CHICAGO -- Illinois educators are investing millions of dollars to accelerate the learning recovery process for students who fell behind their grade level during the pandemic.
The State Board of Education is implementing the Illinois Tutoring Initiative, a high-impact instruction program targeting the state's highest-need school districts.
Post-pandemic test data show only 30% of Illinois students read at grade level, and 75% are not proficient in math.
Jennifer Kirmes, executive director for teaching and learning at the Illinois State Board of Education, said the goal is to bring students up to speed as quickly as possible.
"The bottom line is so that students who weren't able to progress at what would have been the expected pace, as a result of the disruptions from the pandemic, are able to grow faster now as a result of this program," Kirmes explained.
So far, they have trained almost 500 so-called "high-impact" tutors to provide learning recovery instruction in 45 school districts statewide, and the department has distributed grant funds to an additional 27 districts to design and implement their own programs.
The initiative is funded by a $25 million grant from federal pandemic relief funds. Kirmes pointed out districts are chosen based on funding levels, their number of low-income students, and the impact of COVID-19 on lost, in-person instructional time.
"High-impact tutoring really works intentionally on the skills and competencies that students need to succeed," Kirmes noted. "Certainly with their homework, but also in classroom assignments and on assessments, with additional content."
She added as many as 45 additional districts will launch high-impact tutoring in early 2023 as the state expands the initiative.
Almost a year ago, the Illinois General Assembly passed an education bill sponsored by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus during the Lame Duck session that includes three new course requirements needed for graduation from Illinois high schools. The area of studies in House Bill 2170, Amendment 3, which was introduced by Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, includes two years of foreign language classes and two in laboratory science course work.
The new law gives schools until the 2024-2025 school year to offer the required science lab classes and gives districts until the 2028-2029 school year to begin their foreign language instructions. Both laboratory science and a foreign language will be required for high school graduation. There was some discussion that dates for the language requirement could be pushed forward as early as 2024.
The seemingly popular rationale for the change was the University of Illinois requires two years of a foreign language for admission. That's all well and good, but the bulk of in-state college-bound students won't be going to the U of I.
Checking around the state, students don't need a language class to get into other state schools.
Illinois State University gives applicants a choice of two years of one foreign language or two years of fine arts classes. High school foreign language is not a requirement for admissions at Western Illinois University. Students can have two years of art, film, music, speech, theatre, journalism, religion, philosophy, and vocational education on their transcript instead. Southern Illinois University mirrors WIU's requirements with art, music, or vocational education. If a foreign language is taken, both WIU and SIU say applicants must complete two semesters of the same language.
Some members of the Illinois State Board of Education pushed back against the new requirements, as they should have, particularly the one on foreign language.
If the law and policymakers really wanted more students to attend Illinois' flagship university, they should pass a bill abolishing it as an entrance requirement. The University's entrance requirement could simply match those of the other state-funded higher education institutions.
Then again, the lack of foreign language education could make most Illinois students undesirable in several career fields.
Instead, the ISBE and state lawmakers need to require language learning at a much earlier in the educational cycle where research shows when language acquisition is much easier.
"What's the best time to teach a foreign language? It is not high school," Board member Christine Benson told NPR. "What’s the second worst time to teach a foreign language? It’s junior high. [Lawmakers] did no research on this, they just added it on."
She is right: High school or junior high is not the best time to learn a foreign language. The only reason to require students to take two years of foreign language in high school is to inflict unnecessary academic torture. For many students around the state, their first exposure to another language other than English is in their first high school language class.
In Russia, Norway and Japan, learning a second language, usually English, is mandatory in the 5th grade. The same is true in Germany and Japan. In Switzerland, after starting German or French two years earlier in the 3rd grade, 5th grade students also start learning the English language.
The U.S. with Illinois leading the way should match the educational standards in other industrialized nations. Studying a second or third language earlier in their academic career will enable them as adults to meet the challenges in international business, national defense, and world politics to make America great again.
Payton Vallee pulls down a rebound for the Spartans in her team's regional title game against Villa Grove earlier this year. Vallee, who will be a senior this season, and thousands of high school basketball players around the state remain hopeful they will have a season. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Once again, the Governor of Illinois caught the IHSA off-guard with another preemptive announcement.
Earlier today, Governor JB Pritzker told Illinoisans that all prep winter sports, including basketball would be "moved into spring" season. The announcement is the third chapter in this week's drama concerning the fate of high school sports. Meanwhile, as the state's Coronavirus positivity creeps even higher, the Illinois High School Association's decision to follow through with starting girls and boys basketball on November 16.
The IHSA's move on the COVID chess board yesterday was check, putting the actual decision of whether or not to suit up squarely in the lap of bishops tasked with running local school districts.
