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BURNHAM 2.0 PRESS RELEASE
October 14, 2009
Embracing Education
Innovation Now Will Bring
Rewards for Students and All of Illinois
SPRINGFIELD – A
diverse group of education advocates, public officials and civic and labor
leaders today unveiled a set of strategic goals for Illinois education policy
that will equip students for the 21st century’s top jobs and help
position Illinois to access a $4.35 billion pool of stimulus money–the U.S.
Department of Education’s “Race to the Top” fund.
“The Dialogue Group”
urges immediate changes in how Illinois education does business. Setting aside
strongly divergent political and policy concerns, the volunteer group drafted
the report in a series of meetings over a two-year period. The report, entitled “Burnham 2.0",
proposes changes designed to benefit urban, suburban and rural schools. The 22 page report
calls for education policy to be driven by student outcomes, with the state
“articulating clear results and giving local districts the resources and
autonomy required to accomplish them.”
“Doing the right
thing, right now, can level the playing field for the students of today and
tomorrow as they compete with students from other states and throughout the world
for the best jobs. In addition,
committing to innovation based on proven strategies could bring more federal
education dollars to Illinois,” said current Illinois Math and Science Academy
head and former Illinois State Superintendent Glenn W. (“Max”) McGee, a
founding member of the group. The report spells out
bold reforms incorporating proven strategies to raise student achievement. Standards and
Assessments
– The report urges “the State Board [of Education] to aggressively pursue
a complete upgrade of our assessment program, using federal funds wherever
possible to drive Illinois toward an assessment system that measures
growth and gives parents, educators, and policymakers an accurate picture
of student preparedness.”Effective
Teachers & Leaders– At-risk students need great teachers
and principals but are the least likely to have them. The report calls for
“improvements to our evaluation of classroom instruction, and the content
of our teacher and principal trainingprograms.” A stronger
growth metric would anchor those improvements, “so money spent on professional
development, mentoring, and induction can be spent much more effectively than
it is today.”Turning Around
the Lowest Performing schools – The state should define a strategy
for helping the lowest-performing schools and use available resources as
necessary to bring needed improvement. “This will involve more clearly
defining school success, anddeveloping capacity
inside and outside the Illinois State Board of Education to tackle the challenge
of transforming chronically struggling schools.”·
Data Systems- While developing and implementing its data
system, the Illinois State Board of Education is urged to focus on how
instructional and operational data can be used by parents, educators, policymakers,
and others, to begin crafting a culture of data-driven decision-making.
“Burnham 2.0
represents, bold, creative thinking on what should be policymakers’ paramount
concern–educating our children,” said Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan. “I have long believed we need to make
education a priority–as the report states–identifying best practices and making
sure they are funded.” The presentation of Burnham 2.0 coincides with the release of recent test
scores showing Illinois students falling behind the global competition. These relative drops in performance, and the
opportunity for federal stimulus money, make the “situation urgent,” argued the
Burnham signatories. To end the 2010
legislative session without passing bold reforms could lessen our chances for
stimulus dollars. “The IEA mission
calls for us to advocate for excellence and equity in public education. The
Burnham Plan addresses both these goals; there can be no equity in education
until every school has access to excellence in the form of well-supported
teachers and administrators. It is crucial that our state take action at the
earliest possible opportunity,” said Ken Swanson, President of the Illinois
Education Association. “We stand squarely in
support of school improvement measures that foster genuine teacher
collaboration. We must have assessments that inform instruction, a sharp focus
on what students learn and the revenues necessary to achieve the goals set
forth in the Burnham Plan,” said Ed Geppert, Jr., President of the Illinois
Federation of Teachers. The group intends
that the report serve as a framework for legislation aimed at achieving the
Burnham 2.0 goals, with a near-term focus on the criteria for a strong “Race to
the Top” application. “The Burnham Group is
rightly calling on Illinois’ education system to shift its focus to student
outcomes and away from compliance mandates from Springfield,” said Robin
Steans, executive director of Advance Illinois. “The principles set forth here
lay the groundwork for bold, system-wide reforms that are the right thing to do
and which are needed to help position the state for federal stimulus funds.” The report was also
signed by Bill O’Connor, former State
Representative and Dialogue Group founder; Ron Huberman, Chief Executive Officer,
Chicago Public Schools; St. Rep. Roger Eddy; Michael Jacoby, Executive Director,
IASBO; Elliot Regenstein; James Franczek,Jr.; Miguel DelValle, City Clerk of
Chicago; Dr. David Bonnette, Interim Superintendent, Riverside Brookfield High
School; Ron Messina, Executive Director, Tax Policy Forum; Dr. Jose Torres, Superintendent
District U-46; Peg Agnos, Executive Director, Legislative Education Network of DuPage
and Legislative Director, South Cooperative Organization for Public Education; Diane
Rutledge, Executive Director, Large Unit District Association; Erika Lindley,
Executive Director, ED-RED; and Sylvia Ewing, Interim Executive Director, Illinois
Network of Charter Schools. The Dialogue Group
had its first meeting in February, 2005.
Illinois education stakeholders formed it to examine long-term policy
and possible improvements. In May, 2007,
the group published “The Burnham Plan for a World-Class Education: Reforming
School Quality and Accountability in Illinois.”
That plan resulted in passage of significant reform legislation. Burnham 2.0 is named for Daniel Burnham,
whose visionary plans helped transform Chicago into a world-class city. ###
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