1.5 Collaborate with

others to exchange

ideas, develop new

understandings, make

decisions, and solve

problems.

2.1.6 Use the writing

process, media and

visual literacy, and

technology skills

to create products

that express new

understandings.


2.2.1 Demonstrate

flexibility in the

use of resources by

adapting information

strategies to each

specific resource and

by seeking additional

resources when clear

conclusions cannot

be drawn.

2.2.2 Use both divergent

and convergent

thinking to formulate

alternative conclusions

and test them against

the evidence.

2.2.3 Employ a critical

stance in drawing

conclusions by

demonstrating that the

pattern of evidence

leads to a decision or

conclusion.

2.2.4 Demonstrate personal

productivity by

completing products

to express learning.


2.3.1 Connect

understanding to

the real world.

2.3.2 Consider diverse and

global perspectives in

drawing conclusions.

2.3.3 Use valid information

and reasoned

conclusions to make

ethical decisions.


2.4.1 Determine how to act

on information (accept,

reject, modify).

2.4.2 Reflect on systematic

process, and assess

for completeness of

investigation.

2.4.3 Recognize new

knowledge and

understanding.

2.4.4 Develop directions for

future investigations.

2


34


3 Share knowledge and

participate ethically and productively

as members of our democratic society.

3.1 Skills

3.1.1 Conclude an inquiry-

based research

process by sharing

new understandings

and reflecting on the

learning.

3.1.2 Participate and

collaborate as

members of a social

and intellectual

network of

learners.

3.1.3 Use writing and

speaking skills to

communicate new

understandings

effectively.

3.1.4 Use technology and

other information

tools to organize and

display knowledge and

understanding in ways

that others can view,

use, and assess.

3.1.5 Connect learning to

community issues.

3.1.6 Use information and

technology ethically

and responsibly.


3.2.1 Demonstrate

leadership and

confidence by

presenting ideas

to others in both

formal and informal

situations.

3.2.2 Show social

responsibility by

participating actively

with others in learning

situations and by

contributing questions

and ideas during

group discussions.

3.2.3 Demonstrate

teamwork by working

productively with

others.


3.3.1 Solicit and respect

diverse perspectives

while searching

for information,

collaborating

with others, and

participating as

a member of the

community.

3.3.2 Respect the differing

interests and

experiences of others,

and seek a variety

of viewpoints.

3.3.3 Use knowledge and

information skills

and dispositions

to engage in public

conversation and

debate around issues

of common concern.

3.3.4 Create products that

apply to authentic,

real-world contexts.

3.3.5 Contribute to the

exchange of ideas

within and beyond the

learning community.

3.3.6 Use information

and knowledge in

the service of

democratic values.

3.3.7 Respect the principles

of intellectual freedom.


3.4.1 Assess the processes

by which learning was

achieved in order to

revise strategies and

learn more effectively

in the future.

3.4.2 Assess the quality and

effectiveness of the

learning product.

3.4.3 Assess own ability

to work with others

in a group setting

by evaluating varied

roles, leadership,

and demonstrations

of respect for other

viewpoints.35

4


Pursue personal and

aesthetic growth.

4.1 Skills

4.1.1 Read, view, and listen

for pleasure and

personal growth.

4.1.2 Read widely and

fluently to make

connections with

self, the world, and

previous reading.

4.1.3 Respond to literature

and creative

expressions of ideas

in various formats

and genres.

4.1.4 Seek information for

personal learning in a

variety of formats and

genres.

4.1.5 Connect ideas to own

interests and previous

knowledge and

experience.

4.1.6 Organize personal

knowledge in a way

that can be called upon

easily.

4.1.7 Use social networks

and information tools

to gather and share

information.

4.1.8 Use creative and

artistic formats to

express personal

learning.


4.2.1 Display curiosity by

pursuing interests

through multiple

resources.

4.2.2 Demonstrate

motivation by seeking

information to answer

personal questions

and interests, trying a

variety of formats and

genres, and displaying

a willingness to go

beyond academic

requirements.

4.2.3 Maintain openness

to new ideas

by considering

divergent opinions,

changing opinions

or conclusions when

evidence supports the

change, and seeking

information about

new ideas encountered

through academic or

personal experiences.

4.2.4 Show an appreciation

for literature by

electing to read

for pleasure and

expressing an interest

in various literary

genres.


4.3.1 Participate in the

social exchange

of ideas, both

electronically and in

person.

4.3.2 Recognize that

resources are created

for a variety of

purposes.

4.3.3 Seek opportunities for

pursuing personal and

aesthetic growth.

4.3.4 Practice safe and

ethical behaviors in

personal electronic

communication and

interaction.


4.4.1 Identify own areas

of interest.

4.4.2 Recognize the limits

of own personal

knowledge.

4.4.3 Recognize how

to focus efforts in

personal learning.

4.4.4 Interpret new

information based

on cultural and

social context.

4.4.5 Develop personal

criteria for gauging

how effectively own

ideas are expressed.

4.4.6 Evaluate own ability

to select resources

that are engaging

and appropriate for

personal interests

and needs.

36

Key abilities needed

for understanding,

learning, thinking,

and mastering

subjects.

key question

Does the student have

the right proficiencies

to explore a topic or

subject further?

SkillsDispositions in Action

CENTURY LEARNERS21st

Responsibilities

Ongoing beliefs

and attitudes that

guide thinking and

intellectual behavior

that can be measured

through actions taken.

key question

Is the student disposed

to higher-level thinking

and actively engaged in

critical thinking to gain

and share knowledge?

