Illinois School Board Journal, September/October 2020

September/October 2020 Vol. 88 No. 5

Perspectives on Equity

School Boards and Equity, Revisited

Return-to-School and Equity Implications

Teacher Diversity Shortage

Front Page

W

We’re all in the same boat, but we’re not all in the same

storm.

Or, as some prefer, we’re all in the same storm, but not in the same boat.

Depending on your perspective, it’s been but a minute or a long six months since I first shared that saying.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the hopes and plans of the Illinois education community, and work continues to find a new normal, I hope everyone in the Illinois public education community can give — and receive — the grace they need to lead, guide, and provide through the storm.

Both the adage and the need for grace are just as apt when talking about educational equity, which is the theme of this issue of the Illinois School Board Journal.

There are as many takes on equity as there are public school children in Illinois — it’s a topic that challenges everyone differently, some more than others. It ought to be challenging every one of us. Just as we experience a multitude of storms, there is no one-size-fits-all equity journey. This Journal brings several different voices and shares several perspectives on educational equity, presented here in hopes that one sparks an idea that helps you.

Whether you are already on an equity journey with your school district, just beginning, working with someone who needs convincing, or need convincing yourself, the best place to start is “Ten ways school boards can champion racial equity,” which we revisit starting on page 10. This piece was first authored in 2018 by Pat Savage-Williams, a member of the Evanston THSD 202 Board of Education and special education coordinator at New Trier THSD 203. In this most hectic of times for educators, Savage-Williams was kind enough to update the article and expand the accompanying resources for 2020.

Other contributors share their commentaries on educational equity in this issue of the Journal. In “What’s on the Table? Illinois Has a Teacher Diversity Shortage, Too,” teachers share the moments of connection with students that demonstrate the need for students to see themselves in their teachers, and that “the teacher

2  Illinois School Board Journal

diversity shortage is as severe and important as the overall teacher shortage.” Read more on page 16.

Educator and trainer Elizabeth Kleinrock, in “Anti-Racist Work in Schools: Are You in it for the Long Haul?” notes “there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to this work … urgency cannot be prioritized over relationships or centering the voices and opinions of marginalized community members.” Find this piece, first featured in “Teaching Tolerance,” starting on page 25.

Mark Hansen, in a commentary “Swing Away: Why Equity Matters for All Students, Schools, and Communities,” on page 27, says “The role of school leaders is to be intentional and to compel the same in others so that unfairness is not normalized — so that principles are not bent to serve the interests of one individual or group over another.”

The Illinois Association of School Boards is also partaking in the equity journey.

The Association’s ongoing but newly-named Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee is working on internal and external efforts to make educational equity a precept, a matter of course in IASB’s work. Early this year the Association announced an in-district workshop, Equity: An Educational Imperative, to help districts begin the journey. The workshop helps school board members understand their central role in creating a vision for Educational Equity in the district. A school board with a commitment to equity uses an equity lens to make policy decisions that affect the educational environment.

Board members are responsible for moving equity from theory to practice, and must dismantle policies and practices that support inequities Educational Equity was expected to be a topic of interest and multiple offerings at the 2020 Joint Annual Conference. As readers may know by now, Conference has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the conversations and equity journeys continue, with this issue of the Journal and beyond.  Theresa Kelly Gegen is Editor of the Illinois School Board Journal.

Table of Contents COVER STORIES Ways School Boards Can Champion Racial 10 Ten Equity, Renewed for 2020

By Pat Savage-Williams

The Journal revisits, with educator and school board member Pat Savage-Williams, actionable possibilities and resources to address racial inequities in school districts.

FEATURE STORIES

Cover art: Getty Images/NosUA and andreusK

on the Table? Illinois Has a Teacher 16 What’s Diversity Shortage, Too

REGULAR FEATURES

By Rachel Brick, Anita Thawani Bucio, Charity Freeman, Victor Idowu, Keisha Rembert, and Arnetta Thompson

21 Supporting English Learners during COVID-19

By Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro and Karen Garibay-Mulattieri

4 Leadership Letter

The Journey Towards Equity

5 From the Field

IASB Inaugural Book Study

COMMENTARY

25

2 Front Page

Anti-Racist Work in Schools: Are You in it for the Long Haul?

9 Legal Matters

From a Distance

35 ICYMI

Improving Culture for Staff and Students

By Elizabeth Kleinrock

Away: Why Equity Matters for All 27 Swing Students, Schools, and Communities

By Mark D. Hansen

30

What if We Don’t Return to School as Usual?

By Hugh Vasquez

July/August 2019 Vol. 87 No. 3

Kara Kienzler, Associate Executive Director Theresa Kelly Gegen, Editor Heath Hendren, Contributing Editor Britni Beck, Advertising Manager Katie Grant, Design and Production Isaac Warren, Graphics

36 Insights 37 Practical PR

How Will Your District Be Caught on Tape?

42 Milestones 43 News from the Association

ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL (ISSN- 0 019-221X ) is published ever y other month by the Illinois Association of Sc hool B oa rd s, 2921 Ba ker Dr ive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-5929 (217) 5289688. The IASB regional office is located at One Imperial Place, 1 East 22nd Street, Lombard, Illinois 60148-6120 (630) 629-3776.

The JOURNAL is supported by the dues of school boards holding active membership in the Illinois Association of School Boards. Copies are mailed to all school board members and the superintendent in each IASB member school district.

Non-member subscription rate: Domestic $18 per year. Foreign (including Canada and Mexico) $21 per year.

PUBLICATION POLICY IASB believes that the domestic process functions best through frank and open discussion. Material published in the JOURNAL, therefore, often presents divergent and controversial points of view which do not necessarily represent the views or policies of IASB. Copyright © 2020 by the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB), the JOURNAL is published six times a year and is distributed to its members and subscribers. Copyright in this publication, including all articles and editorial information contained in it is exclusively owned by IASB, and IASB reserves all rights to such information. IASB is a tax-exempt corporation organized in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

September/October 2020  3

Leadership Letter

The Journey Towards Equity

By Thomas E. Bertrand

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The Illinois Association of School Boards recognizes that everyone benefits when all students have access to the educational resources and rigor they need, in all times and circumstances. In light of its mission and vision, IASB undertakes equity work with urgency, to provide its members with resources to develop their competence and confidence in support of educational equity.

School districts undertaking an equity journey do so, within their own mission, vision, and goals, to ensure the best possible education can be realized by and for all students, to carry out systemic change, address the opportunity gap in educational outcomes, and to

School board members share a collective responsibility for determining the strategic priorities of the district that should also reflect a commitment to lead on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion and for monitoring whether priorities are met. create inclusive learning environments. School board members are responsible for the “equitable and quality education of every student in the school district” and must act accordingly in their collective work as a board of education to foster excellence for every student.

In recent months member school boards have contacted IASB to request the Association provide the board with an Equity Policy.

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While IASB staff can provide a board with sample policies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, we believe that providing a policy template can actually be an impediment to boards of education conducting thoughtful, deep conversations around issues of race, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

IASB recognizes that everyone benefits when all students have access to the educational resources and rigor they need, in all times and circumstances.

The pursuit of equity, opportunity, and excellence for every child starts with a deep conversation that IASB staff can assist with. The IASB workshop, Equity: An Education Imperative, is designed to support boards in this work and to pave the way for the development of a shared definition of “equity.”

Boards should also engage community stakeholders to inform the development of a local equity policy.

School board members share a collective responsibility for determining the strategic priorities of the district that should also reflect a commitment to lead on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion and for monitoring whether priorities are met.

IASB stands ready to assist school boards along the journey towards equity. Please reach out to your Field Services Director at any time and to utilize resources on the equity section of the IASB website.  Thomas E. Bertrand, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Illinois Association of School Boards. Resources associated with this column can be accessed via bit.ly/SO20JRes.

From the Field

IASB Inaugural Book Study

The Governance Core: School Boards, Superintendents, and Schools Working Together by Davis Campbell and Michael Fullan

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By Lori Grant

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to the famous Italian artist, Michelangelo, who at age 87 said, “I’m still learning.”

Learning never ends, and over three weekly sessions this past June, several board members from across the state, ranging from long-time veterans to brand-new trustees, expanded their knowledge by participating in the IASB book study of The Governance Core. Through guided discussions, members shared key takeaways and strategies to apply to their board work.

Written by Davis Campbell, retired executive director of the California School Boards Association, and Michael Fullan, noted for his expertise in educational research and reform, The Governance Core: School Boards, Superintendents, and Schools Working Together gives readers practical, real-world examples of what good governance looks like.

The book focuses on two major ideas: mindsets for efficacy and governing for efficacy. The authors state that “...having a governance mindset means being aware and understanding the impact of every variable that affects the health of your organization.”

The first half of the book explains those variables for both the trustee mindset and superintendent mindset, with a detailed yet practical look at relationships, systems, strategic focus, deep learning, and public manner. The authors share success stories from school districts across the country.

One chapter our participants particularly appreciated focused on welcoming new trustees. The authors give an outline for the first 100 days of new member onboarding for both the sitting board and the new trustee. From that chapter, “There is a saying in governance circles that one new trustee creates an entirely new board. How newly elected or appointed trustees are brought on to the governance team will

in many ways determine how that board will function from that point on.”

It speaks to the core of the realities of governance, and the vital importance of the board’s ability to work as one body.

The second half of the book is devoted to the job of governance.

It focuses on governing with coherence, the culture of the board, and impactful governance tools. Boards are a blend of personalities and beliefs, and the authors give strategies for boards and superintendents to work jointly, balancing individual core values and the board’s unity of purpose through focusing attention, securing accountability, cultivating collaborative cultures, and deepening learning.

From chapters devoted to strategic action and governance tools, the authors state, “All the strategic planning, community engagement, and professional dialogue mean little if the board does not take action by adopting well-developed, easily understood, measurable strategic goals and success indicators.”

The rich discussion members had around this statement brought forward the important reminder that setting strategic goals is the work of the board.

When done in collaboration with the staff and the community, these goals can be a board’s unifying rallying cry.

Finally, the authors outline, in detail, tools to build a board’s capacity to govern, including discussion meetings (work sessions), governance September/October 2020  5

handbooks, board self-evaluations, and continuing education.

Many of our boards utilize many of these tools; it is easy to feel accomplished when a new tool is implemented, but one could argue that this moment signifies when the real work begins.

The Governance Core is a valuable read for school board members, superintendents, and anyone seeking to understand how effective governance works. From some of our members summarizing their takeaways at the conclusion of our book study: “So many great lessons about galvanizing around a common cause, but I think the biggest lesson I will take is about being intentional about good governance. You’ve got to talk this through with the board and superintendent and not leave it to chance. Every new board member should get a copy of this book.”

M.K. Prusnick, Schaumburg CCSD 54

“We need to create a coherent, unified board around a shared moral imperative and unity of purpose. We strive to be a unified board not a uniform board.”

Joanne Osmond, Lake Villa CCSD 41

For the next IASB book study, we’ve selected The Trust Edge by David Horsager for a winter discussion. We hope you will join us.  Lori Grant is a Director of Field Services with the Illinois Association of School Boards.

6  Illinois School Board Journal

Illinois Association of School Boards Administration and Staff OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Thomas E. Bertrand, Executive Director Benjamin S. Schwarm, Deputy Executive Director

MEMBER SERVICES Dean Langdon, Associate Executive Director

Meetings Management Carla S. Bolt, Director

Field Services Reatha Owen, Senior Director Patrick Allen, Director Lori Grant, Director Nakia Hall, Director Perry Hill IV, Director Sandra Kwasa, Director Laura Martinez, Director Dee Molinare, Director

Executive Searches Thomas Leahy, Director Timothy Buss, Consultant Jim Helton, Consultant Dave Love, Consultant Alan Molby, Consultant Patricia Sullivan-Viniard, Consultant OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL Kimberly Small, General Counsel Legal Services Maryam Brotine, Assistant General Counsel Debra Jacobson, Assistant General Counsel Policy Services Ken Carter, Director Angie Powell, Director Nicholas Baumann, Consultant Boyd Fergurson, Consultant ADVOCACY/ GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS Benjamin S. Schwarm, Deputy Executive Director Susan Hilton, Director Zach Messersmith, Director Deanna L. Sullivan, Director Ronald Madlock, Assistant Director ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES Jennifer Feld, Associate Executive Director/ Chief Financial Officer

Board Development Nesa Brauer, Trainer

COMMUNICATIONS/ PRODUCTION SERVICES Kara Kienzler, Associate Executive Director Theresa Kelly Gegen, Director/Editorial Services Katie Grant, Director/Production Services Heath Hendren, Director/Editorial Services Jennifer Nelson, Director/Information Services Isaac Warren, Assistant Director/Digital Communications CONTACT IASB Springfield Office 2921 Baker Drive Springfield, Illinois 62703-5929 (217) 528-9688 IASB Lombard Office One Imperial Place 1 East 22nd Street, Suite 20 Lombard, Illinois 60148-6120 (630) 629-3776

Staff Email: First initial and last name preceding @iasb.com

September/October 2020  7

Legal Matters

From a Distance

Legislature Addresses OMA in a Public Health Emergency

By Debra Jacobson

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Governor JB Pritzker recently signed legislation amending the Open Meetings Act (OMA) to permit a public body to meet without the presence of a physical quorum when the Governor or Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has issued a disaster declaration due to public health concerns.

