Advisory

For Immediate Release
Thursday, December 1, 2016

Crystal Lake to host stop on State Board’s statewide ESSA listening tour

ISBE to collect feedback on Illinois’ draft ESSA State Plan

CRYSTAL LAKE – Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 will host one stop on the third statewide listening tour regarding Illinois' Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State Plan. Through the listening tour, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), in collaboration with Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 and the McHenry County Regional Office of Education, will continue collecting feedback from all stakeholders on Illinois' draft plan to implement the new federal education law.

ISBE developed the draft ESSA State Plan based on stakeholder feedback received at two previous statewide listening tours and hundreds of comments submitted online. Explore the plan on the ISBE website at http://isbe.net/essa. ISBE staff will present the second draft of the plan to the State Board on Nov. 18, as well as post the updated draft online.  

“As we learned from the release of the Illinois Report Card, the majority of the generation of students entrusted to us are not prepared for college or career. Reversing that tide requires participation and collaboration," said State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith, Ph.D. “I encourage parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, and leaders from business and our local communities to seize this opportunity to provide input and come together in charting Illinois' path forward."

In addition to submitting comments in person during the listening tour, all stakeholders are encouraged to send comments via email to essa@isbe.net. ISBE has compiled and posted all of the comments received thus far at http://isbe.net/essa/pdf/ESSA-comments-1016.pdf.  

WHAT: Listening tour stop hosted by the State Board of Education, in collaboration with Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 and the McHenry County Regional Office of Education, to collect feedback from all stakeholders on the draft ESSA State Plan

WHEN: 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7

WHERE: Bernotas Middle School, 170 N. Oak St., Crystal Lake

View the full statewide schedule for the third ESSA listening tour at http://isbe.net/essa/pdf/ESSA-tour3-schedule-1116.pdf 

ISBE plans to submit its draft of the Illinois State Plan to Governor Bruce Rauner for feedback in January. The next draft will be presented to the State Board on Feb. 22. ISBE then will submit its finalized Illinois State Plan to the U.S. Department of Education in March. ISBE opted to submit the plan in March instead of July in order to ensure that Illinois school districts receive the final approved plan by the start of the 2017-18 school year.

Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, reauthorizing and amending the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act and replacing the most recent version of the law, called No Child Left Behind. Illinois' ESSA State Plan embraces the significant opportunity ESSA presents to better serve all students. By considering what educating “the whole child" means and designing supports and programming that take into account every student's unique strengths and needs, the State Plan aims to equip all students to succeed in college and career. The new law takes effect in phases over the next two school years.

Share!