Illinois Students, Parents and Caregivers Share the Challenges of Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A new report from Advance Illinois highlights the various experiences of students and their families during the pandemic and how state leaders can better serve them in the years ahead.

Contact:
Taryn Williams
José L. García
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL – Today, Advance Illinois released its report, Education in a Pandemic: Learning from Illinois Students & Caregivers to Plan for the Road Ahead. The report encapsulates what Illinois’ school communities – including students, parents and caregivers – are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic and what they will require in the long term to recover and rebuild.

“The findings in this report make it abundantly clear that in the years to come, students will need unprecedented academic, social and emotional supports to master the knowledge and skills to succeed in college, career and beyond in the wake of this pandemic,” saidAdvance Illinois President Robin Steans. “Our state must craft and employ along-term plan that equitably addresses these needs. We are looking forward to working with advocates and state leaders - including legislators, the governor’s office and the Illinois State Board of Education - to ensure student needs are met.”

With the help of community partners, Advance Illinois organized focus groups and conversations with over 120 students, parents and caregivers from cities, suburbs and rural areas acrossIllinois. 

“It was important to hear from those who have been directly impacted by school disruptions, as our goal was to put together a report that has the potential to inform and shape policies intended to combat the challenges brought on by the current public health crisis,” said Advance Illinois Director of Community Engagement Jessica Ramos. “It was truly a village effort.” 

THREE KEY THEMES EMERGED FROM FOCUS GROUP CONVERSATIONS 

As students, parents and caregivers shared their experiences and expectations for the years ahead, three themes emerged throughout the conversations:  

• Significant support to address students’ social-emotional needs — All focus groups shared worries about the impact of isolation and trauma and called for increased school-based counseling and mental health supports. 

• Dedicated time and resources to ensure strong academic progress in the coming years — Parents asserted the importance of knowing how their students were performing and progressing in relation to grade-level standards, while students worried about whether they will be academically prepared for what’s next. 

• Lack of resources will cause students to fall behind — Participants expressed concern that inequities in access to resources will cause some students to fall behind in their classes, damaging their chances of gaining the skills and knowledge necessary to continue on to college and career. 

RECOMMENDATIONS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ILLINOIS’ STUDENTS 

These conversations can help provide actionable recommendations for education partners and state leaders to consider as the work to equitably serve the students and families of Illinois in the wake of this pandemic. The recommendations are: 

• Invest in Resource Equity — Investing both state and federal dollars equitably will be key to ensuring Illinois public schools have the resources and supports needed to address the increased academic and social-emotional needs of students in the wake of COVID-19.   

• Treat Academic and Social-Emotional Learning as Two Halves of the Whole Child — A state plan and distribution of resources to enable recovery from the current crisis must meaningfully address both subject-matter mastery and building trauma-responsive schools. 

• Create a Comprehensive Recovery and Rebuilding Approach that Takes the Long View — Because this crisis will require focus and decisive action over the next several school years, state leaders should work with diverse stakeholders to develop a bold and comprehensive long-term plan for educational recovery and building back better.  

• Prioritize Clarity and Consistency — State leaders and advocates must understand the impact of this pandemic on student learning and well-being in order to effectively support Illinois’ students and families in the process of recovery. 

Make Up for Lost Time— As Illinois schools and communities renew and rebuild, students deserve additional time and supports to address this unparalleled social-emotional, mental health and academic crisis in a thoughtful, research-based manner.

This report is part of Advance Illinois’ commitment of keeping students at the center of the organization’s policy and advocacy work. Advance Illinois stands ready to collaboratively work with state leaders and education partners to help ensure a successful future for every Illinois student.

For more details and insights, download Education in a Pandemic: Learning from Illinois Students & Caregivers to Plan for the Road Ahead. Follow us on Twitter. 

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About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.

Advance Illinois Examines Statewide Education Progress, Ongoing Challenges in New Report

CHICAGO, IL (October 15, 2019) Advance Illinois continues its work as a leading independent, research-based education policy and advocacy organization with the release today of The State We’re In 2019: A Report on Public Education in Illinois. The report—which includes a first-ever regional breakdown and analysis—acknowledges gains across the education spectrum, particularly in K–12, but warns that ongoing gaps in access, affordability and achievement in early childhood and postsecondary, as well as persistent inequity due to outcome gaps based on students’ race and income, threaten Illinois’ economic progress and its workforce.