Public Act 101-640, effective June 12, 2020, codified the governor’s prior Executive Orders, which had suspended the physical quorum requirement in OMA due to the impact of COVID-19 in Illinois.

However, P.A. 101-640 goes well beyond the prior Executive Orders because it requires a public body to satisfy a number of conditions before, during, and after a meeting in order to utilize the flexibility to meet remotely without a physical quorum. The law requires deliberation and planning about the need to meet remotely; boards cannot avoid in-person meetings simply because they may be more convenient or preferred by a board or a particular community.

Once a disaster declaration due to public health concerns has been issued by the governor or IDPH director, boards must now take the following steps to hold a meeting

8  Illinois School Board Journal

without a quorum of their members present at the meeting location: Before the Meeting

• The board president (or vice

president or superintendent, depending upon availability) must determine that an in-person meeting (or meeting with a quorum of board members present) is not feasible because of the disaster.

Although not required by the law, as a best practice, a board may want to document this determination in the meeting notice itself as evidence of compliance with this requirement.

• One board member, the board’s attorney, or the superintendent must arrange to be present at the regular meeting location unless their presence is determined to be unfeasible.

• A 48 hours’ notice of a regular or special meeting must be given on the district’s website and to any news media that have requested notice of meetings, except in the event of a bona fide emergency.

• If there is a bona fide emer-

gency and 48 hours of notice cannot be provided, the board must notify the public and news media as soon as practicable and prior to the meeting. The nature of the emergency must also be stated at the beginning of the meeting.

• If in-person attendance by the public is not feasible, the board must make alternative arrangements for members of the public to access and hear the meeting, and to offer public comment.

The Illinois Attorney General has advised that those arrangements be included in the meeting notice.

During the Meeting

• Verify that all board members participating in the meeting are present and can hear one another and all discussion.

• Verify that all members of the public present at the meeting location can hear the discussion and votes, or if in-person attendance is not feasible, that the public is able to access and hear all discussion and votes (such

as through a conference call or web-based link).

• Conduct all votes by roll call.

• Make a verbatim audio or video recording of the open meeting.

After the Meeting

• Make the verbatim record of the open meeting available to the public • Consult the board attorney for guidance on the destruction of verbatim recordings of open meetings. The OMA amendment applies the process for destroying closed session verbatim recordings to the destruction of verbatim open session recordings.

To assist boards with OMA compliance under these

circumstances, subscribers to the Policy Reference Education Subscription Service (PRESS) can refer to sample policy 2:220, School Board Meeting Procedure, and the checklist in exhibit 2:220-E9, Requirements for No Physical Presence of Quorum and Participation by Audio or Video During Disaster Declaration. Some board attorneys may also recommend certain language to be read aloud at the start of a meeting to confirm compliance and maintained as part of the meeting minutes.

It is important to remember that if a board decides it needs to meet remotely under these circumstances as now permitted by OMA, all of the other requirements under OMA continue to apply, including provisions for public comment, agendas, closed sessions, and meeting minutes.

Additionally, whether a board decides to meet remotely or in-person, the Illinois Attorney General’s guidance urges public bodies to provide the public with remote access to meetings and “to update their websites and social media with the goal of openness and transparency during this time.” This guidance aligns with the general requirement in OMA that meetings be held in places that are open and convenient to the public. The guidance also outlines specific safety considerations for in-person meetings, such as holding the meeting in a larger space than normal, using a separate room for public viewing to promote social distancing, and recording the meeting for those unable to attend during the health crisis.  Debra Jacobson is Assistant General Counsel for the Illinois Association of School Boards.

IASB Board of Directors As of August 20, 2020

PRESIDENT Thomas Neeley VICE PRESIDENT Simon Kampwerth Jr. IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Joanne Osmond TREASURER Linda Eades ABE LINCOLN Bill Alexander

NORTHWEST Chris Buikema

BLACKHAWK David Rockwell

SHAWNEE Sheila Nelson

CENTRAL ILLINOIS VALLEY Tim Custis

SOUTH COOK Lanell Gilbert

CORN BELT Mark Harms DUPAGE Thomas Ruggio EGYPTIAN Travis Cameron ILLINI Michelle Skinlo KASKASKIA Linda Eades KISHWAUKEE Robert Geddeis LAKE Marc Tepper NORTH COOK Alva Kreutzer

SOUTHWESTERN Mark Christ STARVED ROCK Jim McCabe THREE RIVERS Rob Rodewald TWO RIVERS Tracie Sayre WABASH VALLEY Dennis Inboden WEST COOK Carla Joiner-Herrod WESTERN Sue McCance SERVICE ASSOCIATES Mark Jolicoeur

The vision of the Illinois Association of School Boards is excellence in local school board governance supporting quality public education.

The mission of the Illinois Association of School Boards is to Light the Way for its members by developing their competence and confidence through a robust toolkit designed to build excellence in local school board governance, including • Premier training experiences; • Networking opportunities for mutual support; • Valuable benefits, pooled services, information, and expertise; • Advocacy on behalf of public education; and • A platform for a strong collective voice on common interests and concerns.

September/October 2020  9

Cover Story

Ten Ways School Boards Can Champion Racial Equity Renewed for 2020

By Pat Savage-Williams

I

In the United States, virtually all schools from preschool through higher education, have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For most of us, since midMarch, schools have not been in session. While we miss the in-person contact with students and staff, we have all pivoted to some form of virtual instruction or remote learning. This has impacted how schools function and has required

10  Illinois School Board Journal

massive adjustments in operation systems. Disparities in the educational system have always been in place but have become dreadfully evident during this pandemic.

While most of us learned about the COVID-19 pandemic a few months ago, many of us have been living the pandemic of racism for all of our lives.

COVID-19 has highlighted the disparities that we always knew

were present. As a result, many school boards are looking to increase their effectiveness in disrupting the racial disparities that have been in place in their district and their communities.

This article, originally printed in the March/April 2018 issue of the Illinois School Board Journal, provides school boards with actionable possibilities to address racial inequities in their districts.

School board members are expected to understand board structure, board functioning, and the board’s role. They are responsible for approving policy decisions that affect the educational environment in many ways. These decisions include how students learn, how students are taught, how learning is measured, how teachers are supported with professional development, how funds are allocated based on district priorities, and how effectively the community at large is engaged around student learning. If we consider these roles using an equity lens, we quickly understand that unless board members are “on board” with the implementation of racial equity within their school district, there are many opportunities for failure.

All students should have equal access to a high-quality education.

As long as race, class, and ethnicity continue to be strong predictors of student achievement, college success, and successful life experiences, school board members must work within their school systems to identify barriers and obstacles to opportunity, interrupt their negative impact, and eliminate persistent disparities in student outcomes. When we look at racial achievement data in our nation, we see disparities in education pervasively across all areas. We must never make excuses for those disparities in our schools or lower our expectations for any students.

Our purpose is to successfully educate all the students who attend our schools — all the children in our community — and implement improvements to address

racial disparities. It is essential that we, as school board members, focus our work on racial equity in schools and identify all forms of racial inequity for two reasons: To increase awareness of systemic barriers that disadvantage students of color.

To encourage and support educators as they seek to adapt instructional and leadership practices to respond more effectively to the needs and aspirations of all the children they serve. Many school districts and communities across our state and in the country are experiencing a movement to raise awareness of equity issues, with a particular emphasis on racial equity. The long-term impact of race and racism on student achievement, how instruction is delivered, discipline, and resource allocation, among other topics, is discussed and debated at many different levels.

Getting school boards to commit to implementing racial equity work within a district requires more than finding people with assumed good hearts to serve on the board. Most school board members want to provide opportunities for students and community members. However, securing a real impact on student achievement requires skills, courage, strength, and determination. Moving the equity work from theory to practice at the board level means that school board members must be willing to craft policies that encompass equity and empower the district to undertake the work of racial equity. Here are 10 ways school board members can move the district towards racial equity.

1 The school board must have

a strong commitment to racial equity.

Members of the school board must be willing to commit to creating a school culture that embraces and implements racial equity practices, with board members holding themselves accountable to progress towards equity. A key example is Evanston Township High School (ETHS) in Illinois. In 2010, ETHS dramatically changed its curriculum for incoming freshman-year students. ETHS de-tracked freshman humanities classes (English and history) and biology. The goal of this dramatic change was to remove barriers that historically caused the under-representation of students of color in Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

The district believed that students who have access to, and are successful in, highly rigorous courses have greater opportunities to be accepted to, and successful in, colleges and universities. Moreover, they will have a greater likelihood of successful life experiences in general.

September/October 2020  11

Because there was so much dialogue regarding these changes, the school board’s public commitment empowered the superintendent to move forward. In the last five years, there has been a 61% increase in the number of African American students taking AP courses, with 91% of them earning a 3 or higher on the AP exams. There has been a 48% increase in the number of Latinx students taking AP courses, with 51 percent earning a 3 or higher on AP exams. Without the clear commitment of the school board, the superintendent will be unable to make large-scale, systemic changes that will impact the district. The board will need to be solid in its commitment to the importance of racial equity work and endorse the efforts of the superintendent to move forward.

2 Adopt an Equity Statement.

The Equity Statement will serve as a guidepost for the equity work of the district and provide the framework to focus on racial equity at every level. This statement is meant to guide the equity work and is not an actual policy. Samples of the statements ETHS has developed can be found on the district’s website (see resource note on page 15).

3 Know your district

demographics.

School board members should know the racial demographics of the district — both staff and students. It is necessary for the board to have a level of understanding about the intersection of race and education to make decisions about important district-wide equity initiatives to approve the 12  Illinois School Board Journal

expenditures for the large-scale changes.

Data must be disaggregated by race. School board members should understand the community and relevant demographic data as well, including housing patterns and the history of these housing patterns.

They should be able to discern where most people of color live in the community and what schools students of color attend. Data can help school board members discuss and ask questions about achievement patterns: which student groups participate in various programs, the racial make-up of classes, who is in special education, who participates in extracurricular activities and clubs, attendance patterns, graduation rates, and which students are being disciplined most and why.

Identify trends that run through the school district and community.

Be aware of classes and activities that tend to be comprised of racially homogeneous students. At this level, try to avoid explaining or excusing why you believe these disparities exist. There are many theories and opinions that you will review, debate, and consider. What truly matters is the board having the determination to address the disparities. Consequently, it is important to have a clear understanding of your district and the breakdown of the experiences of racial groups in your community.

4 School board members must

be willing to engage in their own personal journey to expand their knowledge and understanding of issues of race.

The first critical step of this journey is expanding your racial consciousness. Unconscious biases influence

institutional and structural racism and impact student learning in school systems. As school board members become aware of their own individual biases, they will reflect upon their personal life experiences.

This will equip them to determine how these experiences have shaped those biases and how they have affected interactions with others.

They will develop a better ability to weigh and consider the perspectives of others. Be ready to share your perspectives and listen thoughtfully and responsibly to colleagues and community members. Engage in formal training, as a group and individually, to provide you with the opportunity to undertake your personal journey and will give you a context and language to engage in courageous conversations about race. This training should be done with facilitator-led discussions to debrief and follow-up. School board members will be encouraged to challenge the internal and external systems — that have been in place for decades in the district and in the community — that maintain the disparities between students of color and white students. The trainings develop the capacity to systematically change and challenge insensitive policies that serve to impede the success of students of color. It is essential that school board members take the time to engage in ongoing training and courageous conversations about race to deepen their understanding of how the district’s governing body can create a more welcoming and culturally conscious school district.

Consider a book study or explore resources to help further the school board’s learning about

racial impact. As a beginning, I would suggest What It Means to be White or White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo or How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. Beyond these two books, a list of suggested additional resources can be found on page There are many resources available as this is not an exhaustive list. It is essential to make a point to review relevant literature on institutional racism and class bias in public schools.

Attend lectures and find articles that are written about your community, various cultures, and topics around equity to read as a board and discuss at board meetings. It is important for the staff and community to see the board engage in this learning process.

5 Be able to initiate and create

structural changes that challenge the status quo and support equity for all.

Look at the areas of disparities within your district to identify the structures that hold them together. Finding these disparities will lead you to

determine the structures that support these disparities.

Because you are considering the history of the district and community, you may be learning about the long trends and decades of patterns set. Some of these patterns have been in place for a long time; therefore it is difficult for many to see them as problematic. Tradition and customs are often named as “reasons” for patterns that usually support racial inequities.

In collaboration with the superintendent and within your role as a school board member, dream and create a different narrative, a counter-narrative with different outcomes.

For example, if your district is separating students by “ability level” in classes, look at the traditions and the outcomes of this. Challenge the policies and practices that maintain and uphold this. Look at where students are separated by race and talk to your superintendent and board colleagues about the impact and outcome of these separations. Consider how to work backward to dismantle the structures that hold this together

6 As a board, commit to devel-

op goals and policies with a strong equity lens, and identify and dismantle the policies that support the disparities.

Because every student in your district deserves the right to excel, be compelled to assure that all students have an opportunity to achieve. As school board members, we must ensure that students are on track to graduate and attend college and/or pursue successful careers. This accountability to all learners means that we promote high academic standards and outcomes for all, embracing and accommodating

differing characteristics of the students, always having high expectations for all students, not just for some. Thus, an equitable education that will increase each student’s academic and functional trajectory to realize college/career readiness and independence should be included in the goals. Striving to eliminate the predictability of academic achievement based upon race should be embedded within the mission, goals, and vision of the district.

