District 88 provides information about Vision 20/20: A vision to transform Illinois schools

At District 88, our mission is to work for the continuous improvement of student achievement. As part of that mission, we continue to stay informed about and up to date with policies, laws and programs that impact our students to ensure we maintain a high-quality educational environment.

One of our education initiatives is to support Vision 20/20, and we would like to share with you information about that proposal. A coalition of professional education organizations in Illinois is proposing this visioning process, with the goal to unite the education community and develop a long-range blueprint for improving public education in Illinois. The vision is founded on the belief that the key to continuous improvement in public education relies on the experience of public educators, who work with students every day. The vision is comprised of four areas for prioritization, which are:

Highly Effective Educators
By attracting, developing and retaining the best educators in Illinois, we can have a positive impact on student learning. This goal would be accomplished through recruiting and retaining high-impact educators and providing relevant professional development.

21st-Century Learning
Vision 20/20 focuses on expanding the definition of student learning, committing to the development of the “whole child” and investing in policies proven to link all schools to 21st-century learning tools. We must always provide our students with an education that is focused on what they will need in the future, not just today. This goal would be accomplished through preserving instructional time, investing in early childhood education, linking students to college and careers and expanding equity in technology access.

Shared Accountability
According to Vision 20/20, a quality education for all Illinois students cannot be ensured without the collaboration, compromise and hard work of educators and legislators. The initiative seeks to expand educator responsibility in the legislative process, create a shared accountability model and restructure mandates to allow local districts more flexibility.

Equitable and Adequate Funding
A focus of Vision 20/20 is to improve equity in the funding model, appropriate adequate dollars for education and allow local school districts the autonomy needed to increase efficiency. This goal would be accomplished through funding education based on local need, stabilizing state funding for education and enhancing district flexibility to increase financial efficiency.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner acknowledged Vision 20/20 in his transition report. One of the immediate actions recommended in the report is to, “Review recommendations of councils and statewide organizations such as the P-20 Council and Vision 20/20 to determine which recommendations are low cost and high impact.” He again cited Vision 20/20 when referencing mandates by saying, “The shared accountability recommendations of Vision 20/20 can help the state distinguish between essential and discretionary regulations.”

We will continue to provide updates regarding Vision 20/20 and other education initiatives and how those programs would impact District 88. For more information, go to http://illinoisvision2020.org. Thank you for your continued support of District 88.