This article introduces a strategy to diversify the teaching workforce through de-centering teacher education as the primary stakeholder in the preparation of diverse teachers. The article expands the focus on teacher recruitment and retention by proposing a model that counters the educational context of White supremacy through Grow Your Own (GYO)…

The postsecondary acts of violence at Virginia Technical University (VT) and Northern Illinois University (NIU) forced Illinois legislators to approve the "Campus Security Enhancement Act" in 2008 (110 ILCS 12/20). The "Act" requires all private and public postsecondary education institutions to develop a Campus Violence…

Illinois is investing in bridge programs as a strategy to help more low-skilled and low-wage workers improve their skills, acquire postsecondary credentials, and move up to better jobs. This guidebook is built on early lessons of bridge programs in Illinois. It is designed as a resource for those who want to develop a new bridge program or…

Nearly every high-priority item in national, federal, state, and local discussions about education--and policy proposals across the political spectrum--requires high-quality longitudinal data to inform its design, implementation, and evaluation. This factsheet shares Data Quality Campaign's (DQC's) analysis of what "Data for Action 2011:…

A concept mapping process conducted with Illinois tech prep practitioners generated cluster themes in four areas: goals, process, clientele, and partnerships/teamwork. The most important clusters of statements included outcomes, business-industry linkages, and articulation. The resulting concept framework will facilitate tech prep program planning…

A project was conducted at the University of Illinois (1) to test and refine the components of the dissemination system developed for program improvement efforts in the state; and (2) to provide technical assistance to funding agency staff, project staffs, and persons/networks/agencies that facilitate access to a product in the dissemination…

Southern Illinois is well oriented to agricultural resources occupations, including conservation, utilization, and recreation. Interest measuring tests, surveys, and questionnaires were used to: (1) measure interest of sample junior and senior high school students, (2) identify agricultural related businesses and agencies, and (3) identify and…

Describes an inservice training system (developed and tested in four Illinois school districts) for teachers interested in including career concepts in the curricula and in achieving career oriented programs. It is noted that inservice workshops, such as the ones described, seem to be one answer toward building school programs with long range…

This guidebook is intended for use by local personnel during the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of an education for employment system. (An education for employment system is defined as a consortium of high schools and area vocational centers, working with the local community colleges, which pools resources to meet the…

A statewide staff mentoring program was developed in Illinois as an option for providing a personalized, intensive approach to training early intervention personnel on a large scale. Evaluation results for the initial period of developing the process and for the first eight trainer-trainee dyads suggest this approach is individualized,…

In Phase I of this project, a model delivery system was developed to provide marketable skills and supportive services for 16-20 single parents and/or homemakers residing in the rural southern five counties of Illinois. During this phase of the project, which lasted from January to June 1986, the assessment procedures and criteria from which the…

The Quality Assistance Plan (QAP) for Vocational Education in Illinois is a state-funded program for locally initiated, developed, implemented, and evaluated projects that was begun in Fiscal Year 1982. Its purpose is to build the capacity, in each educational setting, for the improvement of vocational education programs. That improvement should…

During a pilot project on the state role in facilitating adult learning, six states were asked (1) to establish and maintain a participatory planning mechanism for gathering information and building consensus among the public and private agencies and institutions within their states and (2) to use that mechanism in formulating policy…

In 1984, the State Board of Education, Department of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education (DAVTE), contracted with an outside evaluator to assess the impact of the Illinois Quality Assistance Plan (QAP). (The QAP is a state-funded program for locally initiated, developed, implemented, and evaluated projects that was begun in Fiscal Year…

Described in detail in this report are the processes and procedures involved in the development of a State funded curriculum and program for a new emerging technology, in this instance a Coal Mining Technology Program, to be taught at Wabash Valley College in Illinois. The document provides a step-by-step account of the determination of need,…