Common behaviors

used by independent

learners in researching,

investigating, and

problem solving.

key question

Is the student aware that

the foundational traits for

21st-century learning require

self-accountability that extends

beyond skills and dispositions?

Reflections on one’s

own learning to

determine that the

skills, dispositions,

and responsibilities

are effective.

key question

Can the student recognize

personal strengths and

weaknesses over time and

become a stronger, more

independent learner?

Self-AssessmentStrategies

American Association of School Librarians

50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611

© 2007 by the American Library Association

Permission to use, reproduce, and distribute

this document is hereby granted for private,

non-commercial, and education purposes only.

ISBN (bundle of 12) 978-0-8389-8445-1

"is publication is available for download at

http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards.

Multiple copies may be purchased from the ALA store

at http://www.ala.org or by calling 866-SHOP ALA.

37

ESSA Listening Tour Testimony

September 28, 2016

Streamwood High School, district U-46

Thank you for your time today.

My name is Wendy Evans and I am the Education Manager with the Elgin

Symphony Orchestra.

The Elgin Symphony is a professional orchestra located in Elgin which

serves the fox valley. This orchestra is vitally important to the arts

community. I’m here to establish the importance to the local arts

community a strong arts curriculum in the schools.

As a representative for the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, I work with many

area school districts, including district U-46, in bringing students to hear

live symphony orchestra concerts designed for their age group. In many

cases, Title 1 funds are used to make these field trips possible.

Research supports that music education supports all learning. A 1996

study in Nature showed that studying an instrument fills in learning

gaps. When given music instruction over seven months, a group of

students lagging behind caught up to their classmates in reading and

surpassed their classmates in math by 22 percent.

The Journal of Research in Music Education reports that music education

transcends socio-economic levels. Students in high-quality music

programs score higher on standardized tests compared to students in

schools in deficient music education programs, regardless of the

socioeconomic level of the school or school district.

The market research firm, Harris Interactive, Inc. published a study in

2006 showing that schools with music education programs have

significantly higher graduation and attendance rates than those without

music programs.

38

Many school districts in the area use the Elgin Symphony’s educational

concerts as a powerful recruiting tool for choosing an instrument to

study and to join band and orchestra. I would like to share a testimonial

from U-46 music teacher Jonathan Bast who has brought his students to

our concerts for the past 5 years:

“After taking my students to the ESO Kidz Konzert, they return to the school full of excitement and questions. Questions range from basic "what was that instrument next to the flute?" to higher level "why did the flute get to play that part? I think it would have sounded better on the violin." Each student's question is important to answer, but when you get to the higher level questions I usually turn it back to the student by asking them "why do you think that?" Many times they have an amazing answer because they're starting to hone in on the instrument they'd like to play. At my school I've seen an increase in students signing up for Band and Orchestra over the past two years. This year there was even a larger increase. I remember the first year after taking kids to the ESO I was talking with some students who signed up for violin. They were so excited to tell me when their instruments arrived. Several weeks later they came running to me, almost screaming "we got to use the bow today!!!" Their enthusiasm was delightful.

I have no doubt that seeing and hearing the ESO plays a large part in the

developing the desire of my students to play an instrument. I can show

pictures and play recordings, but it's after a LIVE performance that their

true excitement is displayed. I totally understand that. I do love listening

to recordings, but a live performance has a level of energy that is not

present in recordings. That is why I continue to bring my students to the

ESO. They need to have an experience I cannot present in my classroom.

Thank you ESO for continuing these educational programs for children

in the Fox Valley.”

Again, those are the comments from U-46 music teacher Jonathan Bast.

39

ESSA places emphasis on parent and community engagement with the

schools, and we believe the arts bring the community together and

celebrate students in very powerful ways. In addition to field trip

concerts, the Elgin Symphony partners with school districts with our

traveling ensemble performances, student performances in our lobby

before our concerts and student art projects connecting to music

performed on a concert displayed in our lobby and viewed by the

community.

Student and family connections to arts organizations in the community

provide synergy which supports jobs and generates government

revenue. We believe that a quality education includes a strong arts

education which greatly benefits students, families and the community.

We ask that you continue to allocate Title 1 funding for field trips to fine

arts organizations in the community.

Thank you,

Wendy Evans

Education and Community Outreach Manager

Elgin Symphony Orchestra

[email protected]

847-888-0404 ex. 238

40


Aaron Golding Testimony: Community Schools are a great tool to meet the needs of the implementation of ESSA for Illinois. Through partnerships between schools, community leaders, businesses, higher education institutions, students, and parents, Community Schools are able to unite stakeholders to address specifics needs and create access, equity, and academic success for young people. Community Schools are a tool that empowers parents, communities, schools, and students to come together to address the local challenges that schools and communities are facing. At it’s core, Community Schools engage and build partnerships to meet align resources to remove barriers that hinder the success of students in college and career. The 21st CCLC is resource that responds to the different ways of learning and engaging students and is responsive to non-academic indicators, such as social and emotional skills. Through after school opportunities, Community Schools offer young people opportunities for civic engagement, community organizing, access to high quality art education, and leadership development. These experiences allow students are able to synthesize their learning. I believe this helps student engagement and retention and places them on a clear path to college and/or career. I believe that access to high quality arts and enrichment programming helps students develop crucial learning skills, such as critical thinking, creative problem solving, active listening, abstract thinking, and reflection and refinement. One area that I am are able to further this belief is through after school programming. The 21st Community Learning Centers grant offers the opportunity to develop these skills in students over a long period of time. I hope that this continues to grow and be an opportunity for outside partnerships to be developed and sustained to help support the success of young people. Community Schools are in a unique position to build and assist in state plan for the implementation of ESSA. By definition, Community Schools are natural organizers and relationship builders that bring together a coalition of wrap-around services and opportunities to support the development of young people. I hope that CS will continue to be an integral part of the plan for the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Sincerely, Aaron Golding

Aaron Golding Program Manager for Community Schools Center for Community Arts Partnerships Columbia College Chicago 600 S. Michigan Avenue | Chicago, IL 60605 (312) 369-8872 phone | (312) 369-8015 fax [email protected]|www.colum.edu/ccap

Celebrating 15 years of transforming lives through the arts.

