Over the past 13 years, EdSystems has taken a bi-directional approach to driving systems-level changes: working at the state level to create ecosystem and policy change while simultaneously working at the local level to create organizational change. In this way, we have worked with policymakers and practitioners across Illinois to align local college and career readiness efforts to state policy while elevating local experiences and learnings to state tables to ensure equity for historically marginalized students.
We have seen progress in policy development and student outcomes in Illinois – participation rates in college and career pathways programming and early college credit are increasing, for example. However, there is still much room for continuous improvement, particularly with an eye toward more equitable student access and outcomes. To that end, we are setting forth our first-ever policy agenda to guide our work in the next three to five years.
The new policy agenda helps situate EdSystems alongside broader efforts to articulate visions for more focused areas within the preschool to college and career (i.e., P-20) pipeline, whether that is the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s A Thriving Illinois, the Illinois State Board of Education’s Strategic Plan, or the emerging Vision 2030 from a group of statewide education leaders. Our many years of experience have positioned us to help bridge where our secondary, postsecondary, and workforce systems overlap.
We developed this agenda by first reflecting on the challenges our team has identified through our work in the field and through engaging with quantitative and qualitative data. These challenges span local, regional, and statewide work and fall into four thematic areas, which form our pillars:
Policy Agenda Pillars
Leadership, Governance, & Vision
As fundamental components of policy development and implementation, how do these elements shape what is achievable in Illinois? How can they drive equitable outcomes for students?
Student Experience & Conditions
How do students experience and navigate the P-20 pipeline? How are students faring overall, and how do they feel about it?
Policy Evaluation & Continuous Improvement
Are our policies driving the types of experiences and outcomes we intended? Do we have adequate data resources to examine equity in our systems, and do we have the capacity to use those data to drive continuous improvement processes?
Future Readiness
How do we anticipate the realities and challenges that will shape our world and systems in the future? How can we design systems that prepare students to adapt and thrive in evolving conditions?
Once we were clear on the nature and scope of these challenges, we clarified our aims by asking: What needs to be true about our policies and systems in order to address these challenges and drive more equitable access and outcomes for students? These aims will guide our work in the coming three to five years, shaping which strategies and levers we pursue alongside our partners to drive continued systems-level change and evaluation in service of student success.
Systems produce what they are designed to produce, and thus we are animated by a few cross-cutting principles to advance equitable outcomes for learners across the state, particularly those from historically marginalized communities. These principles have long been implicit in our work. By naming them more explicitly, we intend to hold ourselves accountable and model the values we hope to see more broadly embodied in college and career readiness efforts in Illinois and beyond.
We are proud to launch this policy agenda to guide our work alongside our partners in the coming years. Join us as we take our aims and turn them into action!
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