Shortly thereafter the IHSA response, the Governor made it clear it would be detrimental for schools to attempt to engage in interscholastic competition with the full intention of leveraging the weight of the Illinois State Board of Education — which controls funding to public schools — to ensure compliance from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The anticipation of getting back on the hardwood to compete by coaches and players in a little more than two weeks lasted only hours when a letter from ISBE superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala reiterated the state's position with veiled, but poignant threat to school districts considering defying the governor's original proclamation on Tuesday postponing the winter sports season.
"Public health experts have determined that basketball poses a high risk of COVID-19 transmission and is not currently safe to play," Ayala wrote. "Defying the state's public health guidance opens schools up to liability and other ramifications that may negatively impact school communities."
The IHSA literally had no words after Governor Pritzker's press conference today.
"The IHSA has not received additional outreach from the Governor’s office or IDPH since Tuesday, and as a result, are not comfortable commenting," Matt Troha, Assistant Executive Director for the IHSA, wrote in an emailed to The Sentinel.
The on again, off again shift every 24 hours has school district scrambling for legal advice, coaches and AD looking at schedule options yet again and players wondering if they'll actually be able to play before a home crowd.
"It has been absolutely nuts and to be honest, the back and forth is getting exhausting," SJO boys basketball head coach Kiel Duval admitted. "Like I said today, we talk about in our program all the time about working together, teamwork, putting aside our personal agendas and doing what is best for the team. It would be nice if the people making these big decisions would take that same approach."
However, according to a story in the Lincoln Courier posted just after supper, IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said he didn't believe that the Governor would actually allow basketball to be played in the spring. At least for the moment - who knows what new plot twist will be tossed into the mix on All-Hallows Eve - Anderson plans for the show to go on as planned next month.
"All the things that are in place with COVID right now that are preventing us from playing medium and high-risk category sports could still be in place in the spring," Anderson said. "Nothing has changed. We’re still playing. We aren’t playing basketball in the spring or summer. We’ve approved basketball to be played in the winter, and that’s what we are moving ahead with."
In an email to the Chicago Sun-Times, Jordan Abudayyeh, Governor Pritzker’s press secretary, said, "The goal has never been to cancel seasons, but to rather postpone the seasons with the hope that by the spring there will be a vaccine or effective treatment that will allow more students to report to in school in person and participate in extracurricular activities.
"There are currently 1.8 million students in the state who are in remote learning right now and as the Governor has said, he is focused on bringing down positivity rates in communities across the state so local school boards feel comfortable enough to bring students back into the classroom."
Duval said the situation, a new power struggle between Bloomington and Springfield now taking shape, is "taking a toll on a lot of student athletes" as it continues to intensify.
"Yesterday was a day that our guys enjoyed. It was good to see some of their faces (under their masks of course) and the feeling as if there were brighter days ahead. Then it switched, then it switched back," Duval said. "What I told them today was worry about what we can control. We can control where our head is at when things get started again. We will be locked in, ready to go."
"Our guys want to be on the court so bad right now, we just talked about how the road to that may not be a smooth one. Can't get too up, or too down. Stay positive and hope for the best," Duval said. "I really hope our guys get a chance to play. They absolutely deserve this."
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CHICAGO -- Illinois educators are investing millions of dollars to accelerate the learning recovery process for students who fell behind their grade level during the pandemic.
The State Board of Education is implementing the Illinois Tutoring Initiative, a high-impact instruction program targeting the state's highest-need school districts.
Post-pandemic test data show only 30% of Illinois students read at grade level, and 75% are not proficient in math.
Jennifer Kirmes, executive director for teaching and learning at the Illinois State Board of Education, said the goal is to bring students up to speed as quickly as possible.
"The bottom line is so that students who weren't able to progress at what would have been the expected pace, as a result of the disruptions from the pandemic, are able to grow faster now as a result of this program," Kirmes explained.
So far, they have trained almost 500 so-called "high-impact" tutors to provide learning recovery instruction in 45 school districts statewide, and the department has distributed grant funds to an additional 27 districts to design and implement their own programs.
The initiative is funded by a $25 million grant from federal pandemic relief funds. Kirmes pointed out districts are chosen based on funding levels, their number of low-income students, and the impact of COVID-19 on lost, in-person instructional time.
"High-impact tutoring really works intentionally on the skills and competencies that students need to succeed," Kirmes noted. "Certainly with their homework, but also in classroom assignments and on assessments, with additional content."
She added as many as 45 additional districts will launch high-impact tutoring in early 2023 as the state expands the initiative.
Almost a year ago, the Illinois General Assembly passed an education bill sponsored by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus during the Lame Duck session that includes three new course requirements needed for graduation from Illinois high schools. The area of studies in 
