House Resolution 250

White Paper by Joint Ed. Committee (PDF)

Governor George H. Ryan's Opening Remarks

Keynote Presentation by Kati Haycock of The Education Trust (PDF)

Initial Summit Recommendations

Summit News Releases

The future of all Illinoisans depends on the preparation of our students, yet our schools face a serious crisis - a shortage of quality teachers to staff our classrooms.

On November 19, 2001, Governor George H. Ryan hosted an Education Summit at the Executive Mansion in Springfield to highlight and address the dual concerns of educator supply and quality in the state's schools.

"We can talk all we want about putting more money into the classrooms, but a classroom full of eager children will not succeed without a good teacher."
                                                        George H. Ryan

Over 100 delegates who represent parents, education, business and community leaders collaboratively developed an initial set of recommendations for how our state should address these critical education issues. Their discussions covered a full range of educator supply and quality issues, including recruitment, preparation, retention and professional development.

As background for the delegates' work, they reviewed a White Paper prepared by the Joint Education Committee in response to House Resolution 250, which was approved by the General Assembly in the spring of 2001. This paper explored a variety of options for ensuring that each and every Illinois student is taught by a qualified teacher and attends a school led by a highly competent administrator.

Governor Ryan gave remarks to open the Summit. Kati Haycock, Executive Director of the Education Trust, was the keynote speaker. As one of the nation's most respected researchers in the field of educational equity, she presented the Governor, Summit delegates and media representatives with compelling data showing that effective teaching is one of the most powerful factors in student success. She also showed that projected shortages and our current inequitable staffing patterns for qualified teachers pose serious threats to our students' learning potential, especially those children and youths who are economically disadvantaged.

Delegates divided into thirteen groups. Each group discussed the four categories (recruitment, preparation, retention and professional development) and submitted their collective initial recommendations. These have been compiled into a report and distributed for public feedback.

After gathering public input, Summit delegates will reconvene in Springfield on January 28, 2002, to develop the initial draft recommendations into a legislative and budget agenda for consideration during the spring 2002 session of the General Assembly.