{"id":697,"date":"2018-11-02T21:46:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T21:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/?p=697"},"modified":"2022-07-08T23:40:35","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T23:40:35","slug":"we-can-help-stopilbraindrain-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stand.org\/illinois\/our-stories\/we-can-help-stopilbraindrain-heres-how\/","title":{"rendered":"We Can Help #StopILBrainDrain. Here\u2019s How."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a mentor and education advocate, I can say that a year ago, much of the content that\u2019s in\u00a0Stand\u2019s \u201cStop Illinois Brain Drain\u201d report<\/a>\u00a0was over my head. I didn\u2019t really understand much of it, but I was interested in learning more and finding ways to fix the educational problems in our state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2017-2018 Policy Fellowship helped me do just that. For the better part of a year, parents, educators, and community leaders like me \u2013 from all across the state \u2013 joined calls to discuss the issues impacting high school success in our state. We learned the issues. We talked to the experts. We picked their brains and asked them the tough questions. We discussed amongst ourselves recommendations to help put a plug in Illinois\u2019 brain drain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One issue that piqued my interest was individualized coursework. It might not sound like much, but we learned that courses tailored to students\u2019 individual needs and career pathways are one of the best ways to bring Illinois high school education into the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, competency-based learning allows students to advance towards graduation by demonstrating they have mastered the knowledge or skills to meet benchmarks instead of following the traditional approach of passing specific classes. Dual credit and Advanced Placement share a common goal of giving students a jumpstart on their post-high school education by earning college credits while still in high school. Dual credit courses establish partnerships between a school and an individual college or university. Although courses and costs vary, they allow students to earn credit in a particular career pathway. AP courses are more difficult than regular high school classes, and students become eligible for college credit by taking a standardized exam at the end of the school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to improve high school education for all Illinois students in this area of individualized coursework, Stand fellows suggested in the Stop Illinois Brain Drain report to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n