41


http://www.colum.edu/ccap

To Whom it May Concern,

My name is Tom Gross. I have been an educator for 16 years: ten as a classroom teacher and sixas a school librarian. I work at Washington Community High School District #308. I serve on theboard of the Illinois School Library Media Association and am president of the Illinois ComputingEducators Heart of Illinois Chapter. I am a National Board Certified Teacher. My wife is a publicschool educator and both of my daughters attend public schools. As you can see, the EveryStudent Achieves Act has and will have a major impact on many aspects of my life.

Today and everyday at WCHS, I helped match several students up with books to read forenjoyment. I prepared book talks to take to English classrooms to get students excited aboutreading and finding books and authors that they will love. I prepared a lesson to talk aboutfreedom of speech and expression as next week is Banned Book Week and I see everysophomore student to talk about our rights as American Citizens. Next week I will also begin aseries of lessons with freshmen students about Internet Safety. And I am in the brunt of planningour Star Wars Reads Day community literacy event that our book club hosts in October. Workingwith students is something I enjoyed as a teacher and I cherish as a librarian. But licensed schoollibrarians are so much more than finding books for students. Because yesterday, I talked with ateacher about using some new resources in his classroom to enrich a lesson. I gathered materialsfor a history teacher to bring Visual Thinking Skills to his history classroom. I talked with a teacherabout creating a Google Form to poll students while watching a debate to increase engagement.These are all the reasons why I became a school librarian. At my school, I am an important partof our school improvement plan. I work with teachers; I present with teachers; I teach withteachers.

I would like to highlight a 2013 report from the National Center for Literacy Education that showswhen school librarians are highly involved leaders, they play a critical role in their school throughconsistent and sustained collaboration with other educators. Significant new Title funding isbecoming available through ESSA that would, if applied for and put to work by ISBE, allowlicensed librarians to focus on school improvement not only through direct student contact but alsothrough professional development for all faculty members on information literacy and resources,instructional technology, and more. We recommend that ISBE adopt school improvement policiesthat recognize and support licensed school librarians in our roles as teachers, co-teachers, andproviders of instructional support for content area teachers.

Respectfully submitted,

/Thomas W. GrossWashington Community High School District #308Library DirectorNBCT English Language Arts

42

My name is Shawn Healy, and I serve as the civic learning scholar at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation in Chicago. The Foundation convenes the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition (ICMC), and I am its chair. The ICMC is a broad, non-partisan consortium which includes educators, administrators, students, universities, funders, elected officials, policymakers and representatives from the private and non-profit sectors. Formed in 2004 by the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, the ICMC is part of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, a national initiative to restore a core purpose of education to prepare America's youngest citizens to be informed and active participants in our democracy. In 2014, I was appointed to the Illinois Task Force on Civic Education and selected by its members as chair. We proceeded to make policy and funding recommendations to the Illinois General Assembly, including a required high school civics course and updates to Illinois Social Science Learning Standards. Last year, the General Assembly followed through and passed legislation on the course requirement, establishing a July 2016 effective date. Simultaneously, the ICMC committed to supporting the implementation process over a three-year period, including more than $1 million of private funding annually to support teacher professional development, ongoing mentoring, and related curricular resources. Beginning in the fall of 2014, a teacher-led task force jointly convened by ISBE and the ICMC revised Illinois Social Science Standards and presented them to ISBE for unanimous adoption in June 2015. The standards take effect coincident with the 2017-2018 school year. Since the course requirement legislation was signed by Governor Rauner in August 2015, the ICMC has provided 165 hours of professional development to 1,049 teachers. This includes ten multi-day workshops this past summer in every region of the state. Companion online courses are in design. We also recruited a statewide cadre of teacher mentors representing 35 of the 38 regional offices of education outside of Chicago. These mentors received intense training themselves, assisted with our summer workshops, and are currently assisting teachers, schools, and districts in their respective areas with course implementation. This annual cycle will continue through the summer of 2018. Chicago Public Schools are served through an annual grant to the CPS Office of Civic Engagement. They have designed a civics course and curriculum titled “Participate” and support teachers with intensive, ongoing professional development.

43

Specific to ISBE’s ESSA implementation plan, we are heartened by its emphasis on educating the whole child, opportunities for extensive teacher professional development, and specific acknowledgement of the value of mentoring programs like the one we created. Ongoing needs with respect to course and standards implementation are as follows, and we invite further collaboration with ISBE in achieving them as part of the ESSA provisions:

Teachers, schools, and districts need continued support on implementation of the high school civics course requirement, especially teacher capacity around the proven civic learning practices embedded in the law: discussion of current and controversial issues, service-learning, and simulations of democratic processes. Related curriculum and resources are also in demand, as are ongoing opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.

