Our Stories

We wholeheartedly agree with the Illinois Supreme Court’s Statutory Court Fee Task Force and will provide testimony in support of eliminating juvenile court fees and fines.

There is a place in the Early Literacy Coalition for every Illinoisan who is committed to advocating for equitable reading outcomes.

Illinois has made progress when it comes to the positive impacts made by Dual Credit courses. Demand for students continues to rise, and many districts across the state are seeing the benefits of forging strong partnerships with community colleges and local employers. To help foster those partnerships and get a better understanding of what folks […]

In March 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic, prior to the lockdown and school closures, something happened at my child’s school that changed the trajectory of my life forever. My then four year old son, Jett, was the victim of a discriminatory policy that disrupted his schooling and caused social isolation, something I understood as […]

19 children and 2 adults were shot dead yesterday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The children were second, third, and fourth-graders. Both adults were teachers at the school. In the nine and a half years since 20 first-graders and 6 teachers were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, there have been 900 […]

Download this column as a PDF Me too. Let me walk you through my journey to better understand this complicated topic, featuring a heavy dose of honesty, the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and a debt of gratitude to the many kind souls I’ve met along the ride who pour their hearts into literacy work every day. This […]