Our Work

Education Systems Center (EdSystems) at Northern Illinois University works to deepen the impact of evidence-based policy and implementation practices in communities to ensure that students from historically marginalized communities have a clear, unambiguous path to college and high-quality career opportunities.

Areas of Practice

Advancing college and career readiness and success

  • Secondary-to-postsecondary programs of study
  • Career-connected and work-based learning
  • Transitional instruction
  • Dual credit and enrollment
  • Flexible learning
  • Longitudinal data
  • Collective impact networks

Services

Connector, strategist, implementer, and intermediary

  • Models and implementation resources
  • Program design, pilot, and scaling support
  • Data systems, analyses, and tools
  • Capacity building and professional learning
  • Policy development and legislative advising
  • State agency and interagency staffing support
  • Intermediary and network leadership

Guiding Principles

Systems-Centric
We align across secondary and postsecondary education and workforce systems for seamless transitions.
Equitable
We prioritize the success of historically marginalized students and communities.
Evidence-Based
Our work is grounded in data and research, including stakeholder engagements, to inform continuous evaluation and improvement.
Bi-Directional
We work simultaneously with state and local partners, aligning local efforts to state policy while elevating local experiences to state tables.

Pillars of Work

EdSystems’ pillars of work ensure that policies are grounded in practice, practices are informed by evidence, and impact is measured and sustained across Illinois and beyond.

Policy

Shaping systems for equitable college and career access

We support the development and implementation of policies that remove barriers for learners and increase college and career access and success.

Practices

Improving learner experiences and outcomes

We partner with communities to design, pilot, and scale evidence-based, innovative practices that center student needs and drive meaningful short- and long-term outcomes.

Impact

Driving systemic change through data and collective action

We generate and analyze critical data while leading networks and building field capacity to ensure that research translates into coordinated action and lasting change.

Explore our current projects:

Impact

Academic Progress Indicator for Chicago Public Schools

EdSystems is supporting the district’s development of a new Academic Performance Indicator so that schools can better use standardized test data to understand the success of their interventions, including professional development, changes in curriculum, and innovative approaches to student support.
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Practices

Accelerated Model Pathways for Information Technology (AMP-IT)

The AMP-IT initiative is engaging school districts and their community college and employer partners to design and launch an accelerated IT pathway.
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Policy

Career Pathways Dictionary

To help transform outcomes for youth and adults across Illinois, the Illinois Career Pathways Dictionary defines key terms for career pathway programs and system elements, while also offering resources and implementation guidance to support statewide alignment.
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Practices

Chicago Public Schools: Preparing Students for College and Career Success

With the support of Crown Family Philanthropies, CPS brought in EdSystems to provide strategic counsel and support of the OCCS pathways vision framework and Student Success Roadmap.
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Practices

Community College Competency-Based Education Pilot Project

Together with the Illinois Community College Board, we are supporting a cohort of community colleges to develop competency-based education programs in both welding and industrial maintenance.
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Practices

Community College Pathway Equity and Currency

To help encourage learners to complete the rigorous requirements and earn a College and Career Pathways Endorsement and matriculate into postsecondary, EdSystems is supporting the development of equity-centered strategies and incentives for students.
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Policy

Great Lakes College and Career Readiness State Advocacy Network

To support actionable policy development for high-impact college and career readiness strategies, EdSystems is participating in a cross-state community of practice.
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Practices

Greater Peoria Essential Abilities and Knowledge (GPEAK)

To help stabilize and grow the local economy, community partners in Peoria are working with EdSystems to design and implement GPEAK, which translates the state’s ten competencies into a practical system to prepare individuals for meaningful and fulfilling careers.
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Impact

Illinois Education and Career Success Network

Illinois Education and Career Success Network supports communities to increase meaningful and equitable postsecondary attainment and civic engagement.
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Impact

Illinois Education and Career Success Network: Data Dashboard

To support Success Network Leadership Communities, the dashboard serves as a single stop for data to inform community decisions in advancement of equitable postsecondary attainment.
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Policy

Illinois Education and Career Success Network: Policy Committee

EdSystems staffs the Success Network’s Policy Committee to foster collaboration and peer learning, elevate local practice to inform state policy, and support local practitioners.
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Impact, Practices

Illinois Model Programs of Study Guides

Sponsored by the Illinois Community College Board, EdSystems leads the development of the State of Illinois Model Programs of Study Guides. Organized by industry sector, the guides provide secondary and postsecondary partners a framework to develop high-quality pathways that incorporate meaningful dual credit, CTE, and general education coursework as well as work-based learning opportunities in alignment with Illinois’ College and Career Pathway Endorsement.
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Impact

Illinois Work-Based Learning Innovation Network (I-WIN)

I-WIN helps educators, work-based learning coordinators, and employers leverage innovative models for scaling high-quality work-based learning opportunities in school districts and community colleges across the state.
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Practices

Increasing Dual Enrollment Access and Success (IDEAS)

In partnership with JFF and College of Lake County, EdSystems is supporting the design and implementation of a new dual enrollment hub to help improve educational outcomes for high-need high school students.
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Practices

Lake County: Support for Career Pathways

In 2023, EdSystems began supporting Waukegan CUSD 60 and its regional partners with targeted support for alignment to the Illinois College and Career Pathway Endorsement and systems for career exploration.
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Policy

Launch: Equitable and Accelerated Pathways for All

Through the national Launch initiative, EdSystems is leading the Illinois team in designing a pilot program that will support seamless transitions for learners from secondary to postsecondary.
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Practices

Northern Illinois: Support for Career Pathways

Since 2015, EdSystems has provided strategic counsel and technical assistance to Rockford Public Schools, Belvidere District 100, and Rock Valley College as they build and expand their college and career pathway systems.
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Impact

Rockford Regional Education Research Collaborative

To understand the long-term outcomes of pathways students in the Rockford region, the Rockford Regional Education Research Collaborative has designed a data infrastructure that leverages both state- and local-level data.
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Impact, Practices

Scaling Transformative Advanced Manufacturing Pathways (STAMP)

STAMP serves secondary districts in implementing manufacturing pathways that align to the College and Career Pathway Endorsement, with a particular focus on historically marginalized students.
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Practices

Southwestern Illinois College Regional Pathways Initiative

EdSystems is supporting SWIC and its school district and employer partners in developing high-quality, comprehensive college and career pathways leading to regionally in-demand occupations.
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Policy

Transitional Instruction

EdSystems leads the interagency efforts to define statewide transitional instruction competencies, policies, and implementation plans.
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