While the ICMC has made an extensive commitment to supporting implementation of the civics course, our ability to also address the emerging Social Science Standards is limited to the high school strand devoted to civics. This neglects grades K-8 in civics and K-12 in the other social studies disciplines (history, economics, geography), and early signs in the field point to widespread ignorance about the new standards, much less the capacity to translate them to classroom practice. The standards represent a paradigm shift for the social studies, moving from an emphasis on low-level content knowledge to higher-level skills. They center on an inquiry arc, where students develop their own questions, draw upon disciplinary knowledge to answer them, evaluate sources along the way, and ultimately communicate conclusions and take informed action. This inquiry arc and the emerging standards as a whole align explicitly with ELA CCSS, with the hope of reversing the ongoing marginalization of the social studies while contributing to student literacy as measured by school accountability instruments. As recommended by the standards task force, teachers must have ongoing professional development opportunities to familiarize themselves with these standards and adapt their instructional practices and curriculum to them. They also need access to lesson plans and classroom resources aligned to the new standards, and opportunities to practice using them among peers. The ICMC and its partner organizations are poised to assist ISBE with implementation of the new standards as we complete our commitment to civics course implementation. Collectively, we offer expertise in teacher professional development, extensive relationships with teachers, schools, and districts, standards-aligned curriculum and resources, and supplementary programming for students. We look forward to further collaboration with ISBE as we work to educate the whole child, ensuring that Illinois students graduate ready for college, careers, and civic life.

44

Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony about ESSA. I spoke in Effingham on Sept. 20, 2016. Below are my remarks. I’m Sarah Hill, the current president of the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Our organization, over 5,000 strong, serves to support library staff in alleviating the

challenges teens face, and in putting all teens, especially those with the greatest needs,

on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. As the Information Services Librarian at

Lake Land College, I see teens and older students who come from area high schools, and

they have graduated with a need. Without a certified school librarian in their schools,

they come to Lake Land without the knowledge necessary to succeed in college-level

courses. They’ve never used a database before, they have no idea how to evaluate and

use the online sources they find, and they are behind their peers when it comes to

information literacy. I shouldn’t be able to guess what schools a student graduated from

by the research questions they ask me. I’m asking ISBE to level the playing field for my

incoming students and ensure that all students have access to a funded school library

program staffed by a certified teacher librarian.

When school librarians are highly involved leaders, they play a critical role in their

schools through consistent and sustained collaboration with other educators. A 2013

report from the National Center for Literacy Education shows this. Significant new Title

funding is becoming available through ESSA that would, if applied for and put to work

by ISBE and LEAs, allow licensed librarians to focus on school improvement not only

through direct student contact but also through professional development for all faculty

members on information literacy and resources, instructional technology, and

more. Collaboration among faculty and high quality professional development both play

vital roles in the school improvement process. When I was the Paris High School

45

librarian, my position evolved into a Curriculum Specialist position after I received my

administration degree. Librarians are the natural curriculum leaders of the school--we

support all--students, faculty, staff, and administration. I would like to see ISBE adopt

school improvement policies that recognize and support school librarians in roles as

teachers, co-teachers, and providers of instructional support for content area

teachers. Thank you.

46

October 7, 2017 ESSA legislation affords Illinois the opportunity to refine current practices for accountability with respect to ELs and to create a cohesive system from early childhood through grade 12. ESSA must require schools to provide appropriate services and growth assessments to ensure that schools support students in developing their academic English. The home language and cultures of the students in Illinois should additionally be integrated into the learning environment and enhanced for lifelong personal, community, state and national success. Section 3.1 Accountability System (p.13): Title I of ESSA requires that states determine a timeline for English learners to become English proficient and to be reclassified. Currently Illinois EL students are identified and served in early childhood education, however years of service are counted beginning in first grade. First grade is the first compulsory grade in the Illinois school system. Illinois should maintain the practice of counting years of service for EL

instruction beginning in first grade for the purposes of the ESSA State

Accountability Plan. Section 3.1 Accountability System (p.17): Title I under ESSA requires that data on English proficiency be reported in two ways, growth and attainment. English Learners are a diverse population and many factors can impact their progress, such as time of entry into the US school system, gaps in schools, age of the the student, level of prior education, refugee status, and trauma. ELs are assessed yearly with WIDA ACCESS. With this assessment it is possible to compare growth over time along a continuum of proficiency, which is preferred by the field over reporting reclassification rates of ELs. (Darling-Hammond and colleagues 2016, p.12) ISBE must ensure that the accountability system provides equitable attention to

ELs and their growth. The growth measure for English Language Development and the weighting of the

indicator should be informed by the Illinois Advisory Council on Bilingual

Education following WIDA recommendations.

