You probably wouldn’t know it, but I’ve been in a movie.
My non-existent IMDb page will be no use for you, and I never appeared in a Hollywood blockbuster.
What I did star in was Stand’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recipe video that we released last fall. See if you can spot me in my starring role!
I’m not sending this around to highlight my acting career, but to make sure you have a good idea of what is in Illinois’ school accountability plan.
Last week, in the run-up to Election Day, the state released the new Illinois Report Card. This updated format features new ratings and an increased level of data transparency at the school level. It also reflects the ideas featured in our recipe video – something that’s really a win for Illinois parents.
One piece that the Report Card highlights is how schools are funded compared to their funding adequacy target. This compares to the target set in last year’s school funding formula revamp.
My colleague Jessica said it best when she spoke with Chalkbeat Chicago last week: “This changes the conversation from one that blames schools for shortcomings and instead lets families see that, well, we’re not doing great in our school but we only have 60 percent of funding we need.” Go read the entire article; it’s quite comprehensive but still easy to digest.
And when you’re all done with that, I would appreciate if you checked out our recipe video again. It’s the only movie I’ve ever (or will ever, honestly) starred in. See if you can spot me.