7 Fiscal accountability: Change

the school budget options to prevent disparities.

Every district is facing challenges and threats that could impact its financial stability. School board members should partner with the superintendent and collaborate with the chief financial officer to assure that equitable resources are allotted for all students. Be certain that all funding, staffing, materials, equipment, facilities, space, school trips, and all other resources are carefully established with an equity-based lens.

Highly qualified staff and facilities — including learning environments, technology, and instructional support — should be dispersed with racial equity considerations. The distribution of resources in an equitable and fair manner assures that all learners have equal opportunity to achieve high academic standards. Equitable allocation of resources is paramount to equity in a school district.

8 Be data-informed.

Require the superintendent to develop inclusion practices and methods to measure, report, interpret, and analyze data regularly for the purpose of improvement and transparency.

September/October 2020  13

Examine data on student academic performance, discipline, attendance, dropout and graduation rates, involvement in extracurricular activities, special education classification, and access to student services.

Identify areas of inequity in student success and participation, disaggregating data by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, disability, and English language proficiency.

Develop statistical measures to assess equity in these areas.

Remember, the patterns established have been in place for decades if not hundreds of years.

It is unlikely that disparities will disappear within a few years. Recognize and understand the intersection of race, socioeconomics, mobility, gender, and sexual orientation/identity through district data. Determine how you will gain evidence of success, and be willing to make changes or tweaks if the data indicates the need to do so.

9 Develop partnerships and

allies to achieve equity.

Communicate clearly throughout the community the district’s strategies and efforts to promote equity, diversity, and a safe environment. Acknowledge challenges and problems where they exist within the district and the history behind the patterns of disparities. Elicit community support for racial equity. Celebrate successes and accomplishments of all students and staff, particularly those who don’t often get the spotlight. Find a way to focus specifically on programs for parents and guardians of children who are struggling in school, or who are experiencing lower rates of success and participation in school.

Reach out to parents who do not 14  Illinois School Board Journal

typically come to school or speak at meetings. Ask parents how they feel most comfortable connecting with your school and be willing to make changes to meet their needs. It could be that joining the PTA, for example, does not work for all parents. Identify what does work for them. Work with staff to make sure these parents feel they are welcome in school and see the school as working on behalf of their students’ best interests.

Promote parent involvement as the cornerstone of students’ success in all facets of school life. Develop allies by partnering with community organizations such as local universities, faith-based institutions, and city government to promote racial equity in the district. Invite members of these groups to the school for training and other professional development activities to model this work, and encourage other agencies and organizations to implement similar goals and strategies in their organizations.

10 Expect opposition.

Change is difficult and not always welcomed by everyone. Many will engage in vocal discussions and conversations about racial disparities, but proposals for structural and policy changes towards dismantling what has been in place for decades are not often met with universal approval.

This can divide a community as there is significant controversy surrounding racial equity work. This does not help the equity-centered school board members or superintendents gain confidence. Board members are elected officials and members of the community. The fact that this controversy is almost exclusively generated by white parents, educators,

policymakers, and other community stakeholders, most of whom have never personally engaged in racial equity training, presents another significant challenge. While it is important to continue engaging with them as community members, employ careful and thoughtful responses and strategies. Listening to their concerns, providing opportunities to share and hear other perspectives, and working to incorporate their thoughts into the plan may transform these critics into supporters.

Most importantly, do not lose your focus or your resolve to do what is right for all students.

Every student deserves to have access to the best opportunities and the best education we can provide in our schools. When our schools are lacking equity, we are obligated to address inequities or we are failing to do our jobs properly. Our students are relying on us to assure equity for them in our schools. That is the purpose of public education.

“Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.”

— D. H. Lawrence 

Pat Savage-Williams is the president of the Evanston THSD 202 Board of Education and Special Education Coordinator, SEED facilitator, Equity Liaison, and PEG affiliate at New Trier THSD 203 in Illinois. This article originally appeared in the May/ June 2018 issue of the Illinois School Board Journal. It was updated by the author in July 2020. Recommended resources for this article are listed on page 15 and collected online at bit.ly/SO20JRes.

Resources and Tools This list is provided to the Journal by Pat Savage-Williams, the author of the preceding article, “Ten Ways School Boards Can Champion Racial Equity.”

For links to these resources, visit bit.ly/SO20JRes. 

Watch

(streaming availability subject to change)

13th (Netflix) I Am Not Your Negro (Amazon Prime Video) Do the Right Thing (Amazon Prime Video) LA 92 (Netflix) Whose Streets? (Hulu) Crime+Punishment (Hulu) Freedom Writers (Netflix) Selma Get Out Just Mercy

Talk

Talk to your children regarding racism/ race. Find age-appropriate ways to have this discussion. For example: How To Not (Accidentally) Raise a Racist (The Longest Shortest Time podcast episode) A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory Visit the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration or the National Memorial for Peace & Justice in Montgomery, Alabama

Read

Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates Courageous Conversations About Race

by Glenn Singleton Despite the Best Intentions

by John Diamond & Amanda Lewis How to be an AntiRacist

by Ibram X. Kendi Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson Prejudice and Your Child

by Kenneth Clark So You Want To Talk About Race

by Ijeoma Oluo The New Jim Crow

by Michelle Alexander

Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving What Does It Mean to be White?

by Robin DiAngelo White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo Why Do All the Black Kids Sit Together in the Cafeteria?

by Beverly Daniel Tatum White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color

by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw Detour-Spotting for White Anti-Racists

by Jona Olsson

Watch and Listen

Brave New Films: White Riots vs. Black Protests — Notice how the media treats black protesters and white rioters differently (3 minutes) Aamer Rahman: Fear of a Brown Planet (Reverse Racism) Mellody Hobson: Color Blind or Color Brave? — A TED Talk Lee Mun Wah: The Secret to Changing the World Debby Irving: 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality — A TED Talk Jacqueline Battalora: Birth of a White Nation — Keynote speech by legal scholar Jacqueline Battalora offers a blow-by-blow description of the moment the idea of, and word for, “white” people entered U.S. legal code. (36 minutes) Chimamanda Adiche: The Danger of a Single Story — A TED Talk which offers insight into the phenomenon of using small bits of information to imagine who a person is.

Verna Myers: How to Overcome our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them — A TED Talk that encourages us to work vigorously to counterbalance bias by connecting with and

learning about and from the groups we fear.

Norma Johnson: A Poem for My White Friends: I Didn’t Tell You — Ever wonder what a day in the life of a person of color is like? Listen to this poem, written and spoken by Norma Johnson. (7 minutes) What Kind of Asian Are You? — Humorous two-minute YouTube video that illustrates the utter silliness of the way many white Americans interact with Asian Americans.

White Bred — Excellent quick intro to how white supremacy shapes white lives and perception. (5 minutes) True Colors: ABC Primetime Live — PrimeTime Live Diane Sawyer’s 1991 episode depicting daily life for a black American in contrast to a white American. (7 minutes) The Disturbing History of the Suburbs — An Adam Ruins Everything episode that quickly and humorously educates how redlining came to be (6 minutes) Nick Cannon: Stand For What — A music video by Nick Cannon, inspired by the Take A Knee movement and challenging what and who America stands for by listing historical and ongoing racist policies and practices. (4 minutes) Racism is Real — A split-screen video depicting the differential in the white/black lived experience. (3 minutes) When They See Us (Trailer)

Other Resources

CNN: A guide to how you can support marginalized communities Dismantling A Culture of Violence: Understanding Anti-Transgender Violence and Ending the Crisis.

An interview with Robin DiAngelo author of What Does it Mean to be White? and White Fragility (YouTube Video)

September/October 2020  15

Feature Story

What’s on the Table?

Illinois Has a Teacher Diversity Shortage, Too

By Rachel Brick, Anita Thawani Bucio, Charity Freeman, Victor Idowu, Keisha Rembert, and Arnetta Thompson

I

In almost every classroom around the state each November, teachers ask, “What are you and your family going to eat at Thanksgiving?”

Designed to build community, this question has tremendous potential to make all students feel seen and heard. As Arnetta Thompson, a Black teacher of 19 years explains, “When the class is talking about our favorite Thanksgiving dishes and a little Brown girl says ‘sweet potato pie,’ and I am able to chime in agreement amongst a bunch of confused faces, it makes a difference. When we get into a full out argument over whose family makes the best baked mac and cheese, a staple at our Thanksgiving dinner (mine does, Elijah!), it makes a difference.”

This is more than a teachable moment that all families have their own traditions; this is the moment that many Illinois’ Black and Brown students may never experience. This is the moment when they share a background with their teacher.

Illinois faces a dramatic teacher shortage, and the teacher diversity shortage is as severe and important as the overall teacher shortage. As a nation, we continue to grapple with the murders of George Floyd,

16  Illinois School Board Journal

Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, only some of the most recent examples of the racism that is instrumental to the founding of our nation. Simultaneously, the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on communities of color widens the systemic disparities already prevalent in our society. Whether we are focusing on small but crucial moments like Thanksgiving dishes or engaging students in discussions around race and equity, the shortage of teachers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and the need to remedy it are essential at all times. Teachers of color are central to the self-actualization of our students of color and, furthermore, for creating consciousness around racism for white students.

In 2018-2019, students of color made up 52% of Illinois’ student population. In the same year, teachers of color comprised only 15% of the teaching population. The impacts of this shortage reach beyond a Thanksgiving dinner conversation.

“When we talk about where our ancestors come from,” Thompson continues, “and I see embarrassed faces from my Black children because the timeline only goes back so far

because our history was stolen and lineage lost, I can lead an eye-opening class conversation about slavery in America. It makes a difference.”

The difference that these conversations make is an inclusive one; not just Black and Brown children, but all children, benefit from the perspective that a teacher of color brings to their classroom. The Learning Policy Institute notes that “teachers of color help close achievement gaps for students of color and are highly rated by students of all races.”

Students who share the racial or ethnic identity of their teacher have been found to increase math and reading scores by three to

four percentile points. For Black students, this effect is particularly profound: A study by Johns Hopkins University showed that low-income Black boys who had just one Black teacher in elementary school were 39% less likely to drop out of high school and 29% more likely to go to college.

The positive outcomes of a more diverse teaching force are clear and substantive, but “without clear practices and systemic policy measures to recruit and retain teachers of color, students in Illinois will be disadvantaged,” according to “Equity and Diversity

by Design,” a 2019 report by Teach Plus. Despite the clear positive effects of a diverse workforce, the racial makeup of Illinois’ teachers stands in stark contrast to the demographics of our student populations, as noted in ISBE’s “Teach Illinois Strong Teachers, Strong Classrooms” report, “[t]he student population has become increasingly diverse while the teaching corps remains predominantly white and female.”

School boards have a unique and influential position to further the mission of equity and representation and create long term solutions for Illinois’ children and their teachers. The Illinois Association of School Boards’ educational equity statement includes, “School board members are responsible for the ‘equitable and quality education of every student in the school district and must act accordingly in their collective work as a board of education to foster excellence for every student … everyone benefits when all students have access to the educational resources and

rigor they need, in all times and circumstances.”

A strong commitment to equity is vital to providing students the highest possible standard of education, and to accomplish this, boards of education must consider how to recruit and retain more teachers of color that reflect the diverse student populations in Illinois schools. To create a robust teacher pipeline and ensure career longevity for faculty of color, we urge school board members to consider the following ideas.

Alleviate the ‘invisible tax’ on teachers of color.

“As a Black female teacher, I am expected to shoulder the emotional struggles and

psychological burdens of my Black students. At one school, I was half of the Black teaching staff in my building. As such, my priority of classroom instruction and my professional identity as an educator were consistently disrupted and overshadowed by my assumed roles of school counselor, social worker, and dean. I chose to leave that school; otherwise, burnout would’ve forced me to leave the classroom altogether.”

Charity Freeman, high school computer science teacher, Chicago

Teachers of color and linguistically-diverse teachers have the power to empathize with students’ lived experiences and with the

September/October 2020  17

bias and discrimination they may have experienced. This empathy contributes to the development of trusting teacher-student relationships. In practice, though, this also means that, according to Equity and Diversity by Design, “teachers of color are often called upon to do extra work; work that is not expected of their White peers, and work that is not compensated.”

From providing translation services for non-English-speaking families to implementing schoolwide disciplinary policies, this “invisible tax” is a leading cause of teacher burnout and contributes to highly qualified teachers leaving the profession. School boards can take specific steps to alleviate this invisible tax, notably by ensuring that teachers of color are compensated for this additional work.

Ensure that teachers reflect all students in a school’s community.

“The Brown and Black students’ faces in my school district need to see themselves in their teachers.

They need to know that their reality is not an other, alternative, or minority reality. Theirs is just as real and valuable. For example, I overheard Janiah, a Black girl with curly, thick hair talking with Emily, a White girl with blonde, thin, straight hair. Seeking to normalize Janiah’s experience, I said, ‘A lot of Black girls wash their hair only a few times a month. I know I did growing up. It’s a process that can take hours because most Black girls have thick and curly hair like mine ... there’s nothing like wash day, isn’t that right, Janiah?’ Janiah smiled as her head lifted, and I couldn’t help 18  Illinois School Board Journal

but wonder how this conversation would go if no one could validate Janiah’s experience. How many other times was she was put in an awkward or unaffirming situation because she was Black, and most of her classmates were white, and there were things she and her family did, well, differently?”