The report was presented at a luncheon held at the City Club of Chicago that featured a panel discussion with Advance Illinois President Robin Steans, Illinois Deputy Governor Jesse Ruiz, State Representative and Assistant Majority Leader Will Davis (D-30th) and Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle.

“While we are pleased that Illinois has posted K–12 academic gains, reduced some achievement gaps that are rooted in racial and economic disparities, and more funds are going to school districts that need them, there are still serious deficiencies throughout the system that require immediate focus and deliberate action, especially in early childhood and postsecondary,” said Steans. “We know what success looks like when we work together to make systemic change. We hope this report can inspire continued movement up the educational ladder from cradle to career.”

Sylvia Puente, Advance Illinois board member and executive director of the LatinoPolicy Forum, added, “The world that awaits today’s students demands more of them. By 2025, 70 percent of jobs in Illinois will require a college degree or industry certification. Postsecondary attainment remains a key to employment and a living wage.”

In order to meet the state’s workforce demands, education stakeholders are committed to ensuring that at least 60 percent of adults attain a high-quality postsecondary credential by 2025. As shown in The State We’re In 2019, Illinois has its work cut out to reach this milestone. Currently, we’re at 45 percent.

“Our state boasts the fifth largest economy in the country, but our data shows that we have early childhood deserts in communities that need these and other family supports,” said Marin Gjaja, co-chair of the Advance Illinois board and senior partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group. “And while more students are entering and completing college, students of color and economically challenged students still face many barriers to persistence and completion. The troubling fact is that childcare and college in Illinois are among the least affordable in the nation.”

Now in its sixth edition, The State We’re In examines publicly available data to provide a comprehensive view of Illinois’ public education system. In order to put Illinois’ performance in the context of our nation, the report ranks how well the system serves students relative to other states in three areas: learning conditions, student learning outcomes and equity in student learning outcomes. Illinois ranks in each of these areas from 15th place to 42nd place. 

The report tracked approximately 80 metrics grouped into three categories: early childhood, K–12 and postsecondary. Among the findings in the report:

Early childhood: Fewer children in need of additional supports participate in preschool and childcare services compared to a decade ago. And there are several areas in Illinois where there are no publicly supported early childcare and family services. Only 26 percent of our children are kindergarten ready. Illinois ranks 27th nationally for learning conditions. Data for outcomes and equity in outcomes does not exist but is needed for future reporting and action steps.

K–12: Illinois is near the top of the nation in academic growth. We have seen important gains for Latinx students, however, overall progress is uneven for black students and students from low-income homes, and is insufficient to make up for racial and income gaps that begin in early childhood. The teacher shortage and the lack of teacher diversity also has a significant impact on student outcomes. The Evidence-Based Funding model has infused much needed resources into school districts, but more needs to be done to bring all districts to full funding adequacy. Illinois ranks 25th nationally for learning conditions, 22nd in outcomes and 31st in equity in outcomes.  

Postsecondary: Enrollment rates of Illinois high school graduates continue to improve, however, overall enrollment rates in Illinois institutions are down across all sectors, particularly among black students. More work must be done to improve access, affordability, persistence and completion. Illinois ranks 28th nationally for learning conditions, 15th in outcomes and 42nd in equity in outcomes. 

For the first time, The State We’re In includes a regional analysis with district-level data to support community-based conversations about progress, outcomes and opportunities for improvement. More insights by region/district are available at advanceillinois.org.

This edition of the report recognizes innovative strategies in three community spotlights: Vienna High School District 133 and its strategy to improve college readiness; Rockford District205’s handling of its teacher shortage; and the Illinois Equity in AttainmentInitiative and its member institutions’ commitment to ensuring that more students of color and economically challenged students thrive in and complete college.   

For the full The State We’re In report, including interactive features, visit advanceillinois.org. More interactive features, including interactive maps and charts, will be available online in winter 2020.

About Advance Illinois

Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a health public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more visit advanceillinois.org.