Our next series of Systems Sessions episodes dives into the Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois (SEPI) initiative, a collaboration between nine communities to build streamlined teacher career pathways that begin in high school, extend into postsecondary, and continue towards initial job placement. In the first episode of this series, you will hear from our colleagues Jim O’Connor at Advance Illinois and Ernesto Matias, Chief Academic Officer for the Illinois State Board of Education, about the nature of the state’s teacher shortage and efforts to curtail it.
We will then take you across the state to hear from three communities implementing an education pathway through SEPI: Linda Thorson and Tim Kosiek from Township High School District 214; Phil Pakowski and Kate Morris from Plainfield SD 202; and Superintendent Jennifer Gill, Cheree Morrison, and Denise Petty from Springfield School District 186.