Arnetta Thompson, fifth-grade National Board Certified Teacher, western suburb of Chicago

A shared experience can make a student feel seen, valued, and more deeply entrenched in their school community. Schools are the cornerstone of a neighborhood, and in our increasingly diverse cities and towns, schools are often the first place that new residents meet one another. Feeling a part of that community is critical. Conversely, as Teach Plus Illinois has noted, “in disregarding racial difference, we do not challenge dominant cultural themes in our society or in our schools.”

Without teachers of color in classrooms and on the playground, we perpetuate narratives that devalue many of Illinois’ children.

School board members can address this gap by actively pursuing diversity as part of hiring practices.

Simple changes can make a big difference, such as ensuring that people of color participate in all hiring panels.

Provide resources for teachers of color that promote their wellbeing.

“During parent-teacher conferences, I am often asked about my level of education and years of teaching experience. It became clear to me that these questions

were intended to cast doubt on my teaching ability because they were not asked of my white colleagues. This experience is normal for teachers of color in my school, and our White colleagues are unaware of it or the resulting emotional toll. After these conversations were brought to the attention of the administration and the school board, my school formally established affinity spaces for teachers of color. These spaces allowed teachers of color to meet, connect, and collectively communicate about the cultural, technical, systemic, and policy barriers experienced by staff and students. These trusting, safe, and healing collective spaces are validating and provide immense support for our lived experiences while promoting change in our school. For districts to effectively support teachers of color, their voices and lived experiences must be heard.”

Anita Thawani Bucio, high school English teacher, northern suburb of Chicago

Thawani Bucio’s experience of belonging and agency that affinity groups offer is not unique. Teach Plus’ 2019 report notes that, “affinity-based professional development decreased isolation and increased retention for Black teachers” and that, “affinity groups could help with the constant reflection and introspection teachers of color crave as they continue to serve students who oftentimes mirror themselves.” In providing these spaces for teachers, schools are showing a commitment to creating sustainable work environments for all their staff.

Hire and retain educators so that students have the opportunity to work with teachers who connect with their lived experiences.

“As an African American male teacher, I am a representative of the silent minority, the invisible 2% of the nation’s public educators that are rarely seen or heard in most public school buildings.

Over the last 18 years, I have had the pleasure of instructing and inspiring hundreds of students throughout the city. In addition to promoting academic achievement, I have to also take on the responsibility of fostering the social and emotional well-being of the male students, since I oftentimes find myself being the lone adult male teacher in the building. Fairly recently, I had an African-American male student named Aaron in my fifthgrade math class. Academically, he arrived in my class reading at a third- grade level. Behaviorally, he had great difficulty controlling his impulses in class and constantly had to be redirected.

Socially, he was unable to get along well with peers and regularly spent time in the redirection room for causing disruptions in his other classes. However, he showed an aptitude in math, and I intentionally highlighted his strengths as I assisted him with his areas of growth.

With a tremendous amount of patience and understanding, I was able to assist him in meeting his end-of-the-year growth target in math, and he also showed some progress in his reading NWEA results.

Over the course of the year, he

improved his ability to self-regulate without causing disruption to the classroom environment.

He ended the year peer tutoring younger students in math and challenging me in chess during lunch periods. Through this experience, he and I formed a bond but I truly worry about him going forward without the support of a trusting individual with a shared perspective who can see beyond his behavior.

Victor Idowu, high school math teacher, Chicago

To transform, inspire, and create opportunities for young men like Aaron and to equalize the conditions of those most adversely affected by the perpetual inequities of the current educational system, we need more

resources. These resources should include a diverse set of passionate teachers willing to change the system and change what it means to be an educator by any reasonable means necessary. As educators of color, we know that students make a stronger commitment to their education when those with intellectual authority see the world through their eyes and are there to support them.

Recommendations

Every Janiah and every Aaron deserves the best that Illinois can offer, and because we owe this to them, it is time to deliberately focus on ending the diversity shortage facing Illinois classrooms. As the powerbrokers in your districts, you are situated to lead the charge in

September/October 2020  19

this work. We urge you to take the following recommendations into account to create a more stable and equitable educational system in Illinois for all.

• Recommendation 1: Set diversity goals for recruitment and selection of school teaching and support staff, monitor progress towards those goals, and hold superintendents accountable in working toward achieving district-wide racial equity goals.

• Recommendation 2: Allocate funds and resources for mandated, district-wide professional development, training, and support around equity (i.e. culturally responsive teaching practices,

20  Illinois School Board Journal

implicit bias training, Critical Practitioner Research, the establishment of formal, in-school affinity spaces, etc.) to provide education and resources that are necessary to support our most vulnerable school communities.

• Recommendation 3: Alleviate the invisible tax by ensuring that teachers of color are adequately compensated for their additional work.

• Recommendation 4: Recognize schools that make measurable efforts to reflect the racial and ethnic demographics of the communities that they serve and to align policy initiatives to the recruitment and retention of teachers of

color (i.e. equitable hiring practices, formal evaluation protocol/process, etc.).

We also encourage you to engage in learning about systemic inequities in education as individuals and leaders. The success of these recommendations rests on the shoulders of self-work as well as community work.  Rachel Brick is a bilingual and ESL teacher at Sullivan High School in Chicago Public Schools and a 2019-20 Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellow alumna. Anita Thawani Bucio, Ph.D., is an English instructor and Instructional coach at Evanston Township High School and a 201920 Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellow alumna. Charity Freeman teaches Computer Science at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago and is a Computer Science Teachers of America Equity Fellow and a 2019-2020 Teach Plus Illinois K-12 Policy Fellow. Victor Idowu is a math instructor at Percy L. Julian High School in Chicago Public Schools and a 2019-20 Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellow alumna. Keisha Rembert is the 2019 Illinois History Teacher of the Year, an Assistant Professor of Teacher Preparation at National Louis University, a teacher with 15 years of experience in the classroom, and a 2019-2020 Teach Plus Illinois Senior Policy Fellow. Arnetta Thompson is an Enrichment Specials teacher at Lincoln and Longfellow Schools in Oak Park ESD 97 and a 2020-2021 Senior Teach Plus Policy Fellow.

Resources associated with this article, including other writings of the contributors, can be accessed via bit.ly/SO20Jres.

Feature Story

Supporting English Learners during COVID-19

By Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro and Karen Garibay-Mulattieri

T

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a drastic change in education around the world. For the first time schools across the globe were forced to close their doors and deliver instruction through virtual formats. In the United States, various societal disparities — food insecurity, job loss, limited access to technology, and higher positivity rates to the virus — that existed before the pandemic were exacerbated in the face of crisis, particularly in vulnerable communities.

The Latino Policy Forum contends that these unprecedented times are an opportunity to dismantle aspects of education that fail to serve vulnerable students equitably and bring to the fore innovative ways to accelerate learning. By sharing the following for decision-makers and school leaders regarding productive investments and best practices for serving children growing up in Illinois Latino and immigrant communities during the pandemic, it is the hope that these recommendations promote equity for children on their way to learning English to support their overall achievement.

The damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been

especially acute for Illinois’ Latino and immigrant communities compounding both health and economic inequities. Latinos have the highest case-positivity rate of all racial-ethnic groups in Illinois at 55% as of May 2020 (compared to an overall state case-positivity rate of 16.7%). Latinos and immigrants have suffered both from being overrepresented in industries that were closed down during the pandemic and jobs qualifying as essential workers. This has created immense economic consequences for Latino communities. In addition, an estimated 40% of Latino households are mixed-status and thus have been ineligible for federal stimulus funds under the CARES Act. In the face of such adversities, the children in these communities need specific supports to foster optimal learning opportunities.

Many children of immigrants identify as English Learners (ELs) representing approximately 12% of students statewide; this student group grew 58% between 2005 and 2018, according to the Illinois School Report Card 2018. This growth has been throughout Illinois, with a significant increase in

the suburbs. ELs reside in 92 of 102 Illinois counties. More than 70% of ELs are Latino and Spanish speaking.

Many ELs are low-income and come from homes with limited resources and internet capacity to support remote learning. Research from “New America: Differences in Hispanic-Latino Families’ Access to and Use of Educational Media” shows: • 27% of bilingual families do not have access to a computer or the internet. They are more likely to utilize mobile devices which are limiting and can prevent families from engaging in certain learning activities.

• For school-aged children, sustained activities such as homework or research are not feasible on a mobile device.

• E-learning is often not tailored to meet diverse language needs.

• Latino children, many of whom begin their schooling as ELs, are less likely to have a parent at home to support their e-learning. Even when parents are available, many September/October 2020  21

lack formal education and may have language barriers.

Successful investments that boost EL achievement will need to be comprehensive attending to the academic, emotional, economic, and technological needs of students and families.

Recommendations for Effective Investments to Support EL Education

These recommendations are meant to guide district planning and budgetary decisions to best support English Learner education during the pandemic and into the future.

The recommendations are intended to supplement the remote learning guidance issued by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) with fuller consideration for supporting linguistically and culturally diverse students.

Investments in EL education must be thoughtful, equity-driven, and informed by research-based best practices. The federally legislated CARES Act, aimed at responding to the fallout of the pandemic,

22  Illinois School Board Journal

stipulates that special attention be provided to ELs. The Illinois Evidenced-Based Funding formula allocates funding specifically for ELs. If not spent appropriately, however, these students will not reap the benefits of this funding system. These recommendations cover four major areas of potential investment: 1. Essential supports and wraparound services to meet the basic needs of Latino and immigrant families; 2. Professional development for educators specific to EL education; 3. Parental involvement that is linguistically and culturally responsive; and 4. Access to technology and broadband.

Recommendation 1

Partner with community organizations to provide basic needs and wraparound services to support vulnerable immigrant families and communities.

Young students cannot learn if their basic needs and emotional

health are not attended to. Young EL students are facing unprecedented challenges given the pandemic. Educational approaches must prioritize the whole child.

Trauma-informed practices and socio-emotional supports must be sensitive to the experience of young learners growing up in these communities. Ideas for practice and potential areas of investment include • Collect student and family information districtwide through the development of an intake survey, as suggested by the ISBE guidance.

The survey should serve as a needs assessment to guide district planning and resource investment, with particular attention to mental health, nutritional, and transportation needs. Surveys must be conducted in a family’s home language.

• Develop Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with local community organizations to coordinate service delivery and referrals. Districts and communities need to prepare to support families

if and when a viral resurgence occurs. Districts must also prepare to support students and families through past traumas that occurred during the shutdown.

• Prioritize the provision of mental health services for students and families who are dealing with loss due to the pandemic. These services should be responsive to linguistic and cultural diversity.

Recommendation 2:

Develop plans for developmentally appropriate remote learning that is both digital and non-digital. Practitioners are seeking comprehensive professional development opportunities specific to teaching young ELs in the pandemic: optimal virtual formats for language and content development, linguistically and culturally responsive socio-emotional learning opportunities, and best practice for connecting with families. The medical and child development fields need to come together to develop recommendations to guide best practices in remote learning for the young child. Guidance from these experts would form the foundation for professional development.

Ideas for practice and potential areas of investment include • Provide professional development for teachers on developmentally appropriate virtual remote learning for children ages 3-8.

Engage experts from the medical field, early childhood research, and early

elementary to guide this training.

• Co-develop professional development opportunities with technology teachers, specifically related to the different platforms available for virtual learning.

Leverage the expertise of EL educators in the district to choose platforms that are optimal for building academic content along with language learning. These platforms should be sensitive to how to build oral language development.

• Provide professional development on effective student hands-on activities during remote learning.

• Provide ample teacher planning time to coordinate formative assessments and to gauge outcomes of different types of learning activities.

• Provide professional development on trauma-informed training opportunities and tools sensitive to ELs and their families.

Recommendation 3:

Districts must prioritize family engagement and communication efforts — both virtually and in-person — that are responsive to the unique needs of linguistically and culturally diverse communities. Even before the pandemic, inequities existed in the amount of information available to non-English speaking parents. Districts that were proactive in engaging parents

of ELs oftentimes relied on faceto-face meetings or gatherings.

These parents tend to have unique work schedules, language barriers, and limited access to broadband/ internet and technology. Now that in-person meetings are discouraged, districts must be innovative in determining ways to provide parents access to critical information in a timely and safe manner.

Ideas for practice and potential areas of investment include • Create authentic opportunities to hear from families about what is and is not working in this new learning environment.

• Ensure equitable sharing of critical information in multiple languages and in various modes of communication.

• Hold virtual office hours during the evening weekly.

Many students may have parents who are considered “essential workers” and work during instruction time.

Holding flexible office hours allows students and parents to ask questions at a time more accessible to them.

• Develop a communication campaign that provides positive messages to parents in various languages. Have these messages translated and posted in different district communication forums (Twitter, Facebook, newsletter, school bulletin, email, online learning platforms, school website, side of public transportation, billboard, etc.)

• Encourage families to submit pictures or videos of completed activities.

September/October 2020  23

Use these pictures/videos to showcase and feature the families on a regular basis. This celebration will encourage increased participation and mitigates social isolation experienced by children and families; these social interactions are critical for development.

