PR Award #: H323A200014
Name: Illinois State Board of Education
Title: Illinois Elevating Special Educators
City, State: Springfield, IL
Project Director: Erin Whalen
Project Director email: ewhalen@isbe.net
Purpose
Illinois Elevating Special Educators (Illinois ESE) will increase the capacity of school districts to recruit and retain highly qualified and equipped school personnel to improve the progress and performance in literacy for students with disabilities. The Illinois ESE will accomplish this by delivering professional development to district staff and families, in addition to providing mentoring to special educators.
Method
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will partner with five Regional Offices of Education (ROE) across the state to design a needs-based, tiered system of professional development and mentoring supports provided by Illinois ESE. Oversight of Illinois ESE will be provided by ISBE, in addition to an advisory council comprised of higher education, ROE, and district staff. Per grant requirements, an independent evaluator will be responsible for evaluating grant performance.