47

ISBE must design accountability indicators that foster home language and dual

language instruction as a means of transferring content knowledge that

contributes toward high levels of achievement on English content exams. Section 3.1 Accountability system (p. 13-14): ESSA stipulates that former ELs may be included in the accountability measures for the EL subgroup up to four years after they transition to the mainstream. This means data from the former EL students will be aggregated along with those who are still enrolled in language assistance programs. Data from Illinois on ISAT demonstrates that the transitioned EKs tend to outperform their peers in mathematics and reading. Students who are in the process of acquiring English and who are identified as active ELs typically do not have enough English to meet standards on assessments administered in a language they are still acquiring. Grouping together current and former EK does not give an accurate portrayal of either group's progress or need. ISBE should report the progress of each EL group (active and reclassified)

separately so schools can determine the effectiveness of instruction. Additionally ESSA allows for states follow the progress of former ELs. ELs should be part of a continuous monitoring system following students as they enter the system through enrollment in postsecondary. Longitudinal data beginning in early childhood would serve as a vital indicator of a school district's effectiveness in minimizing achievement gaps for ELs and achievement gains that occur after the four-year tracking stipulation. Such an approach is bolstered by research that states that it takes ELs 5-7 years to be on par with their English-speaking peers. ISBE should design the ESSA accountability system to report on the progress of

former ELs 3-12. I have spent all of my 30-year career in education in the field of second language acquisition, with the past 10 as the program director for Moline-Coal Valley School District. Eleven percent of our students are English learners whose families speak 40 different languages. In order for our district to achieve, our 830 ELs must also achieve. Please consider my testimony when making state rules for the Every Child Succeeds Act. Stephanee S. Jordan Director for Federal Grants and Curricular Support Moline-Coal Valley CUSD 40

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First of all I would like to thank District 150 for hosting this event and the Illinois State Board of Education for gathering feedback about the Every Student Succeeds Act. My name is Sean Kerwin. As the president of a local association, I am representing the Washington Education Association, the staff association of Washington Community High School District #308. Thank you for the time you have allotted for those interested in education to provide feedback on this piece of legislation that will have a large impact in what educators do in their classrooms. I wanted to address a few of the key indicators that have impacted our classrooms at the high school level. We feel these indicators need to be used as measures of success Illinois schools. Student Growth- In the past, educators have relied on unrealistic score expectations on standardized tests. These tests were, and are currently, a poor measure of student achievement and growth. A barrage of tests given once a year, to one cohort of students, to assess a school is not a strong piece of evidence if a school is to be assessed accurately. The current setup for standardized testing is a mess at the high school level. There has been no continuity for the past 3 years. We had consistent data, though maybe not the correct measurement under NCLB. Now we have had schools able to select different grade levels to administer PARCC, the ACT has been tossed out, and the SAT is now going to be given to students. The Illinois Science Assessment is still being given, but guidance for administering the test is so varied that the data is not comparable between schools, though it could be useful for teachers in a common building and district, as long as the test was administered uniformly. The assessment that is going to be required needs to be valuable and usable data for students, teachers and administrators. We should not be collecting assessment data, just to collect assessment data. The data needs to be useful and valuable so that those that analyze it have useful information provided to them. Currently student growth and teacher evaluations, both products of the PERA legislation, have allowed administrators and teachers to work together to find what the right fit is for each district and building. If local districts are already measuring student growth to evaluate teachers, why can’t we use this same process to evaluate schools? It seems redundant to have schools use a battery of standardized tests to assess student progress, but not use the same data and indicators that we are using to evaluate teachers. Consideration of using student growth allows for realistic and tangible data that can be collected by schools to show that their students are improving. Data subsets could also be targeted, if the school and educators feel that this is appropriate for the district. The data collected needs to be quality data. The data needs to work with standards. The data needs to be collected in a way that does not distract teachers from doing what they do best and that is help students be successful. The data can be very valuable for reflecting on instruction, as long as the data is meaningful to the teacher and collected in a practical manner. Access to Resources- New standards, new evaluation tools, new technology, new laws and no funding. The State of Illinois and school districts require teachers to be accountable to student learning and insure that student growth is occurring, while there is no guarantee that funds will

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be available for these new initiatives. Members of the WEA are fortunate that our district is able to supply us with the needed technology and trainings to be successful. Our district has had to make cuts though. These cuts stem from the unknown amount of money coming from the state and a backward system of funding schools. Our association is well aware that there are many districts struggling to provide for their students. That being said, it is imperative that all districts receive the funding that they need in order to maintain student success. The school district and the state should be responsible for making sure that students learning is supported by adequate funding, staffing, facilities, standards-based materials and technology. Attendance and Absenteeism-The number of days that students attend school is positively associated with student achievement, affecting their grades and achievement on reading and math assessments as well as on-time graduation. Including attendance as an accountability indicator motivates districts to quickly respond when student attendance stagnates or declines, overall or for specific groups. In addition, chronic absenteeism, commonly measured as missing 10% or more of the school year, is associated with lower academic performance, lower likelihood for graduation, and increased achievement gaps across elementary, middle, and high school. Including chronic absenteeism as an indicator can help to identify and provide targeted support to schools that need to develop strategies to better address the needs of chronically absent students. Suspension and Expulsion-Evidence shows that removing students from school increases their likelihood of dropping out. Illinois has committed to reducing students’ out-of-class time due to suspensions and expulsions, with particular attention given to the disproportionate rates of suspension experienced by students of color. Adopting this indicator would result in not only a drop in student suspension and expulsion rates but an adoption of restorative justice programs and other alternatives to suspension. Intervention programs, for students affected by discipline problems and attendance issues, developed in our district has seen a turnaround in student success in both suspensions, discipline and attendance. We believe that these four indicators, student growth, access to resources, attendance and student discipline, are essential for Illinois students to be successful. Please strongly consider these indicators in the next draft of Every Student Succeeds Act. Thank you for your time this evening.