Recommendation 4:

Develop and implement short- and long-term technology plans to promote equitable online learning opportunities for low-income immigrant communities. Ideas for practice and potential areas of investment include • Establish a long-term vision for technological access.

Districts should view this as an opportunity to conduct a needs assessment regarding digital access, with specific attention to vulnerable populations.

• Provide students and families with access to Wi-Fi hot spots (e.g. using buses as mobile hotspots or providing families with downloadable material on flash drives.)

• Prioritize providing support for linguistically diverse families on when and how to use devices and learning platforms (e.g. create student- and family-centered help desks).

• Bilingual Learners should be provided with opportunities to utilize their home language

within digital learning whenever possible.

• Prioritize the use of media platforms to meet the socio-emotional needs of students. Ideas include the creation of a Zoom parade to make up for lack of contact; Zoom meetings with classes were a critical social time for students. Foster opportunities for students to meet virtually; pair ELs of the same language background for authentic conversations.

The vision of the education department of the Latino Policy Forum is that Latinos and English Learners from early childhood through 12th grade receive equitable educational opportunities leading to economic prosperity.

The authors of this piece recently co-authored the Illinois English Learner Handbook: A Guide for School Board Members, District Administrators, and Principals, in collaboration with the Illinois Principals Association, Illinois Association of School Boards, and the Illinois Association of School Administrators.  Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, Ph.D., Is Director of Education Policy and Research for the Latino Policy Forum, with publications and advocacy efforts to provide thoughtful consideration about the interconnectedness of language, literacy, and academic achievement. Karen Garibay-Mulattieri is Senior Policy Analyst for the Latino Policy Forum and has more than 35 years of experience as a bilingual teacher and administrator within various Illinois districts, the State Board of Education, and internationally.

24  Illinois School Board Journal

Commentary

Anti-Racist Work in Schools: Are You in it for the Long Haul?

By Elizabeth Kleinrock

L

Last year I received a consultation request from a school after two students posted pictures in blackface on social media. When I asked what time and resources they were committing to this issue, they said they had set aside 45 minutes of their upcoming staff meeting to address bias and racism. They were not interested in investing beyond that session.

Being called in reactively to support teachers and staff after a racist incident has never sat well with me.

But now, as Black Lives Matter protests have swelled throughout the world, our entire country is reacting to centuries of white supremacy and violence experienced by the Black community.

As an anti-bias anti-racist (ABAR) facilitator and educator-in-progress, I’ve had the opportunity to partner with public, charter, and independent schools across the United States and can tell you firsthand that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to this work. There are, however, a number of things schools should consider as they create objectives for the shortand long-term future.

ABAR is trending in mainstream spaces, and more schools are recognizing its importance and reaching out for resources and training. I do

believe that it’s better late than never, but schools must be intentional and thoughtful as they begin this lifelong commitment.

While there is urgency in ABAR work, urgency cannot be prioritized over relationships or centering on the voices and opinions of marginalized community members. Without careful thought and planning, schools risk alienating Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) stakeholders, reinforcing white saviorism and derailing the possibility of future efforts. Standards and skills can always be retaught, but school culture is too important to get wrong. Your north star is always centering your most marginalized and under-resourced students.

As schools and organizations plan for professional development in the weeks, months, and years ahead, consider the following thinking points and questions: If this is the first time your school has focused on ABAR, why is it a priority now?

ABAR must begin with an honest evaluation of current practices.

Recognizing how —and why — this work has been deprioritized in the past can help your school identify and plan for potential roadblocks in the work to come.

If your school has remained silent or limited work to surface-level diversity initiatives in the past, how, when, and why did that happen?

Remember that celebrating diversity and multiculturalism is not the same as anti-racism or dismantling white supremacy. Check out Paul Gorski’s Avoiding Racial Equity Detours for examples of school practices that are often mistaken for ABAR. How will you ensure ABAR is not just a box to check, and that no one is able to opt out?

While diversity directors or committees are important, ABAR cannot be compartmentalized within one or a few individuals. Oppressive practices exist at every level of schools, and people who work in every department and in every role have a stake in this work.

School leaders have immense power in creating a culture that values and supports ABAR. I have often heard from hesitant principals and administrators that they’re concerned certain staff members of the community are resistant and unwilling. I’d ask them to remember this phrase: “What you permit, you promote.”

Every choice we make either upholds white supremacy or seeks to dismantle it.

September/October 2020  25

To fully embrace ABAR education, schools must be willing to dive deep into their culture, policies, curriculum, and the individual mindsets of all stakeholders. If you are truly dedicated to anti-racism, are you willing to let go of members of the community who are working against these goals?

of centering BIPOC history and narratives while also learning about culture, identity, and joy.

At the end of the day, no matter how many books, podcasts, and documentaries your staff reads, an intellectualized account of racism will never outweigh the voices and lived experiences of BIPOC.

... [T]here is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to this work. There are, however, a number of things schools should consider as they create objectives for the short- and long-term future.

How will BIPOC be centered in this work?

How will BIPOC be supported in this work?

Consider who is directing ABAR at your school, who decides the priorities, and determines if objectives are met. This work must center the voices of staff, families, caregivers, and students of the global majority. Even if you have a racially and ethnically diverse staff, ABAR work is necessary and important.

Anti-Blackness and colorism are issues in every community, and these biases must be addressed.

In selecting books and resources for professional development, be careful. Particularly in predominantly white institutions, a focus on consuming and intellectualizing stories and histories of racial trauma can further perpetuate a savior mentality, inspiring pity rather than encouraging people to understand one another and work as accomplices and co-conspirators against racism. If books that center whiteness (such as Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility) are on the summer reading list, what else is being offered? There must be a balance

There is a fine line between centering BIPOC and expecting them to do the work for others.

While BIPOC should have the opportunity to lead this work, schools cannot expect or demand they expend more emotional labor in both experiencing racism, and having to educate others about it.

If you’re asking BIPOC on your faculty and staff to lead ABAR training, how are you ensuring they are additionally compensated? If books and resources are being assigned that center racial trauma, what trauma-informed practices will you use with staff members of color?

26  Illinois School Board Journal

How are you working to create long-lasting change in your community?

Having a person or a group that drives ABAR work forward is important (especially if these people have the power to hold the community accountable), but the goal is to embed ABAR within the culture of your school.

If this person left the position or the committee disbanded, how would you ensure all focus wouldn’t disappear? ABAR is a lens that must be applied to policy, curriculum, pedagogy, and interpersonal relationships. It is not just a teaching strategy.

Pay attention to the significant institutional support needed by those leading ABAR work. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and those who are the most active are likely to face emotional fatigue.

Despite being framed amidst the violence targeting the Black community, anti-racism work is often glamorized in the mainstream media.

Some people do enter from a place of saviorism and expect recognition, which can lead to burnout for those who have been committed far before the latest media cycle.

The truth of the matter is, when you commit yourself to ABAR, you’re in for a long uphill battle.

Prioritizing ABAR is not comfortable. Mistakes will be made. Parents and caregivers may complain.

Some staff members may leave. It is unrealistic to expect that your school will get it right at the first try. It is our job to center our students, and that means improving ourselves to set the example for the world they will inherit.  Elizabeth Kleinrock is an elementary educator currently working on her first book. She is also a 2018 recipient of the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching. Reprinted with permission of Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, tolerance.org. Resources associated with this article can be reached via bit.ly/SO20JRes.

Commentary

Swing Away

Why Equity Matters for All Students, Schools, and Communities

By Mark D. Hansen

W

When I was 11, my father and another parent coached our youth baseball team. They gave us time and attention, and we were successful, but I will always remember a disagreement between my coaches about Jason, my teammate.

Coach wanted Jason to look for walks. He said he should never swing the bat until he had two strikes on him. At that age, it was difficult for the other team’s pitcher to throw three strikes to such a small hitter, but Coach also knew something else: Jason rarely made contact with a pitched ball. He had never really played before. His mother was working and raising a family, and he and his brothers spent most days on their own. Even at that young age, he was behind the rest of us, who had played baseball for years with our families and friends. Coach figured we had a better chance of winning if Jason looked for walks.

He also believed that Jason had a better chance of getting on base if he didn’t try to hit the ball.

My dad felt it was important that Jason learn how to hit a baseball. In fact, he figured it was his

responsibility to help him learn how to do that. His instructions to Jason were to swing whenever the pitch was close, and he worked with him individually before and after practices.

My father was a steelworker.

He had no college degree or formal training in coaching or teaching.

He was a “non-contractual” volunteer. He just sensed what was required. Dad seemed to believe that Jason’s status as a participant implicitly entitled him to coaching and teaching that could improve his ability to hit a baseball.

Consider exploring this question with a group of your educational colleagues: “As a condition of his/her enrollment in your school district, to what is a given student entitled?”

You would hope to see similarities in the responses, but not everyone would agree. There are countless ways of justifying our preferred course of action, of bending words and principles to serve personal interests or convenience.

Lost sometimes in the academic definitions of equity is that it is about fairness. How do we design

our schools so that all students are treated fairly, in all classes, every day?

We support equity when we treat our students as we would hope to be treated, and when we ensure that all children are taught with the same attention and commitment that we desire and expect for our own. Conversely, we undermine equity when we design or perpetuate systems, or permit behaviors that result in some students receiving less attention or less commitment than necessary to meet high expectations for learning.

Equity in education requires putting systems in place to ensure that every child has an equal chance for success. That requires understanding the unique challenges and barriers faced by individual students or by populations of students and providing additional support to help them overcome those barriers.

Thinking Maps: Equity in Education: What It Is and Why It Matters

Leaders support equity when they work with other leaders, teachers, stakeholders and teams to design, implement, and monitor systems that promote fairness September/October 2020  27

within their schools and districts.

In highly effective schools, these systems are self-improving such that they continuously inform — and potentially transform — beliefs and behaviors.

Goals and ambitions matter, but they are not sufficient. The role of school leaders is to be intentional and to compel the same in others so that unfairness is not normalized — so that principles are not bent to serve the interests of one individual or group over another. This can be complex work because • Unfairness can be difficult to see from a privileged perspective; • It is scary to identify and acknowledge that some of our systems treat some students unfairly; • Unfairness is often embedded in myths and traditions around school; • The effort to change unfair systems can increase stress and conflict; • Some parents, students, and groups have benefited from the systems as they exist; • Some educators have benefited from the systems as they exist; • Individual sentiments of intolerance and bigotry are learned and deeply held Leading Ed Partnerships, a collaborative of Regional Offices of Education, school districts, and universities, has developed Leadership for Equity (LFE) micro-credentials to help aspiring and current leaders develop competencies that will support greater equity in their districts and schools. The 28  Illinois School Board Journal

LFE series engages participants in authentic, job-embedded learning experiences designed to build competencies that support equitable opportunities and outcomes for all students.

Leading Ed Partners have worked with BloomBoard to deliver these micro-credentials through a robust, digital platform. Participants analyze information about their schools or districts, design and develop strategies to address problems of practice, implement those strategies, and evaluate their effectiveness.

The program’s ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) process promotes “learning by doing.”

1. The Leadership for Equity (LFE) micro-credentials series is designed around five competencies: Exploring and Deepening an Equity Mindset — Participants will

understand their own biases and assumptions, identify equity shifts meriting priority attention in their schools or districts, communicate those shifts clearly and compellingly, and seek feedback from other leaders in the process.

2. Applying a Culturally Responsive Lens to a Data Cycle

— Participants will identify performance gaps indicative of an equity problem(s) in their school or district, aggregate related data, conduct root cause analysis, collaborate with district and building leaders, use feedback to inform the next steps, and

design or schedule professional learning to address the performance gap.

3. Guiding Culturally Responsive Instructional Practices

— Participants will evaluate the status of instructional practices in their schools or districts, identify practices that merit priority attention, anticipate all of the adult learning that will be necessary to implement a school-wide change in instructional practice, and articulate a professional development plan necessary to support adult learning.

4. Making Culturally Responsive Personnel Decisions — Par-

ticipants will assess current hiring and renewal practices for principals or teachers in their school or district, gather feedback on those practices, use personal analysis and team feedback to identify areas for improvement, and plan an intervention for implementing a high-leverage strategy to improve hiring and renewal practices.

5. Inducting and Mentoring Staff to Advance Culturally Responsive Teaching — Par-

ticipants will understand the leader’s influence on culturally responsive schools, analyze the existing plan for inducting and mentoring new principals or teachers, target a principal or teacher competency for improvement, design a strategy to better support that

competency through the induction process, pilot the new strategy, and reflect on the pilot.

While the credentials are designed to be used in isolation or in aggregate, the advantage of completing all five is the deepening awareness that equity work requires a complex, pervasive, and systems approach. Professional development credit is available to those who qualify.

All schools must work to keep the promise of public education. This promise is best represented in the six tenets articulated by the founder of public education in America, Horace Mann: “A citizen cannot maintain both ignorance and freedom; The education of all Americans should be paid for, controlled and maintained by the public;

This education should be provided in schools that embrace children from all backgrounds; It must be non-sectarian; It must be taught using tenets of a free society; and It must be provided by welltrained, professional teachers” In isolation and in aggregate, these tenets reveal that equity has been the core structural principle of our public schools from inception.

The singular purpose of public education in the United States is to enhance and promote equity.

Our nation and our schools are becoming increasingly diverse, but this diversity is not yet reflected in our educator workforce.

