EDWARDSVILLE - During the recent Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education work session, the Board learned more about Vision 2030 and priorities for school boards across Illinois.

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Vision 2030 lays out three priorities for the next ten years in education in Illinois: future-focused learning, shared accountability, and predictable funding. During the meeting on Jan. 13, 2025, Superintendent Dr. Shelton presented the Board with information about each of these priorities.

A few months ago, local superintendents Dr. Jill Griffin of Bethalto Community Unit School District #8 and Dr. Brad Skertich of Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 represented Southwestern Illinois in a work group to finalize Vision 2030.

Vision 2030 is sponsored by the Illinois Association of School Administrators, Illinois Association of School Boards, Illinois Principals Association, Illinois Association of School Business Officials, Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, Superintendents’ Commission, The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools, and The Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Educators.

The Edwardsville Board of Education will be asked to vote on a resolution supporting Vision 2030 at the Jan. 27, 2025, Board of Education regular meeting. Shelton explained that the support for Vision 2030 will tell legislators what educators want to see in the State of Illinois, just like Vision 2020 did a few years ago.

“[Vision 2020] did speak loudly to our legislators in the State of Illinois,” he said. “When those eight organizations could go and say, ‘Our constituents, our Boards of Education from all of our communities, have passed this resolution indicating that they support this,’ it does speak loudly and it did make change in Illinois in education.”

Future-Focused Learning

Future-focused learning aims to “promote future-driven skills that allow for more college and career exploration; enhance student safety and wellbeing; attract and retain a high quality and diverse educator pipeline; and promote curriculum and instructional flexibility to meet the unique needs of local communities.”

“In future-focused learning, the idea is that we’re reshaping schools and really looking at what students need to be successful post-high school,” Shelton said.

This includes attracting “excellent educators” and encouraging students to think about their college and career pathways as early as elementary school.

Shared Accountability

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Shared accountability aims to “reform the Illinois assessment system to be a timely and useful measure of student proficiency and growth over time; reform the current accountability system to provide local flexibility for identifying indicators that create a more holistic view of student success; and reform the mandate process to ensure implementation procedures that promote flexibility and local decision making.”

“Shared accountability is thinking beyond annual standardized tests to more fairly and effectively measure student success by considering both growth and proficiency over time,” Shelton said. “This has been a conversation that’s been going on since No Child Left Behind came across decades ago.”

Shelton noted that a school’s success is measured through a single assessment, which is based on how “one child performed on that one day on that one specific assessment, not necessarily how they’ve grown over time nor how they’ve tested on their best day or worst day.” The goal is to bring in “meaningful assessments” and real-time data.

Predictable Funding

Predictable funding aims to “protect the integrity and funding of the evidence-based funding formula; strengthen public education through pension reform; establish equitable statewide funding sources for capital and safety needs; and enhance financial flexibility for school districts.”

“A lot of this is how we’re going to fund some of those reforms,” Shelton said.

This includes funding evidence-based funding and life safety projects, as well as pension reform.

District #7 Response

Following Shelton’s presentation, the Board of Education members briefly discussed Vision 2030 and how it relates to District #7’s goals.

“I really like that we have outlined some serious goals for 2030,” said Board Vice President Terri Dalla Riva. “They’re goals that, I think, really align with some of what we do in the Edwardsville School District and what some of our ideas about education are, as well.”

Board member Lynne Sanderson voiced her disappointment that Vision 2030 does not focus more on mental health, though she added that it’s “still good stuff.” Secretary Jennifer Brumback said she was “a little nervous” that other priorities would be missed because of a “laser-focus” on the goals outlined by Vision 2030.

“I hope that over the next 15 years that the Board is able to see the importance of Vision 2030 but not forget about the other important pieces to the education process for students and for the community,” Brumback said. “How do we continue to support the needs of this community and this district while maintaining the integrity of Vision 2030 and meeting those unique needs?”

Shelton said he would send the resolution to the Board members to review ahead of the next meeting. Edwardsville’s Board of Education will vote on a resolution supporting Vision 2030 at their regular meeting on Jan. 27, 2025.

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