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Statement/Testimony for ESSAAlecia Lutz, Library Paraprofessional

North Clay Elem./Jr. High and High SchoolCUSD #25

Louisville, IL 62858

Let me begin with a quick overview of being the librarian for North Clay. I am not a licensedlibrarian. I am a paraprofessional. Do I do pretty much everything a licensed librarian does? Itry. I freely admit there are things I don’t know. For the past three years, I have maintained theK8th grade library. This year, I am also the high school librarian. The schools are on the sameproperty. My week consists of library classes for KSth grades, being available for Jr. High studyhalls to come to the library, processing new books into the library, a lunch/library duty at thehigh school because the student union and library share the same space, continuing to data-enter the entire EIem./Jr. High library into library software, and other non-library related duties.

I function with the basic notion that that there is very limited money. I buy used books from thethriftbooks.com website to help stock our library and make my requisition money go further. Irepair many books that should be taken out of circulation. I shop Goodwill and other thriftstores. Any book donation is welcome and appreciated. In the past, the grade school libraryhas hosted two Scholastic book fairs to help cover the cost for the A.R. program. This year, A.R.has been funded through Title money. I am hoping to use the Scholastic dollar money I will getto keep for the library to buy some new things for the library. Items on the wish list include:comfy chairs, a book truck, and, of course, books.

Now that you understand a little about the library situation for North Clay, I think you can seewhy I believe school libraries need to be part of the ESSA Implementation plan and fundingneeds to be found. I have seen, first hand, how most students who are not encouraged to read,often won’t. Many students in our school district would not have access to books without theschool library since there isn’t a local public library and money to purchase books would be aluxury. My students tell me they prefer an actual book to an e-book. I have researched grantfunding and find that our school is typically “not poor enough” or “diverse enough” or “urbanenough” to qualify. I can also appreciate how a person who can focus solely on the library couldbe a great influence on a student’s reading ability and academic career.

To do any of the things you would like with the ESSA as it pertains to school libraries, it needsfunding. Accountability, standards, and assessments can be created, improvements can bemade to the school, and the whole child can show up, but if librarian isn’t there or the booksare falling apart or the technology is outdated because there isn’t any money to pay for them,why bother? Please insist that funding is the first issue addressed.

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My name is Sonia Mathew and I am the Civic Learning Manager for the Robert R. McCormick

Foundation. Part of educating the “whole child” also involves developing students’ civic

identity. Related to that, I am interested in examining the school quality indicators especially as

they relate to school climate and engagement in the ESSA State Plan. Through our work, we

seek to restore the civic purpose of schools to prepare Illinois youth to be informed and

effective participants in our democracy. Our students deserve enhanced opportunities to learn

and practice civic engagement behaviors and we have created a process by which high schools

affirm their commitment to civic learning by seeking recognition as a Democracy School. Illinois

Democracy Schools are high schools recognized for consciously promoting civic engagement by

all students, focusing intentionally on fostering participatory citizenship and placing an

emphasis on helping students understand how the fundamental ideals and principles of our

democratic society relate to important current problems, opportunities and controversies.

Since 2006, 54 high schools have been recognized throughout the state. When they go through

the recognition process, schools assess the common elements for sustained, systemic

approaches to civic learning which include, vision and leadership, strategically-designed

curriculum embracing proven civic learning practices, professional development, school-

community partnerships, and school climate. Our work with Democracy Schools can be used as

a model to support how we examine some of the school climate indicators. Additionally, as

there are engagement indicators, we have tools to measure the civic readiness and community

engagement of our students. Developing students’ civic identity should be an important part of

educating the “whole child.” Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today.

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April 27, 2016

To: ISBE in regards to ESSA Implementation I had the pleasure of attending the Listening Tour stop at the Skokie location last evening and shared some thoughts about the accountability aspect of the implementation, and was asked to submit same in writing. First, let me express my appreciation to the ISBE Board and staff for embarking on this tour of the state in order to receive real on the front line input from those charged with carrying out the implementation of ESSA at our various locales. The engagement of the front line actors is key to having a final product that has the proper level of “buy-in” for the implementation to be both meaningful and productive. In the upfront literature, we were encouraged to “tell our story”, so let me begin by indicating that I am the senior board member, having served 27 years as a local school board member, of Wheeling CCSD 21. We are a suburban, K-8 district that has close to 7,000 students in 13 sites over six different communities in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Even though many might consider us a “wealthy district”, our story’s reality is that over 60% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunches, we are close to becoming a minority majority district and our students speak more than 50 non-English languages in their home environment. I also have the very distinct privilege and pleasure of serving as the President of the Illinois Association of School Boards that represents close to 6,000 school board members from throughout the state in 843 districts. While my specific comments today are specifically about my local district’s story, the comments are understandably reflective of experiences of districts and board members all over Illinois. The tagline of our district is “Preparing All Students for Success” and our distinct purpose is “To provide a learning environment for all students to become lifelong learners and productive citizens.” Through an expansive community engagement process, this vision for Wheeling schools was finalized more than a decade ago, and continues to serve as our beacon for providing a quality education experience for our students, their families, our staff and our board members. Please note that within this vision, there is no direct reference to any specific assessment tool or assessment level. For, we believe that educating the whole child and taking them from where they come to us in either pre-school or first grade, or encouraging and nurturing their growth each and every year is what concerns our professional learning community. That does not mean we do not have a rigorous curriculum or undervalue the importance and role of assessing our students. We do so and maintain a portfolio of progress indicators that allows each of our educators to address the individual needs of our students. In this environment, and understanding our educational paradigm, please be aware that the U.S. Department of Education has recognized two of our schools, a middle school and an

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elementary school with Blue Ribbon status over the years. That recognition was received due to the entire educational umbrella we provide for our students with a dedication to developing the whole child, inclusive of a rigorous curriculum, exposure to the arts and an understanding of history and civics as well as math, English and language arts. Respectfully submitted, Phil Pritzker Wheeling 21 Senior Board Member IASB President

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illinois school library media association

9-20-1016

Re: ISBE Listening Tour Round 2 and ESSA

To Whom it may concern:

P.O. Box 1326

Galesburg, IL 61402-1326

Phone: 309-341-1099

Fax 309-341-2070

ISLMAexsec@gma ii .com

My name is Jacob Roskovensky, and I am President-Elect of the Illinois School Library Media

Association and the Charleston Community Unit School District #1 High School Library Media

Specialist. I have taught K-12 Library Media for eleven years. I have taught over 2100 students

in East-Central Illinois.