While it is critically important that we advance greater diversity

in the teacher pipeline, we cannot wait to act until the workforce perfectly represents the diversity of our contemporary student demographic. Micro-credentials are designed to help current educators “learn by doing.”

It is always important to listen, read, and learn. At the same time, we should not delay the actual work of improving our schools. In fact, when it comes to promoting equity in our schools, let us all embrace the courage to “swing away,” and to learn as we go.  Mark D. Hansen, Ed.D., is a member of the EIR/SEED Project Staff for Leading Ed Partnerships. To learn more about the LFE Micro-credentials series, contact Kerry Frank at kerry.frank@bloomboard.com.

September/October 2020  29

Commentary

What if We Don’t Return to School as Usual?

By Hugh Vasquez

L

Let’s start with the end in mind.

Fast forward to a time in the near future, say 12 months from now when we have made it through this world health crisis.

Imagine that you have been invited to be on a panel at a conference because you decided to do something unusual amidst the crisis. You decided you were going to refuse to return to schooling in the same way you left it when COVID-19 erupted. You decided you would not return to doing business as usual in how we educate children. On this panel, you share why you made this decision, and your remarks focus on a desire to change the system because you realized it was designed to produce inequities.

You share what it took to stop doing business as usual and how you became a catalyst for others to join in this effort too. You talk about the innovations you and a team of educators, parents, and students created and what you are learning from taking those actions. Then you share the impact those changes had on students, families, and staff. You close by describing how you used the opportunity of the system shutdown to create a better way of

30  Illinois School Board Journal

educating children and how you are going to make sure the old system doesn’t return.

Let’s be clear. When the COVID-19 crisis is over, we do not have to go back to business as usual in our educational system, or any other system for that matter. We just don’t. The question confronting us at the moment is not can we prepare to come back differently but will we?

Working in the field of social justice education, we know there are many education leaders from superintendents to policymakers to site leaders to teachers who have realized that our education system is designed to produce what it produces — inequity in who succeeds.

We also know that many do not want to continue educating the way education was designed. Many more have realized that what they do day-to-day in schools perpetuates the current inequitable system, the very one they would like to interrupt and change. So although we want change, we find ourselves maintaining the status quo. Why? Nothing changes without disturbance. Since it is people who change things, that means change can’t happen until people are disturbed. Margaret Wheatley in her

article “Willing to be Disturbed” says, “As we work together to restore hope for the future, we need to include a new and strange ally — our willingness to be disturbed.”

Wheatley is talking about change within individuals where we have to be willing to be disturbed by actively engaging with those who challenge our way of doing things. It is in this place of discomfort where we expand our beliefs and innovations are born. When we are disturbed, we change. What is true for the individual is also true for systems. If we want to change systems, we have to be disturbed by what we see and engage with others to disturb, catalyze, and influence what we do.

The biggest changes in our society have only come about when there was a strong enough disturbance — an interruption to business as usual — and when people were willing to come together even though the path forward was cloudy. This United States was created out of disturbance. We have Social Security because of disturbance. To the extent that we have civil rights for people of color, women, people with disabilities, gay/

lesbian/bi-sexual/transgender people (to name a few) — it is because of disturbance. People interrupted the status quo way of doing things and created an opening to change something, to build something new.

COVID-19 has produced what may be one of the largest worldwide and systemic disturbances of all time. While schools closed overnight and our daily routines have changed, the inequities produced by our systems are even starker in terms of which students have access to technology, internet, food, and housing and which families have the privilege of sheltering in place to stay safe.

Since we know that disturbance is required for change and there is no doubt that disturbance is happening as we speak, the question is, are we willing to use this opportunity to

create the kind of educational system we want? We have learned that if we are going to change a system, we as individuals first have to see what the system is producing, then we have to engage with others to design something different, and finally, we have to act. Cornel West puts it this way: It takes courage to look in the mirror and see past your reflection to who you really are when you take off the mask, when you’re not performing the same old routines and social roles. It takes courage to ask — How did I become so well-adjusted to injustice?

Seeing the system doesn’t guarantee we will engage and act differently. The system is designed to keep us busy perpetuating it so that we don’t have time to redesign it. The system is a well-oiled

machine that has tremendous momentum to keep things going as they are; just look at education codes in any state. The result is that even those who see the system and have a desire to interrupt it do not usually have the mindset, time, resources, or support to do so. The demands of “doing school” prohibit us from engaging and acting differently. But now, that machine has ground to a halt.

What would acting differently (both during and after) this crisis look like for education? Below are a few ideas on what we could do differently. As you read each idea ask yourself “what if…?” and notice what thoughts come to mind. If you find yourself saying “oh, we can’t do that,” read it again and ask “but what if we did…”

September/October 2020  31

What if we … gather our teams (virtually) to get ready to return to another way? Schedule meetings with educators and school staff in whatever configuration works best for you to engage them in discussions under the theme “we will do school differently when we return.” Present your “what if we…” approach and talk about why you want to return doing school differently. The goal of these meetings is to enroll and recruit people to this approach and set a new direction, to engage their

competencies of others to interrupt the status quo ways of doing things that perpetuate inequities. Strategic equity leaders keep a birds-eye view of what’s going on in the system, the school site, and the classroom and facilitate others to see what is happening and co-create strategies to adjust to needs. What if we took time now to develop our strategic equity leadership muscles and re-purpose (or create) existing leadership structures such as leadership team meetings, staff meetings, grade-level meetings, professional

We are strong in what we know, strong in what we see, strong in what we want. We have to act courageously now, so we can come back together differently. agency and their imagination.

Allow people to talk about their excitement and concerns with this idea and engage them in responding to both the idea of coming back differently and to some of your “what if we…” ideas. Ask them to brainstorm other “what if we…” ideas and come to an agreement on what you will collectively create, build, and test.

What if we … use this time to re-purpose our leadership structures to build our leadership muscle to be strategic equity leaders instead of reactive leaders? Strategic equity leaders identify education challenges through an equity lens and engage others in collaborative inquiry to figure out what to do to address the challenges.

Strategic equity leaders build the 32  Illinois School Board Journal

learning communities, etc. to focus on learning from our actions? What if teams committed to meeting every week for a while to assess how things are going, review the actions being taken, discuss what we are learning from what we are doing, and adjust actions accordingly?

What if we implement minimum day/early release Fridays and use the afternoon for collaboration time to be in a strategic equity leadership mode looking at what to do more of because it is producing a climate for learning and what to stop or do less of because it is not?

What if we … focus each hour on student learning instead of seat time? Tony Smith, former Illinois State Superintendent says in his article “The Invisible Blizzard and the Importance of

E-Learning” that we have prioritized seat time over student learning and that our schools waste our children’s time and creativity every day. Our current way of doing school is organized around a dominant culture view of time: time to sit, time to learn, time to move on, time to test, etc. Smith says that we can, if we wish, create a new system where teachers can use their creativity to connect with students about ideas, projects, activities, and learning” in ways not dictated by hands on a clock.”

We can use the moment we are in to ask teachers how they would work or what they would do differently if their days were designed around student learning as opposed to seat time. What if we do what Smith suggests — engage teachers now to design a system that focuses on learning and competency development?

What if we … gathered data from students about their experience of our classrooms and schools regularly? We know that how students feel about being in school impacts their learning. What if we implement a system to learn in real time how the learning environment is working or not working for students? Ideally, these assessments are conducted every week by every teacher in every school so that teachers and other leaders see how well students are engaged in their learning, the extent to which they feel like they are getting enough support to learn, and how relevant the material is to their life. Tools like PERTS’ Co-Pilot/ Elevate allow teachers to gather and discuss real-time feedback

from students and work together to design and lead changes in their classrooms.

What if we … implement a focal student approach where we structure the classroom to meet the needs of students farthest from learning? Return to school with teachers prepared to name the students who are struggling the most to learn and teach the teachers how to use a focal student approach that discovers what these students need and how to best reach them.

This approach does not assume a teacher knows what is in the way of a student learning, but instead has the teacher engaging with the student to figure out what the barriers are to learning and finding innovative ways to meet their needs.

What if we … organize the curriculum with project-based learning (PBL) as a key component and create opportunities for every student to participate? Think about it, a plumber doesn’t become a good plumber without being an apprentice and learning by doing.

They do not become an expert by sitting at a desk listening to a lecture about how to unclog a pipe.

Nor do medical doctors, electricians, teachers, mechanics, writers, chefs, or nurses. All career and professional learning involves learning by doing. Apprenticeships, medical residencies, and being mentored by someone skilled in their craft is project-based learning, and project-based learning is a good practice that we know works. We can revise the curriculum so that every school and every classroom implements PBL and every child has the

opportunity to engage in learning through projects. We can make our first teaching moves facilitating learning by projects before we lecture on a subject and hand out worksheets. What we can do now is build the conditions to put PBL into play when we return?

What if we … co-design and plan a “Return to a Different School Back to School” event? This pandemic will end and we will return to our buildings and school communities. Invite students and parents back in a new way. Assemble the school community and engage in new ways together. Talk about the excitement you have as educators to do school differently and the challenges you will face to make the new way work. Acknowledge the way we were doing things before the virus was not working for everyone and explain how you want to work in partnership with them to design new ways. Break into classroom size groups for sense-making, allowing students to meet with students and parents with parents to build a relationship, and contribute to a new vision focused on student learning.

The first step in designing a new way is to decide now that you won’t return to normal — a normal that was never neutral and wasn’t working well for most students, teachers, or families. Engage with your teammates and community now to articulate a bold, audacious, wild vision of what your education system can look like. Focus on a couple of small but powerful pieces to change. Gather your people to engage in equity by design and engage in collaborative inquiry to continuously design, test,

and adjust your practices based on what you learn. And, commit to sticking with the process — for at least a year, to stay the course. This is how we can collectively take the opportunity to design for change in how we do school.

For my fellow rebel leaders — those who have learned about equity, who are “woke” to how inequities are produced and perpetuated, who have built leadership skills to engage others in working toward equity, who have been trying to take action to change things — we have been preparing for this moment of interruption, the moment when a great disturbance would bring the system to a halt.

We are strong in what we know, strong in what we see, strong in what we want. We have to act courageously now, so we can come back together differently. What if we…

“When the world becomes a fantasy And you’re more than you could ever be ’Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open And you know you can’t go back again To the world that you were living in ’Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open So, come alive!”

The Greatest Showman



Hugh Vasquez is senior associate with the National Equity Project, working with a range of school district and nonprofit partners to plan and implement racial equity initiatives.

Reprinted with permission of the National Equity Project.

September/October 2020  33

ICYMI

Improving Culture for Staff and Students Reported by Alyssa Smith Moderator: Andrew DuRoss, Superintendent, Schaumburg CCSD 54. Panelists: Paul Goldberg, Superintendent, Staff and Student Services; Erin Knoll, Superintendent, Teaching and Learning; and Danette Meyer, Assistant Superintendent, Language and Culture, Schaumburg CCSD 54

S

Schaumburg CCSD 54 is a large district in Cook County, comprised of 28 schools. The district was thriving with student achievement in academics. From the outside looking in, Schaumburg CCSD 54 looked like they had everything going for it. But after a text message one afternoon it became clear to Superintendent Andrew DuRoss that something was missing. This panel presentation at the 2019 Joint Annual Conference featured Schaumburg 54’s work in improving district culture.

Students were stressed, teachers were stressed, and there didn’t seem to be happiness in the culture of the district. After reading The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, DuRoss knew what had to happen.

DuRoss’s takeaways were understanding “Meaning + Grit + Happiness = Long Term Optimism.” This

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) features panel reports from the 2019 Joint Annual Conference.

Reporters are participants in the Educational Administration Intern program, a collaboration of IASB and the Illinois Council of Professors of Educational Administration.

ICYMI

was the missing link for Schaumburg CCSD 54 and the final piece of the puzzle for educating the whole child and supporting the well-being of all students and staff in the district. In 2016, he presented the book to the leadership team and the members spent the year reading, studying, and discussing what it would look like in District 54.

Their action plan centered on this: Our understanding of how to achieve happiness is backwards; success doesn’t equal happiness, rather, happiness equals success. This idea is rooted in the belief that one must have a realistic assessment of the present, but the belief that our brain will create a better reality. So, the leadership team of Schaumburg CCSD 54 set out to cultivate this culture among their staff.

In 2017, the district brought in The Orange Frog training for the staff. This was a one-day training for staff that began a year-long journey of professional development and building teacher efficacy around teacher happiness and the ideal that everyone can be successful; success bred by happiness. The district achieved this by including teachers in the decision-making of the district and gathering a consensus on what the goals were for moving forward.

In 2018, the district used the book The Big Potential, also by

Shawn Achor, to drive how they were going to invest this happiness culture for students. They created a district-wide Social Emotional Learning curriculum based on ideas from the book, and what they had learned from The Orange Frog training, to deliver to every student.

DuRoss reported that this cultural change within Schaumburg CCSD 54 has been extraordinary.

“Meaning + Grit + Happiness = Long Term Optimism” has become the cultural norm of the district.

Suspensions have decreased by 50%, office referrals have decreased by 30%, and mental health emergencies have decreased by 20%. These are all statistics that support the idea that Schaumburg is supporting the well-being of the whole child.

