Our Stories

This is the story of two college sophomores pursuing education careers after getting a jumpstart in their field through the Education Career Pathway program, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) offering at their high school. The program enabled them to earn early college credits through attending classes at a local private university, while also giving […]

You may have read recently that Illinois is making changes to its “proficiency cut scores” in reading and math. We’ve heard questions and concerns from many parents about what this means for their students, and the State Board of Education kindly agreed to share their plan and rationale with us in a virtual meeting on […]

In FY 2024, the ISBE disbursed $44 million in state CTE appropriations to 53 Education for Employment (EFE) districts. FY24 is the “base year,” with subsequent years phasing in the new formula. This analysis does not include federal Perkins dollars, which are disbursed through a federal formula based on population and poverty. Our analysis shows […]

We have two amazing interns joining our team this summer to work on Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Early Literacy — get to know them! School: University of Michigan Major: Bachelor of Arts – BA, Education, with a focus on Learning, Equity, and Problem Solving (LEAPS) Theo’s Why: For my first year at the […]

The Illinois legislative session wrapped up in early hours of Sunday morning after some long, late nights. It was in these final hours that a budget package came together during an especially difficult year of revenue challenges. And we’ve seen a lot of education wins and movement toward progress this session. Here’s a recap of […]

BILL TO END SCHOOL-BASED TICKETING PASSES BOTH HOUSES Senate Bill 1519, which Prohibits Municipal Tickets as a Disciplinary Consequence in Public Schools, Will Now Head to the Governor’s Desk (Springfield) – Senate Bill 1519 (Villa/Ford) passed the House, marking the culmination of years of advocacy and negotiations to end municipal ticketing in Illinois schools. The […]