Insights
Supporting Equitable Change in the Education-to-Career Ecosystem
JFF’s podcast welcomed Jon Furr as a special guest to discuss addressing equity barriers in college and career pathways.
May 4, 2022
JFF’s podcast welcomed Jon Furr as a special guest to discuss addressing equity barriers in college and career pathways.
The City of Chicago announced the launch of the Chicago Early Childhood Integrated Data System (CECIDS), a project co-led by EdSystems.
Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois (SEPI) introduces a third cohort of communities, a new mentor model, and expanded research into student perspectives and experiences in education pathways.
On February 28–March 3, 2022, the Illinois Education and Career Success Network delivered high-quality content to a record-setting attendance of 767 educators, administrators, policymakers, students, and leaders.
Illinois’ leading postsecondary attainment network announces a new name, the Illinois Education and Career Success Network.
The Illinois Postsecondary Profiles Project is a user-centered resource for learning about postsecondary institutions through comprehensive data collected directly from Illinois Higher Education agencies and institutions.
An exciting initiative underway in Chicago Public Schools’ Competency-Based Education schools is engaging students through multi-media platforms to tell their stories and shift the narrative on pandemic experiences.
Looking at ISBE’s 2020-21 Illinois Report Card, the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted learning for students of all ages across Illinois, the impacts of which are reflected in several critical measures. However, increasing dual credit enrollment and declining postsecondary remediation enrollment rates are cause for celebration.
In collaboration with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Education Systems Center has released a new Career Development Experience Toolkit Companion Piece to address the needs of stakeholders outside of a traditional high school setting.
New rules ensure alignment of CTE to existing policy frameworks such as the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act and that implementation embodies the spirit and intent of the articulated State Plan components. This clarified focus on college and career, with an emphasis on quality and equity, will ensure that Illinois’ students are empowered to succeed.
We are proud to announce that we are a partner in Building Equitable Pathways, a national coalition of leading intermediaries to unlock more equitable postsecondary and career outcomes for Black and Latinx youth and young people who are experiencing poverty.
Through the launch of the Illinois 60 by 25 Network Student Advisory Council, the EdSystems team is learning first-hand the importance of lifting up student voices as we design and refine resources and policies that support student success.
EdSystems’ Pathways School Readiness Framework and accompanying Tracker are designed to support school districts, intermediary organizations, and school leaders to develop action plans for implementing college and career pathways in a deliberate and sustainable manner.
An analysis of the initial implementation of the Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois initiative, with input from the first cohort of collaboratives. It was undertaken to understand how the components of the education pathway were being executed in practice and to collect promising practices and lessons learned.
An archive of past convenings of the Illinois Work-Based Learning Innovation Network.
We applaud the US Department of Education for acknowledging the pandemic’s impacts on schools and build from innovative practices. We join USEd in seeking to re-envision how we educate young people and dismantle barriers that stand in the way of success for students of color for far too long.
Competency-based education means different things at different schools, but at Benito Juarez Community Academy, a Chicago neighborhood public high school, it means a focus on equity—and that means prioritizing social-emotional skills, or developmental/adaptive competencies, as well as academics.
EdSystems applauds the adoption of the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s new 10-year strategic plan, A Thriving Illinois: Higher Education Paths to Equity, Sustainability, and Growth.
Our conversations with five established Transitional Math Local Advisory Panels across Illinois have resulted in a document that is intended to provide guidance at all phases of establishing and running a Local Advisory Panel.
The Career Development Experience Toolkit Companion Piece is designed for stakeholders outside of a traditional high school setting including workforce development organizations, community-based organizations, and alternative high schools.
High school intern Edith Lizardo compares in-person and virtual networking events and shares the importance of teaching students to network.
The support Rockford Public Schools receives from Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University, thanks to the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, is helping to drive aligned college and career pathways forward, including the Law and Public Safety pathway.
In collaboration with leaders of Chicago Public Schools, school leaders of competency-based education (CBE) pilot schools, and other interested stakeholders, EdSystems will support the implementation of innovative instructional models as strategies for dismantling systemic inequities in traditional educational approaches.
To help combat the teacher shortage, Sauk Valley Community College is offering every student entering the college with a College and Career Pathway Endorsement (CCPE) a $100 credit. Sauk Valley is the first community college in the State to offer an award based on the CCPE.
The Education Omnibus Bill results in sweeping changes to Illinois’ P-20 education and workforce systems, spanning from home visiting programs serving Illinois’ youngest children to expectations for community colleges and universities.
To increase the number of high school graduates placed into college-level reading and communications courses without the need for remediation, the Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Community College Board, and Illinois Board of Higher Education have adopted the Statewide Transitional English Course Parameters, Competencies, and Policies.
