Robin Steans | Advance Illinois

From the Desk of Robin Steans – Prioritizing Learning Renewal

From the Desk: Prioritizing Learning Renewal Dear Friends and Colleagues, We are now at a vital turning point in our nation’s response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 28, 2021, over half of the country and 40 percent of Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated; children 12 and over are eligible for vaccines; billions in federal relief funds are flowing to Illinois business, child care programs, schools and agencies; and our state’s economy […]

From Birth to Career, Fund the Entire Education Continuum

Just three months ago, we made the case that it would take new ways of thinking and working to ensure the state’s education system emerges from the pandemic able to serve kids better and more equitably. Policymakers must see education in Illinois as a single, interconnected system from birth to career that provides equitably and adequately […]

Acknowledging the Present, Working Toward a Just Future

Dear Friends and Colleagues, There has been much to process over the past year: the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial reckoning that convulsed much of 2020, the uprising at our nation’s Capitol, the death of Daunte Wright, the death of Adam Toledo (aged 13), the death of Jaslyn Adams (aged 7), the death of Ma’Khia Bryant (aged 16), mass […]

From the Desk of Robin Steans – 2021: A Year of Building Back Better

From the Desk: 2021: A Year of Building Back Better Dear Friends and Colleagues, Like many of you, I was glad to say goodbye to 2020. However, even as vaccinations are underway and we can begin to imagine returning to a new “normal” in the year ahead, it is clear 2021 will present its own challenges. COVID-19 is […]

From the Desk of Robin Steans – Under Impossible Circumstances, Let’s Do Remote Right…

From the Desk: Under Impossible Circumstances, Let’s Do Remote Right… Dear Friends and Colleagues, …But first, thank you. As we write, schools across the state are beginning to open. They do so amidst the most challenging set of circumstances we are ever likely to face and with only imperfect options. We want to begin by […]

Advance Illinois Stands in Solidarity with the Black Community

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “The brutal deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many other Black people at the hands of law enforcement and vigilantes poured salt into a deep wound of racial injustice that has been centuries in the making. After many […]

From the Desk of Robin Steans – Education Must Remain a High Priority for Illinois – Early Childhood

This is the final installment of our three-part series that shares our views on the urgency of providing resources and ongoing support to early childhood education, K-12, and postsecondary. This is the early childhood installment. From the Desk: Education Must Remain a High Priority for Illinois – Part 3: Early Childhood Dear Friends and Colleagues, Consistent […]

From the Desk of Robin Steans – Education Must Remain a High Priority for Illinois – Higher Education

This is the second in our three-part series that shares our views on the urgency of providing resources and ongoing support to early childhood education, K-12 and postsecondary. This is the postsecondary installment. From the Desk: Education Must Remain a High Priority for Illinois – Part 2: Higher Education Dear Friends and Colleagues, We know that […]

From the Desk of Robin Steans – Education Must Remain a High Priority for Illinois – K-12

This is the first in a three-part series that will share our views on the urgency of providing resources and ongoing support to early childhood education, K-12 and postsecondary. We begin with K-12. From the Desk: Education Must Remain a High Priority for Illinois – Part 1: K-12 Dear Friends and Colleagues, As the world […]

From the Desk of Robin Steans – We’re in this Together

We’re in this Together Dear Friends and Colleagues, I never imagined there would be a time that I would be reaching out to you in the midst of a global health crisis that has closed the doors of schools around our nation and across Illinois. However, this is the world we are in today. All […]