Yesterday a former student stopped by my classroom while visiting the high school. She told

the girl that was with her, the library was her favorite room and where she spent all her time.

She said when she didn't have any friends, she always felt like she belonged in the library. This

student was not an avid reader or researcher by far, but she found her place in my classroom.

Yesterday morning there were 130 students in my classroom before the morning bell rang.

Today's number was 100. Those students were working on assignments, finding reading

materials, using computers, and interacting with their peers. The media center gives all

students a place to belong.

Like all educators in Illinois, school librarians are concerned with the development of the Whole

Child. As ISBE considers policies and funding formulas across the wide spectrum of ESSA

Implementation, we'd like to remind you that:

• School Libraries promote and encourage well rounded, collaborative, lifelong learners.

• The Library is the largest classroom in the school allowing children to explore interests,

problem solve, and build information literacy skills.

• Licensed School librarians provide a wide variety of programs for students to participate.

• Licensed School Librarians are trained to select high quality materials and literature that

support student interest as well as Common Core.

• Librarians are equipped to help students navigate digital media and become socially

responsible users of information in our fast- paced world.

• Licensed school librarians help to foster an appreciation of literature, and a love of

reading in our students.

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illinois school library media association

P.O. Box 1326

Galesburg, IL 61402-1326

Phone: 309-341-1099

Fax 309-341-2070

[email protected]

To help comprehensively address the academic and socio-emotional life of the child, school

librarians across the state recommend that ISBE include the Illinois School Library Media

Associations 'Linking for Learning' standards formally in the state ESSA Plan. Linking for

Learning was first passed by the General Assembly in 1993 and is updated every 5 years. These

guidelines include the current and robust standards by which all Illinois school libraries can and

should measure themselves. ISLMA is in the process of conducting our next scheduled

comprehensive review and update of Linking for Learning to be published in 2017. We

encourage ISBE to integrate these standards for school libraries into the Multi-Tiered System of

Supports approach.

I encourage ISBE to work with the Illinois School Library Media Association to reduce barriers to

learning in order to achieve equity and opportunity for each and every child in Illinois to receive

services from a licensed school library information specialist. Every student in Illinois should

have the opportunity that 10% of the student population of Charleston High School access

every day before school even starts, a licensed Library Information Specialist. I encourage ISBE

to allow the local school districts to receive federal funding for their libraries through ESSA.

Thank you,

Jacob P. Roskovensky

High School Library Media Specialist,

Charleston Community Unit School District #1

President-Elect

Illinois School Library Media Association

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Statement to the ISBE ESSA Listening tour

Peoria- September 22, 2016

Good evening, am here today as a public library board member and as a licensed

school librarian. First and foremost, however, I am here as a parent.

My children attend the Spoon River Valley School district, which is about 50 miles west

of where we are now. The district spans parts of two counties and is comprised of five

small towns and a whole lot of farmland.

Two of the towns in the district have public libraries, while three do not. So, three-fifths

of the school district is unserved by a public library. In fact, according to information

from the 2010 census more than a million Illinois residents live in areas without a public

library, which means that they are without a place to freely access unbiased information

or to pursue personal interests.

I wonder then, ‘How many of those unserved million are school-aged children?”

This matters to me, you see, because due to funding constraints my daughters’ schoolt nx 5ccc” c-

district1no longer employs a licensed school librarian. So-- for three fifths of my

daughters’ classmates there is no librarian available at all. There is no one in their

school building licensed and specifically trained to select materials that support the

curriculum and inspire lifelong learning. No one there licensed and specifically trained to

help students navigate the digital world. No one is there whose sole mission is to

promote learning, not just one thing, but everything.

One of my favorite sayings is, “Saying you don’t need a librarian because you have the

internet is like saying you don’t need a math teacher because you have a calculator.”

Who are these students supposed to go to for help accessing, evaluating, using, and

creating information if there is no professional school librarian and no public library

available? Time and time again, research has proven that school libraries staffed by

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licensed professionals have a measurable positive impact on student achievement—

and yet some kids in Illinois have no access to a library at all.

How does this relate to our purpose here tonight? I know you have no control over the

state of public libraries. But, one of the questions you asked was, ‘What is necessary in

order to develop a system that addresses disparities in funding and resources?’

What’s necessary is that ISBE addresses the success of all students by adopting

accountability systems and funding policies which acknowledge and utilize school

library programs and school librarians as drivers for success for those might be the only

libraries a child ever knows.

What’s necessary is that all students in Illinois have equal access to high quality school

libraries staffed by licensed school library media specialists because it has been proven

in detailed research studies that it makes a difference in the quality of their education,

and every child in Illinois deserves a good education.

What’s necessary is that ISBE formally includes school library standards in the state

ESSA Plan because school libraries make a difference in students’ lives.

