Local News
Related Photos
-
Angie Faller
Discussion
Statistics bleak, but education reform advocates optimistic
Only one out of four students in Illinois will graduate high school and be ready for the next step in life, according to a report by Advance Illinois.
“Out of every high school student in Illinois, one will drop out, two will graduate, but they won’t be ready. Just one in four students will graduate ready to move on to post-secondary education or work,” said Robin Steans, executive director of Advance Illinois, a statewide education advocacy group.
Steans admits those statistics are bleak, but many people who attended the town hall meeting on educational reform last night saw Effingham as a shining example of what people are doing right in education.
Advance Illinois kicked off a statewide listening tour in Effingham Thursday at Thelma Keller Convention Center. Hundreds of local teachers, administrators, politicians and members of the public attended the town hall meeting focusing on educational reform in the state of Illinois.
“When we were deciding where to have our first town hall meeting, Joe Fatheree (who serves on Advance Illinois’ board of directors) made a wonderful case that we didn’t always focus on rural America. We at Advance Illinois wanted to make a powerful statement that we should start our listening tour here,” said Charlie Rose, a founding partner of the Chicago law firm, Franczek, Radalet and Rose.
Many people pointed out the high school multimedia and Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) classes as examples of the direction education in the state should be heading.
“I can sure tell you we have something special. These students are very special because they have a teacher that is very special,” said Karen Wolters.
Steans warns fixing the problems of our state’s education system will not be easy.
“That involves some choices. It happened long before the economy got tough, and the choices are going to get tougher,” Steans said.
Advance Illinois released a report in fall 2008 that identified shortcomings in the state’s education system.
After finishing a tour of similar town hall meetings around the state in June, Advance Illinois plans to use the feedback to release a report outlining policy priorities as most critical for the state to pursue in the next five years.
“We’re going to have a gubernatorial election next year. Our hope is they (candidates) will make this a big priority,” Steans said.
Even though the group is working to reform education in Illinois, it may have a chance to affect the issue on a national level.
Rose, who is on Advance Illinois’ board of directors, was recently nominated to serve as general counsel to the U.S. Department of Education.
“The mission we’ve created for ourselves is to make sure education receives a preeminent role at our state and local level. We need to look at our system of education as a catalyst to restore,” he said.
Angie Faller can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or angie.faller@effinghamdailynews.com.
- Local News
-
-
A dream come true
The Early Learning Center in Effingham has two new additions to its playground this year, and it’s not shiny new slides or colorful jungle gyms.
-
T-town village donates to school programs
Teutopolis hasn’t had a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program for more than a decade, but the village still had a fund for donations that had been made to the program.
-
Alcohol sales stir up extra revenue
Since voters allowed liquor sales in Farina earlier this year, village officials and store owners have noticed a change — and it’s positive.
-
Police release 'person of interest' sketch in Schmitt murder investigation
Effingham police released a sketch Tuesday of a "person of interest" in the June murder of Effingham resident Jack Schmitt.
-
Elderly couple escapes burning house thanks to neighbor
An elderly Shumway couple was able to escape a house fire unharmed Sunday night thanks to a neighbor who alerted the fire department and came to the aid of the husband and wife.
-
Giving Back
In many ways, Autumn Worton is like many other 21-year-old women.
-
Making a Difference
Mack Myers of Kinmundy has lived with a hereditary neurological disorder his entire life, and he credits the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) for helping him cope with the disorder that’s affected him since 1947.
-
Area unemployment inches higher
Unemployment rates increased in nearly every area county last month, according to monthly statistics released this week by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
-
Local historians want to preserve, relocate bowstring bridge
The old Flensburg bridge is a rare glimpse into days gone by, though the modern-day resident has to use some imagination to see the bridge’s historical significance.
-
Drug checkpoint questionable
Motorists traveling southbound on Interstate 57 near Kinmundy Tuesday morning drove through a drug interdiction checkpoint — the first-ever in Marion County — even though the U.S. Supreme Court has taken a dim view of similar efforts.
- More Local News Headlines
-
