Community Networks

Events

Performance-Based Assessment Showcase

At the Performance-Based Assessment Design Cohort Showcase on May 18, 2023, we were able to hear the teachers talk about their projects and the process of creating them, and see up close how performance-based assessments can be used across disciplines and with students from a range of backgrounds with a variety of characteristics.

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Project

Community College Pathway Equity and Currency

To help encourage learners to complete the rigorous requirements and earn the College and Career Pathway Endorsement (CCPE) opportunity, as well as matriculate into postsecondary pathways, EdSystems is supporting the development of equity-centered strategies alongside incentives or currency that will help students and their families.

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I-WIN Events

Supporting Young Women in Manufacturing

On Tuesday, May 23, 10–11 a.m., learn about best practices, community models, and resources for supporting young women to pursue experiences in manufacturing. This session will also share insights and feedback gathered from female high school and college students on what they want to see in these efforts.

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I-WIN Events

Regional Team-Based Challenges

On May 9, leaders from Ridgewood High School, Triton College, Waubonsee Community College, and Elgin Community College shared how they are hosting regional team-based challenges in education, manufacturing, and health sciences.

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I-WIN Events

CDE Model: School-Based Enterprises

On April 27, 2023, Collinsville Area Vocational Center shared how it facilitates Career Development Experiences through school-based enterprise models in building trades, auto mechanics, food service, education, and health sciences.

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News

2022 In Review

2022 marked the tenth anniversary of Education Systems Center at NIU. Our portfolio–and the team supporting the work–has expanded significantly in the past decade, and more growth is on the horizon.

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Resource

Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois: Student Voices Evaluation

This study, conducted by the P-20 Research and Data Collaborative at Northern Illinois University for Education Systems Center, focuses on understanding the perspectives of high school students who were currently enrolled in education pathways as part of the Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois initiative.

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Project

Community College CBE 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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News

EdSystems Joins Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Accelerate ED, Launches Accelerated Model Pathways for Information Technology

EdSystems is proud to announce our participation in Accelerate ED: Seamless Pathways to Degrees and Careers, an initiative that seeks to blur the lines between high school and higher education and career learning experiences, allowing students to earn a career-aligned credential or degree by the end of one additional year after high school.

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Project

Scaling Transformative Advanced Manufacturing Pathways (STAMP)

Through a community of practice and technical assistance to regional teams, STAMP serves secondary students enrolled in manufacturing pathways that articulate to community college programs and employment opportunities, with a particular focus on under-represented students with one or more barriers to education, training, and employment.

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Project

Chicago Early Childhood Integrated Data System

Launched in 2022, the Chicago Early Childhood Integrated Data System (CECIDS) is integrating data across systems and programs to enable creation of more timely and actionable data analyses and products that serve families, program administrators, funders, advocates and policymakers.

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News

2021 in Review

As we look back on 2021, we remain hopeful that change is possible and is, indeed, happening here in Illinois.

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Resource

Strengthening Supports for Dual Credit Instruction in Chicago: Takeaways and Promising Practices

The continued expansion of dual credit is a core strategy of the Chicago Roadmap, a comprehensive partnership between City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools. This analysis identifies strategies to shift the dual credit support system from its foundations in a modest number of course offerings into a model that can meet the scale of the joint Roadmap objectives.

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News

An Initial Analysis of Scaling Education Pathways in Illinois

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.

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Resource

Scaling Education Pathways Initiative (SEPI) Analysis

EdSystems developed this analysis of the initial implementation of SEPI 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.

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Project

Chicago Equity-Centered Innovation Forum

The Chicago Equity-Centered Innovation Forum promotes models of personalized instruction, competency-based approaches, performance assessments, project-based learning, and other emerging innovations that provide promising education frameworks.

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Resource

Middle-Skills Pathways in Chicago

Explore EdSystems’ deep landscape analysis of existing middle-skills pathways in Chicago that lead to industry credentials and degrees associated with priority occupations. To date, we have completed five analyses in the sectors of Education/Childcare, Health Sciences, Information Technology, Manufacturing, and Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics.

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News

Expanding the Law and Public Safety Pathway in Rockford

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.

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News

Announcing the Chicago Equity-Centered Innovation Forum

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.

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Bridge in Peoria, Illinois
Project

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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60 by 25 Network Impact Report Cover
Resource

60 by 25 Network Impact Report

This report captures the impact of the Illinois 60 by 25 Network from 2013–2020. Communities in the Network are driving State policy implementation, deepening and validating collaboration by using the organizing principles of collective impact, increasing cross-sector collaboration, and enhancing leadership and governance structures within their communities.

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CTE students learning electrical wiring
News

Guidance and Resources for Providing High-Quality Work-Based Learning

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.

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smiling college students
Project

College and Career Pathway Endorsements

Education Systems Center worked with public and private stakeholders to define key competencies for the College and Career Pathway Endorsements and is now working with community networks to support implementation of endorsement systems in line with the PWR Act.

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A screenshot of the Illinois Success Network: Cradle to Career Community Dashboard homepage
Resource

Illinois Success Network Cradle to Career Dashboard

The Illinois Education and Career Success Network’s Cradle to Career Community Dashboard helps Leadership Communities analyze regional information on education and workforce system characteristics; track progress on postsecondary education attainment and education-to-career objectives,; and benchmark community efforts against state averages.

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