Northern Illinois University’s College of Education and Education Systems Center at NIU are proud to announce new incentives for Illinois students graduating with the College and Career Pathway Endorsement (CCPE) in Education.
In response to the U.S. Department of Education’s RFI on Expanding Work-Based Learning Opportunities for Youth, the EdSystems team offered public comments based on the PWR Act and community interests, examples, and concerns gathered from our I-WIN members.
EdSystems is excited to announce an additional six collaboratives to be funded through SEPI, representing 16 school districts, 25 high schools, and 12 colleges/universities throughout Illinois.
New reports highlight opportunities to enhance dual credit policy for equity and quality.
The 2020 GLCCPP By the Numbers report examines community capacity as well as student experiences and outcomes. This report also reflects on process learnings as we conclude the GLCCPP.
For the first time, Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois and EdSystems are partnering to offer a unique advantage for students earning a College and Career Pathway Endorsement in education.
The Illinois State Board of Education recently released the 2019–20 Illinois Report Card, and student readiness for postsecondary appears to be rising overall across the State—dual credit enrollment is rising, remediation rates are falling, and graduation rates are growing.
As schools across Illinois continue to navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EdSystems team is pleased to share a new resource for guiding the development of information gathering systems in remote and blended learning environments.
The first four Model Programs of Study Guides focus on the following industry sectors: Education, Health Sciences and Technology, Information Technology, and Manufacturing and Engineering.
As students across the state return to school, many high school students are now working towards earning a College and Career Pathway Endorsement. Ridgewood High School, located in the Chicago suburbs and a leader in the pathways approach, was the first in Illinois to award the College and Career Pathway Endorsements to Class of 2020 graduates who successfully completed the Education and Manufacturing and Engineering pathways.
The Greater Peoria Essential Abilities and Knowledge (GPEAK) is a regional essential skills program to provide work-based learning opportunities.
The new Illinois Work-Based Learning Innovation Network (I-WIN) will support work-based learning educators in school districts and community colleges across Illinois.
In the first year of Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois, Education Systems Center launched 9 collaboratives representing 22 school districts.
As communities move to remote learning, we can also continue developing valuable employability skills through virtual work-based learning.
How quarantine proved personalized, project-based learning and competency concepts can provide frameworks for doing school better.
The Postsecondary Workforce Readiness Act’s Transitional English Course Parameters and Competencies are now available for public review.
Learn more about the need to elevate competency-based education districts with the shift to remote learning.
Led by an NIU team funded by a federal grant, this early childhood project links data across state agencies to establish unduplicated counts of children.
Through collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Education Systems Center has released a Career Development Experience Toolkit aligned to the frameworks established in the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR) Act and embedded within Illinois’ broader strategies around scaling high-quality career pathways and work-based learning.
With EdSystems’ focus on key metrics of college and career readiness, the release of new Illinois Report Card data provides us with an opportunity to both celebrate progress and identify areas needing attention.
With the help of Education Systems Center, Illinois recently achieved a major milestone in its efforts to expand dual credit access and offerings with the adoption of the Model Partnership Agreement by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).
The Illinois P20 Council, The Joyce Foundation, and Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University have partnered to launch Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois (SEPI) to help address the teacher shortage in Illinois.
How District 100 aligned its CTE programs with career-focused course sequences in partnership with Rock Valley College, as part of the College and Career Pathway Endorsement framework.
The Illinois Career Pathways Dictionary includes terms that pertain to—or deeply impact—multiple programs across state agencies and apply to programming with funding from multiple federal agencies.
The Illinois Longitudinal Data System (ILDS) Governing Board has released its 2018 Annual Report & Plan.
To support the implementation of College and Career Pathway Endorsements at the local level, EdSystems has awarded funding to sixteen 60 by 25 Network Leadership Communities.
A new report details College and Career Pathway Endorsement competencies in health sciences, IT, manufacturing engineering, and finance and business services.
One of the PWR Act’s four components is the College and Career Pathway Endorsement, an innovative way for school districts to validate the hard work of students preparing for life after high school.
The new College and Career Placement Endorsements address the disconnect between what’s taught in the classroom and what employers need.
On behalf of the Illinois 60 by 25 Network, EdSystems has awarded ten Leadership Communities grants of up to $14,000 each over two years to support implementation of the PWR Act.
The Illinois Longitudinal Data System (ILDS) Governing Board has released its 2017 Annual Report & Plan.
On May 11, 2017, the Illinois Science and Technology Institute (ISTI) and Education Systems Center at NIU hosted an employer summit to bring employers together to talk about building effective learning partnerships between employers and schools through problem-based learning, titled Employer Summit: Building Effective Learning Partnerships.
To support the implementation of the PWR Act at the local level, Education Systems Center, on behalf of the Illinois 60 by 25 Network, awarded six Leadership Communities grants of $7,500 each.
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