The needs of the students in Schaumburg are the same as the needs of students across the state of Illinois, and the country. The mental health is in crisis, teacher job satisfaction is down, and districts need to consider the whole person. This positive psychology culture can be a part of any district. Step one is reading The Happiness Advantage and then asking yourself, “What would our district be like if …”

Alyssa Smith is Director of Curriculum and Instruction for East Alton SD 13.

September/October 2020  35

Insights "COVID-19 has produced what may be one of the largest worldwide and systemic disturbances of all time. While schools closed overnight and our daily routines have changed, the inequities produced by our systems are even starker in terms of which students have access to technology, internet, food, and housing and which families have the privilege of sheltering in place to stay safe. Since we know that disturbance is required for change and there is no doubt that disturbance is happening as we speak, the question is, are we willing to use this opportunity to create the kind of educational system we want?"

"What if We Don’t Return to School as Usual? By Hugh Vasquez. See page 30.

"School board members share a collective responsibility for determining the strategic priorities of the district that should also reflect a commitment to lead on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion and for monitoring whether priorities are met."

"Leadership Letter: The Journey Towards Equity" by Thomas E. Bertrand. See page 4.

"When we look at racial achievement data in our nation, we see disparities in education pervasively across all areas. We must never make excuses for those disparities in our schools or lower our expectations for any students. Our purpose is to successfully educate all the students who attend our schools — all

the children in our community — and implement improvements to address racial disparities. It is essential that we, as school board members, focus our work on racial equity in schools and identify all forms of racial inequity for two reasons: To increase awareness of systemic barriers that disadvantage students of color."

"Ten Ways School Boards Can Champion Racial Equity, Renewed for 2020" by Pat Savage-Williams. See page 10.

"Without teachers of color in classrooms and on the playground, we perpetuate narratives that devalue many of Illinois’ children. School board members can address this gap by actively pursuing diversity as part of hiring practices. Simple changes can make a big difference, such as ensuring that people of color participate in all hiring panels."

"What’s on the Table? Illinois Has a Teacher Diversity Shortage, Too"

by Joshua Kaufman with Rachel Brick, Anita Thawani Bucio, Charity Freeman, Victor Idowu, and Arnetta Thompson. See page 16.

"ABAR is trending in mainstream spaces, and more schools are recognizing its importance and reaching out for resources and training.

I do believe that it’s better late than never, but schools must be intentional and thoughtful as they begin this life-long commitment.

While there is urgency in ABAR work, urgency cannot be prioritized over relationships or centering on the voices and opinions of marginalized community members."

"Anti-Racist Work in Schools: Are You in it for the Long Haul?" by Elizabeth Kleinrock. See page 25.

36  Illinois School Board Journal

Practical PR

How Will Your District Be Caught on Tape?

By Jill S. Browning, APR

W

When it comes to sharing content,

communications people like to say that “video is king.” Whenever we can “show, not tell,” we improve the chances that our message will be received as intended — and videos always provide a show.

Knowing its effectiveness, Community High SD 99 in Downers Grove uses video in a variety of ways throughout the school year.

Weekly video announcements, with colorful and campy segments, entertain and engage high school students. Principals share school news and happenings to families via monthly video updates. An “Opening Doors” video series spotlights teachers and students in action, and each hyper-focused segment shows what happens inside the classrooms.

The district also videotapes every bi-monthly board of education meeting, and have live-streamed each one since the start of the pandemic crisis.

We’ve found that publishing videos and doing so on a regular schedule have increased

Columns are submitted by members of the Illinois Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association

transparency and understanding and won the trust of the school community.

While video can be a powerfully positive tool, the opposite can be true. Just one amateur-shot, a seconds-long snippet can unravel years of positive work. In January 2019, while waiting in a classroom at another school for an extracurricular event to start, one of our students, wearing a school-issued uniform, wrote the “n” word across a whiteboard. Another student videotaped it, giggling. The grainy video spread like wildfire across Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook, and people chimed in from near and far.

The comments on social media came swiftly and were deservedly negative. Media descended, demanding information and answers about what they deemed the “school slur scandal.” People clamored to know how those involved would be punished. Many of the comments were hateful and threatening — and expanded far beyond the community. We were concerned for the safety of those involved.

The district’s response was clear and repeated: Racism has no place in our schools. We were able to point to examples of things the district was already doing and the structures already in place. For example, we have several equity

committees, dedicated diversity advisors to respond to concerns, and mandated training for all staff to ensure the district fosters an equitable environment. ISBE commended the District 99 Equity Team with an Award of Meritorious Service this year.

Supporting these efforts through that crisis, and all along, has been the board of education.

Our school board members have long been advocates of equity and have supported the district’s work to advance an equitable environment.

The board has video documentation of these efforts, having taped its meetings since December 2011.

The most recent evidence was earlier this year when the board welcomed student equity leaders into the meeting chambers. The students shared the work they’re doing to lead conversations about race, culture, and equity in order to foster a positive school climate. The students were proud to present their work. How do we know? We caught the students’ expressions on tape.

As a community leader, you are a powerful force in leading the way to create a more equitable and inclusive world. To broaden its reach and perspective, your Board of Education might consider: • Broadcasting school board meetings, if the district does not already do so. Videos make meetings accessible to September/October 2020  37

everyone, which establishes a foundation of transparency and trust and provides a public record of your positive work.

• Installing student representatives on the board. Principals appoint a student board representative to serve alongside adult board members. The students don’t participate in closed sessions, and they don’t vote, but they provide fresh voices about school climate during discussions.

• Including students in board meetings. Every month the agenda reserves space for a student spotlight. These presentations by students about events and activities at the schools directly connect the board to student life.

How the District 99 Board Supports Equity

The District 99 Board of Education advocates for equity and

supports the district’s work to advance an equitable environment.

For example, throughout the years the board has supported: • Approving the district’s annual district goals, which include equity and inclusion programs.

• Adopting new and detailed policies about expectations for behavior, as well as extensive protective measures to ensure everyone’s safety.

• Expanding academic horizons by supporting curriculum changes beyond white and non-Western history to tell the stories and share the voices of those from marginalized groups.

• Transforming hiring practices to emphasize recruiting and hiring staff with diverse identities.

As we know, good work can unravel. That happened on May 25, 2020. The most poignant, disastrous and racist video we’ve ever

seen, and one we will never forget, is the one that shows George Floyd being murdered.

District 99 quickly issued a collage of video messages from teachers and staff directed to our Black students, to show we care about them and were thinking about them. Was it enough? No. But it’s something. It’s a start.

From your position of influence, how will you combat racism? How will you respond to racist videos?

Does your district have an actionable plan for promoting equity and inclusion for students and staff? What actions can you take to demonstrate sympathy, empathy, care, stance against injustice, and opposition to racism?

We all need to challenge ourselves to promote hope — and to ensure that ultimately it’s not a video that is king, but kindness.

Norman Walin, 91, died June 27, 2020. The Varna resident had served on the Midland CUSD 7 Board of Education.

Ronald Wall, 85, died July 9, 2020. He had served on the Bradford CUSD 1 school board.

Lawrence M. Walsh Sr., 72, died June 3, 2020. He had served as the Will Count y Executive since 2004 and was a past member of the Elwood CCSD 203 school board and a former Illinois state senator.

Philip Henry Ward Jr., 88, died July 6, 2020. He was a past member of the board of education for Sterling elementary school in Whiteside County. 

Jill S. Browning, APR, is director of communications for Community High SD 99 in Downers Grove.

Milestones

Continued from page 42

R. Dean Starr, 91, died June 22, 2020. He was a lifelong farmer who also trained students in farming through vocational and technical programs. He was a member of the Hamilton CCSD 328 Board of Education.

Gale L. Ufert, 66, died July 23, 2020. At the time of her passing she was a Wood River City councilwoman and had served on the board of education for East AltonWood River CHSD 14 from 20012007.

38  Illinois School Board Journal

The Illinois School Board Journal welcomes contributions for this Milestones section. This issue includes memoriams collected in June and July 2020. If you have additions, please send memorial and achievement information to communications@iasb.com.

Service Associates Directory Appraisal Services INDUSTRIAL APPRAISAL COMPANY Building and fixed asset appraisals for insurance and accounting purposes.

Oak Brook (630) 575‑0280

Architects/Engineers ARCON ASSOCIATES, INC. Full service firm specializing in educational facilities with services that include architecture, construction management, roof and masonry consulting, landscape architecture, and environmental consulting.

Lombard (630) 495‑1900; www.arconassoc.com; rpcozzi@arconassoc.com BERG ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, LTD. Consulting engineers.

Schaumburg (847) 352‑4500; www.berg-eng.com BLDD ARCHITECTS, INC. Architectural and engineering services for schools.

Decatur (217) 429‑5105; Champaign (217) 356‑9606; Bloomington (309) 828‑5025; Chicago (312) 829‑1987 CANNONDESIGN Architecture, interiors, engineering, consulting. Chicago (312) 332‑9600; www.cannondesign.com; sbrodsky@cannondesign.com CORDOGAN CLARK & ASSOCIATES Architects and engineers.

Aurora (630) 896‑4678; www.cordoganclark.com; rmont@cordoganclark.com DEWBERRY ARCHITECTS INC. Architects, planners, landscape architecture, and engineers.

Peoria (309) 282‑8000; Elgin (847) 695‑5840 DLA ARCHITECTS, LTD. Architects specializing in preK-12 educational design, including a full range of architectural services, assessments, planning, feasibility studies, new construction, additions, remodeling, O&M and owner’s rep services.

Itasca (847) 742‑4063; www.dla-ltd.com; info@dla-ltd.com DLR GROUP Educational facility design and master planning. Chicago (312) 382‑9980; dlrgroup.com; mengelhardt@dlrgoup.com

ERIKSSON ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES, LTD. Consulting civil engineers and planners.

Grayslake (847) 223‑4804; Chicago (312) 463‑0551; Mokena (708) 614‑9720; www.eea-ltd.com; geriksson@eea-ltd.com

LEGAT ARCHITECTS, INC. Architectural and educational planners who specialize in creating effective student learning environments.

Gurnee (847) 622‑3535; Oak Brook (630) 990‑3535; Chicago (312) 258‑9595; www.legat.com

FARNSWORTH GROUP, INC. Architectural and engineering professional services. Normal, IL (309) 633‑8436

PCM+DESIGN ARCHITECTS Provide a full range of architectural services including facility and feasibility studies, architectural design, construction consulting, and related services.

East Peoria (309) 694‑5012; www.PCMPLUSD.com

FGM ARCHITECTS, INC. Architects. Chicago (312) 942‑8461; Oak Brook (630) 574‑8300; O’Fallon (618) 624‑3364; St. Louis (314) 439‑1601; www.fgmarchitects.com GREENASSOCIATES, INC. Architecture/construction services.

Deerfield (847) 317‑0852; Pewaukee, Wisconsin (262) 746-125 HEALY, BENDER & ASSOCIATES, INC. Archi­tects/planners.

Naperville (630) 904‑4300; www.healybender.com; dpatton@healybender.com HURST-ROSCHE, INC. Architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design.

Hillsboro (217) 532‑3959; East St. Louis (618) 398‑0890; Marion (618) 998‑0075; Springfield (217) 787‑1199; dpool@hurst-rosche.com JMA ARCHITECTS Full service professional design firm specializing in K-12 educational design, construction management, strategic/master planning, health/life safety compliance, building commissioning, and interior space design. South Holland (708) 339‑3900; www.jmaarchitects.com; allison@jmaarchitects.com KLUBER ARCHITECTS + ENGINEERS Building design professionals specializing in architecture, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, and fire protection engineers. Batavia (630) 406‑1213 LARSON & DARBY GROUP Architecture, engineering, interior design, and technology.

Rockford (815) 484‑0739; St. Charles (630) 444‑2112; www.larsondarby.com; snelson@larsondarby.com

PERFORMANCE SERVICES, INC. An integrated design and delivery engineering company serving the design and construction facility needs of K-12 schools.

Schaumburg (847) 466‑7220 PERKINS+WILL Architects. Chicago (312) 755‑0770 RICHARD L. JOHNSON ASSOCIATES, INC. Architecture, educational planning.

Rockford (815) 398‑1231; www.rljarch.com STR PARTNERS Architectural, interior design, planning, cost estimating, and building enclosure/roofing consulting. Chicago (312) 464‑1444 STUDIOGC ARCHITECTURE + INTERIORS StudioGC is passionate communityminded partner, committed to creating imaginative and well-designed facilities.

StudioGC offers innovative planning, programming, architectural, interior design, and cost estimates.

Chicago (312) 253‑3400 TRIA ARCHITECTURE An architectural planning and interior design firm that provides services primarily to school districts in the Chicagoland area with an emphasis on service to their clients, and their communities.

Burr Ridge (630) 455‑4500 WIGHT & COMPANY For over 77 years, Wight & Company has provided design and construction services for the built environment. As a pioneer of integrated Design & Delivery, we’ve worked with our clients to create exceptional, enduring buildings and spaces that enrich people’s lives and enhance the environment; Darien (630) 969‑7000; www.wightco.com; bpaulsen@wightco.com

September/October 2020  39

Service Associates Directory WM. B. ITTNER, INC. Full service architectural firm serving the educational community since 1899.