Laura Bush once said, “Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and

find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the

doors to learning are always open.”

Please keep our school library doors open by including library programs and school

librarians as part of the ESSA Plan. Thank you.

Christy Semande, MLIS District Librarian194 Knox Road 800 East Canton USD #66London Mills, IL 61544 1001 North Maincsemande©cusd66.org Canton, IL 61520

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IllinoisLibrary Systems

UnservedPopulations

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563,330of 2,246,301 tota’

Based Ofl the 2010 Censusblock populatiOns and theTaxing Districts for the 2013tax year.

sources Esri, USGS,

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ISBE Stakeholder Listening Tour September 26, 2016 Lockport My name is Amy Walsh, and I am a licensed school library media specialist and teacher at Joliet Township High School. As a school librarian, I have the privilege of teaching in one of the largest and busiest classrooms in the school, the library. Every day I teach hundreds of students who come to the library to collaborate, explore personal interests, problem solve, use technology, and build research and information literacy skills. Last year, more than 49,500 students used our library for a wide variety of reasons. Like all educators, as a school librarian I am concerned with the development of the Whole Child. As a Licensed School Librarian part of my job is to help foster an appreciation of literature, and a love of reading in our students; however, my library colleagues and I do so much more than help students find great books. Following the Illinois School Library Media Association Standards, “Linking for Learning,” we teach much needed information literacy skills, so that students learn the correct way to navigate, evaluate, and correctly use the overwhelming amount of information available to them every day. In my high school library, we foster creativity and problem solving by providing STEM or STEAM activities and materials for students to experiment with daily. Our school library offers a wide variety of unique programs for students to participate independently or with their class. Just today, our library hosted a panel of professionals working in the human services field. More than 400 students came to the library to listen, learn, and take part in a discussion with these panelists. Licensed school librarians are trained to select high quality print and digital materials that support the Academic Standards of the state and district. We collaborate with teachers on specific lessons, and offer support and guidance with locating (print, audio, video, or electronic) resources that will enhance student engagement in a lesson across the curriculum. As a school librarian, I have the privilege of co-teaching with other educators at my school, and the honor of providing professional development opportunities for my colleagues as well. As leaders in School Improvement, school librarians can provide professional development on information literacy and resources, instructional technology, and more. As ISBE considers ways to implement an accountability system that acknowledges meaningful differences between schools and addresses the success of all students as well as sub-groups of students, I encourage you to adopt accountability policies and processes that utilize effective school library programs and licensed school librarians as drivers for success. An effective school library program provides instruction designed to maximize student growth and progress, student academic achievement, and student progress in English language proficiency. Numerous published reports such as the 2016 study, School Libraries Work, demonstrate how effective school library programs and licensed school librarians support student academic achievement both in higher reading levels and higher test scores. Thank you for your time and consideration. Amy Walsh, MLS School Librarian

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September 28, 2016 Illinois State Board of Education 100 North First Street Springfield, IL 62777-0001 To Whom It May Concern, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra believes that music is integral to every student’s education and that access to music nourishes a community and enriches the lives of its citizens. We are proud to offer a wide variety of programs and resources to schools across the Chicago region that are intended to supplement in-school music education and we are committed advocates for increased access to the transformative power of the arts for all students. As the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) develops its plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), we ask for your consideration of the following items.

1. Please include an indicator of student access to arts education in the state’s accountability

formula.

According to a 2012 U.S. Department of Education report, a 2009–10 survey revealed that access

to in-school arts education varied based on the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-

price lunch: schools with lower percentages of low-income students offered more arts education

than schools with higher percentages of low-income students. In response to this data, then

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said “a well-rounded education is simply too vital to our

students’ success to let the teaching of the arts and humanities erode.”

Also in 2012, the National Endowment for the Arts released a report on four longitudinal studies

that showed strong links between arts-rich schooling and increased academic achievement and

civic engagement. The report confirms that this issue of equity has significant, negative impacts

on student outcomes.

Including an indicator of students’ access to arts education is an important step to make these

links visible to districts, administrators, parents, and other stakeholders. CPS and Ingenuity have

developed an interesting model you might consider in the Creative Schools Certification program.

2. Please include the arts in Title IV part A and encourage districts to utilize the Student

Support and Academic Enrichment Grants to grow arts access.

As mentioned above, improving equity in the arts clearly supports positive outcomes for the

highest need students, schools and districts.

3. Please make it clear to districts and schools across Illinois that ESSA has updated the

definition of STEM to include the arts, turning STEM into STEAM.

This is an appropriate acknowledgment by the Department of Education of the power and

versatility of the arts to engage students in learning across disciplines. Because these are new

opportunities for arts educators to access Title funding, it is essential that the state’s plan makes

this clear.

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http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012014rev.pdf

https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf

http://www.ingenuity-inc.org/creative-school-initiative

Thankfully, ESSA acknowledges that music and other artistic disciplines are not “specials.” The arts

inspire creativity; enable positive self-expression; invigorate students in the learning process; unlock

deep understanding about self and one’s relationship with others; make inherent connections between

the past, present, and future; and create and enhance community. The arts are essential to students’

success both in and out of school.

Thank you for your leadership in ensuring that all students in our state have access to a well-rounded education that includes the arts. Sincerely, Jon Weber, Director of Learning Programs The Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra 220 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60604 [email protected] or 312.294.3075

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Streamlining Illinois ROEs Commission Report - isbe.net · richly diverse state with a long history of local control is fundamental to instituting an effective ... Learning Environments