The following is a guest post from Robin M. Steans, Executive Director of Advance Illinois, on why Illinois should be considered the reformiest state at our Ed Reform Idol event next week. Contestants from Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin will explain why they should be named the 2011 Ed Reform Idol winner later this week the week; Florida's contestant has already weighed in.
Don't forget to join us for Ed Reform Idol on August 11 at 8:30AM or watch the webcast live to see which state wins!
Illinois is so honored to be in the finals for Education Reform Idol. Having just convicted our second straight governor (not Pat Quinn, but the two before him), reform is not always what we are known for?so education leaders here are delighted to be able to demonstrate that the Land of Lincoln can indeed get hard work done, and get it done the right way. (Of course we encourage aggressive online voting for Illinois come August 11th. Frankly, if a few dead people don't log on and vote, we will consider the entire exercise a failure of Chicago-style democracy.)
The jewel in our legislative crown, historic Senate Bill 7 (SB 7), was passed virtually unanimously by the Illinois legislature this spring, and the law and the collaborative way in which it was negotiated have quickly become national models.
What does this groundbreaking legislation do?
- Emphasizes performance in hiring decisions, including transfers and layoffs,
- Restructures tenure to ensure it rewards a strong record of effective performance,
- Streamlines longstanding and cumbersome dismissal procedures and puts final decisions back in the hands of school boards,
- Brings transparency to contract negotiations, and
- Implements statewide learning conditions surveys.
And specifically in Chicago, it:
- Gives Chicago Public Schools greater ability to lengthen the school day and year, and
- Raises the threshold needed for teachers to strike (to 75 percent of full membership).
While he may be a home-town guy, this was Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's take:
Illinois has done something truly remarkable, and every state committed to education reform should take notice. Business, unions, educators, advocates and elected officials all came together around a plan that puts children ahead of adults and paves the way for meaningful education reform. For some time now I have been saying that tough-minded collaboration is more productive than confrontation, and this is the proof.
We are tough competitors and in the quest for ?Reformiest State 2011? (a goal second only to improving education opportunities for kids), we knew that passing one of the most widely-acclaimed reform platforms in the nation might not be enough. So the state also enacted legislation creating an independent charter authorizer to spur greater activity around the state.
And we didn't stop at K-12. Illinois also passed HB 1503, which initiates performance-based, outcome-focused funding criteria for higher education in the state.
That's a lot of change, but Illinois can handle it. We worked to keep our new legislation revenue-neutral. And we kept working, with all stakeholders at the table, to make sure that prior legislation is properly implemented. We developed new teacher and principal evaluations, prepared to pilot a state kindergarten-readiness assessment, and reformed the rules around teacher and principal certifications. This is not ?lip service legislation,? and our track record of collaborative change and implementation now spans multiple years, proving that Illinois' is not a reform ?flash in the pan.?
Indeed, we're not done for the year! More good work is underway and heading to the General Assembly this fall?for details listen in on August 11th! (And in the interest of fair-play, we'll talk frankly about some of the challenges we face, lest you think we cannot see straight through our rose-colored glasses.)
?Robin M. Steans