Fairview Heights (618) 624‑2080 WOLD ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS Specializing in Pre-K-12 educational design including master planning, sustainable design, architecture, mechanical and electrical engineering, quality review, cost estimation and management. Palatine (847) 241‑6100

Building Construction CORE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES OF IL., INC. Professional construction management, design-build, and general contracting services. Peoria (309) 404‑4700; COREconstruction.com; mikaylavincent@coreconstruction.com F. H. PASCHEN A general/construction manager with extensive experience in new construction and renovation of educational and institutional facilities in the public/private sectors. Chicago (773) 444‑1525; www.fhpaschen.com FREDERICK QUINN CORPORATION Construction management and general contracting. Addison (630) 628‑8500; www.fquinncorp.com HOLLAND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, INC. Full service construction management and general contracting firm specializing in education facilities.

Swansea (618) 277‑8870 INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTORS, INC. (ICI) An award-winning construction management firm specializing in K-12 facilities. Our firm is currently partnering with eight Illinois School Districts on capital improvement projects.

Elmhurst (630) 641-6852 NICHOLAS & ASSOCIATES, INC. Construction management, general contracting, design and build.

Mt. Prospect (847) 394‑6200 info@nicholasquality.com PEPPER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY Construction management and general contracting services.

Barrington (847) 381‑2760; www.pepperconstruction; jripsky@pepperconstruction.com

40  Illinois School Board Journal

(continued)

POETTKER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY Specializing in construction management, design/build, construction consulting services, and energy solutions for education clients. Breese (618) 526‑7213; www.poettkerconstruction.com RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. Russell provides successful, knowledgeable construction management and contracting services in the PreK-12 market from concept to completion and continuing care for your facility needs.

Davenport, Iowa (563) 459‑4600 S.M. WILSON & CO. Provides construction management and general construction services to education, healthcare, commercial, retail, and industrial clients. St. Louis (314) 645‑9595; www.smwilson.com; judd.presley@smwilson.com TRANE HVAC company specializing in design, build, and retrofit. Willowbrook (630) 734‑6033

Computer Software, Supplies, Services COMPUTER INFORMATION CONCEPTS, INC. Infinite Campus student information System and Finance Suite, and Tableau Data Visualization/Analytics.

Greeley, Colorado (312) 995‑3342 EDMENTUM We provide fully digital curriculum and assessment tools for educators to utilize in K-12 classrooms to establish blended and personalized environments and advance student learning.

Bloomington, Minnesota (952) 832‑1570

Consulting DECISIONINSITE, LLC DecisionInsite provides the nation’s school district leaders with the technology, enrollment forecasts, and expertise they need to understand how enrollment impacts their district.

Irvine, California (877) 204‑1392 EOSULLIVAN CONSULTING Illinois-based EOSullivan Consulting has developed a proven process the helps school districts with community engagement, survey research, messaging, informational campaigns and referendums. Libertyville (815) 353-1991

IASB Service Associates are businesses which offer school‑related products and services and which have earned favorable repu­tations for quality and integrity. Only after careful screening is a business firm invited to become a Service Associate.

To learn more about IASB Service Associates membership, visit www.iasb.com or contact Britni Beck at bbeck@iasb.com

ROOM READY Highly qualified audiovisual specialists who specialize in removing the complexity and ensuring that your audiovisual installations just work, both today and in the future. Normal (309) 261‑3794

Environmental Services ALPHA CONTROLS & SERVICES, LLC We deliver energy cost justified solutions that make the learning environment comfortable, secure, and efficient. Rockford, Springfield, Champaign (815) 227‑4000; www.alpaacs.com; jasonv@alphaacs.com CTS GROUP Dedicated to assisting K-12 education meet the challenge of providing healthy, safe, and educational appropriate learning environments.

St. Louis (636) 230‑0843; Chicago (773) 633‑0691; www.ctsgroup.com; rbennett@ctsgroup.com ENERGY SYSTEMS GROUP A comprehensive energy services and performance contracting company providing energy, facility and financial solutions. Itasca (630) 773‑7201; smcivor@energysystemsgroup.com GCA SERVICES GROUP Custodial, janitorial, maintenance, lawn and grounds, and facility operations services. Downers Grove (630) 629‑4044

Environmental Services continued from previous page

GRP MECHANICAL CO., INC. Renovating buildings through energy savings performance contracting to provide the best learning environment.

HVAC, plumbing, windows, doors, and mechanical services.

Bethalto (618) 779‑0050 HONEYWELL, INC. Controls, maintenance, energy management, performance contracting, and security.

St. Louis (314) 548‑4136; Des Plaines (847) 770‑5496; Maryland Heights, Missouri (314) 548‑4501; Doc.Kotecki@Honeywell.com; Kevin.Bollman@Honeywell.com IDEAL ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, INC. Asbestos and environmental services.

Bloomington (309) 828‑4259 ILLINOIS ENERGY CONSORTIUM Sells electricity and natural gas to school districts, colleges, and universities.

DeKalb (815) 753‑9083; www.ILLec.org; hwallace@iasbo.org ENGIE SERVICES U.S. Turnkey partnership programs that enable K12 school districts in Illinois to modernize their facilities; increase safety, security and efficiency; reduce operations costs; and maximize the lifespan of critical assets. Chicago (312) 498‑7792; sharon@opterraenergy.com RADON DETECTION SPECIALISTS Radon measurements in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as all DCFS licensed spaces. We service the entire state of Illinois.

Westmont (630) 325‑4443 or (800) 244‑4242; www.radondetection.net; KirstenS@radondetection.net

Financial Services ABM EDUCATION SERVICES Provides financial solutions through many contracted services under the facilities envelop, including energy performance contracting, condition assessments, custodial, maintenance and landscaping services. Downers Grove (331) 305-0568 BERNARDI SECURITIES, INC. Municipal bond specialty firm; offers a full range of school bond underwriting services, including capital needs financing and debt refinancing.

O’Fallon (618) 206‑4180; Peru (815) 587‑8972; Chicago (312) 281‑2014; jvezzetti@bernardisecurities.com

SIKICH, LLP Professional services firm specializing in accounting, technology, and advisory services. Naperville, IL (630) 556‑8400 SPEER FINANCIAL, INC. Financial planning and bond issue services. Chicago (312) 346‑3700; www.speerfinancial.com; dphillips@speerfinancial.com STIFEL Full service securities firm providing investment banking and advisory services including strategic financial planning; bond underwriting; referendum and legislative assistance.

Edwardsville (800) 230‑5151; noblea@stifel.com

BMO HARRIS BANK BMO Harris Bank’s experienced specialists can help you build a sound strategy to help close budget gaps, manage day-to-day cash flow and maximize your resources.

Chicago (312) 461‑7895

WINTRUST FINANCIAL Financial services holding company engaging in community banking, wealth management, commercial insurance premium financing, and mortgage origination. Rosemont (630) 560‑2120

EHLERS AND ASSOCIATES School bond issues; referendum help; financial and enrollment studies Roseville, MN (312) 638‑5250

Human Resource Consulting

FIRST MIDSTATE, INC. Bond issue consultants.

Bloomington (309) 829‑3311; paul@firstmidstate.com GORENZ AND ASSOCIATES, LTD. Auditing and financial consulting.

Peoria (309) 685‑7621; www.gorenzcpa.com; tcustis@gorenzcpa.com ICE MILLER, LLP Nationally recognized bond counsel services. Chicago (312) 726‑7127 KINGS FINANCIAL CONSULTING, INC. Municipal bond financial advisory service including all types of school bonds; school referenda, county school sales tax; tax revenue forecasts/projections.

Monticello (217) 762‑4578

BUSHUE HUMAN RESOURCES, INC. Human resource, safety and risk management, and insurance consulting.

Effingham (217) 342‑3042; www.bushuehr.com; steve@bushuehr.com

Office Equipment FRANK COONEY COMPANY, INC. Furniture for educational environments.

Wood Dale (630) 694‑8800

Superintendent Searches ECRA GROUP Superintendent searches, board and superintendent workshops.

Schaumburg (847) 318‑0072

ADVANCING PUBLIC EDUCATION IASB Service Associates provide quality products and services for schools. Membership is by invitation only. A list of Service Associate firms is on the IASB website and in this Journal.

September/October 2020  41

Milestones

In Memoriam John William Aldridge Sr., 98, died June 19, 2020. He served for 11 years on the Elmwood Park CUSD 401 school board including a term as president.

Donald Almquist, 91, died June 28, 2020. He served as a member of the Moline-Coal Valley SD 40 school board, and “fondly remembered those years, traveling to national school board conventions and always seeking opportunities to bring back to Moline students.”

Donald A. Awe, 81, died June 1, 2020. The Elkhart resident was a past member of the Mt. Pulaski CUD 23 Board of Education.

James E. Bitter, MD, 90, died May 28, 2020. He practiced general surgery in his hometown of Quincy for 35 years and served on the Quincy SD 172 school board.

Vern M. Bricker, 90, died June 24, 2020. He had served on the Avon Board of Education in Fulton County.

Garry Colclasure, 74, died July 4, 2020. He was a past member of the school board at Roanoke-Benson CUSD 60.

Jon “Jack” Cooke Sr., 84, died July 13, 2020. He served on the Milton Pope school board from 1967 to 1979 and the Regional Office of Education for LaSalle County from 1980 to 1999.

Richard Francis Crawley Jr., 83, died July 26, 2020. He was a past member of the board of education for Senachwine Grade School.

Da rrell Edwa rds, 84, died June 2, 2020. He served on the Virden school board in Macoupin 42  Illinois School Board Journal

and Sangamon counties for over 10 years, including two years as president.

Dean Francis Heinz, 89, died July 21, 2020. He had served as a member of the Princeville CUSD 326 school board.

Gary D. Herrman, 73, died June 2, 2020. He was an agriculture teacher at Gridley High School and later served for many years on the Gridley school board in McLean County.

Robert L. Judd, 90, died July 1, 2020. A lifelong Putnam County resident, he was a member of the Putnam Co CUSD 535 school board for seven years.

Carl Lange, 77, died May 25, 2020. He served on the Wood Dale SD 7 Board of Education for 41 years, the longest-serving board member in DuPage County.

James Leonard, 90, died July 2, 2020. He was a past member and president of the Morris CHSD 101 school board.

Michael R. Manno, 68, died June 21, 2020. He was a Lansing police officer who continued leading safety and anti-gang programs after his retirement. He served on the Sunnybrook SD 171 Board of Education.

Billy McCullough, 83, died June 9, 2020. He served on the Zion SD 6 School Board for two terms and was mayor of Zion from 1991-1995.

Bruce A. McDonald, 74, died June 29, 2020. He served as a member of the Mannheim SD 83 Board of Education from 1987 to 2005.

John Gray McDougal, 84, died July 6, 2020. He was a past member and president of the Roscoe school board in Winnebago County.

John “Terry” McFadden, 70, died June 11, 2020. He was a 35-year English teacher in Downers Grove schools and was a baseball coach and athletic official. He served as a member of the Troy CCSD 30C school board for over 40 years.

Barbara Oliver, 90, died June 22, 2020. She was one of the first residents of Country Club Hills and lived there for over 60 years.

She taught there for 35 years and then was a Country Club Hills SD 160 school board member for eight years.

Duane Orton, 86, died July 23, 2020. He was previously a member of the Yorkville CUSD 115 Board of Education.

Arthur Leroy “Dick” Scheetz, 91, died June 17, 2020. He served on the board of education for the Ferris School District in Hancock County.

Jack Seghi, 79, died June 29, 2020. He was a nine-year member of the Marseilles ESD 150 Board of Education.

James Sellmyer, 88, died June 13, 2020. He had served as a member and president of the Wenona Board of Education in Marshall County.

Kenneth E. Sondgeroth, 82, died July 18, 2020. He served as a member and president of the LaMoille CUSD 303 Board of Education.

Continued on page 38

News from the Association

By Kara Kienzler

This past summer the Illinois Association of School Boards announced the cancelation of 2020 Joint Annual Conference, originally scheduled to be held November 20-22 in Chicago.

The July 22 decision was based on guidance related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and necessary in order to protect the health and safety of all who are involved with the event planning and participation.

“This was a difficult decision to have to make, said IASB Executive Director Thomas Bertrand, Ph.D. Our goal is to keep everyone safe and healthy. We know that our school board members look forward to the learning opportunities this

Conference offers every year and will miss connecting with and learning from school leaders from across the state.”

IASB members and readers who value the wide array of learning opportunities the in-person networking and resource-sharing the Conference offers can look forward to the 2021 Joint Annual Conference, November 19-21, 2021 in Chicago.

Registration is scheduled to open June 1, 2021.

Meanwhile, members are invited to a number of virtual opportunities as a benefit of membership and to keep up on policy and legal issues as well as current education topics. Information is emailed to IASB membership and posted on

the website events calendar. Webinars are recorded for members to view on-demand at www.iasb.com/ onlinelearning. Online learning links include a library of archived webinars, courses, and recent recordings.

Plans are underway for a day of leadership development, insights, and inspiration delivered directly to school board members in a virtual format. The IASB Virtual Summit will take place on Friday, November 20, 2020. Details are forthcoming and information will be available at www.iasb.com.  Kara Kienzler is IASB’s Associate Executive Director for Communications/Production Services.

September/October 2020  43

NON-PROFIT PRST STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BOARDS

2921 Baker Drive Springfield, Illinois 62703-5929 Address Service Requested

www.iasb.com

S AV E T H E DAT E

IASB Virtual Summit November 20, 2020