LM Aug.2018

IASA isHere toHelp inThisNewSchool Year Message From the Executive Director

Dr. Brent Clark

Illinois is back in school after a fast paced summer! As you are immersed in the opening of the school year, here are a few reminders on IASA programs that are designed to help you launch a successful school year. While we all want the school year to start off fully staffed, this school year many of you are facing teacher shortages that we have not seen in many years. The successful passage of HB 5627 this year was a step in the right direction to help address the ongoing shortage of regular classroom and substitute teachers, but filling the pipeline of teachers entering the profession will take much more. In fact, we may see the teacher shortage issue get worse in some areas before things get better. Rest assured, we are working on this situation very closely along with our Alliance partners and other education stakeholders and we may see further policy actions proposed to address this issue. I know the start of school also brings heightened concerns around school safety issues. While you are doing whatever you can to ensure your schools remain safe learning environments for your students, know we are constantly adding resources and references to our School Safety icon on our website. Check back often for the latest resource materials on the topic of safety. And the start of the school year also means that the annual IASA conference is just around the corner. Please mark your calendar to attend the IASA Conference, September 26–28. We hope to see you this year at our fall conference in Springfield. We have a dynamic line-up of speakers and educational sessions that you definitely will not want to miss. See more on conference details in this issue, pages 14–21, and by clicking here . Our keynote speakers Dr. Rick Rigsby and Sue Enquist are sure to get you energized through their motivational messages. State Superintendent Dr. Tony Smith will speak at our closing

session on what Illinois’ new funding and supports mean for strengthening every school community in Illinois. Also at the conference, you can make your selection from over 20 break-out sessions designed to sharpen your institutional knowledge and preparedness on a variety of issues. A special feature at this year’s conference includes a Women in Leadership session on the first

day of the conference as our year-long Celebrating Women in Leadership series begins. Our conference has something for all superintendents

from the small to large and urban to rural districts. We are excited about this year’s program and look forward to seeing you in September in Springfield! As we head into the second year for the Evidence- Based Funding Model, August 10th marked the day that school districts received the first of 22 Evidence-Based Funding payments for FY19. This represents both the base funding minimum (BFM) amount often referred to as the hold harmless provision and the new tier funding for FY19. EBF payments will continue on the 10th and 20th of each month through June of next year. FY19 calculations are available at ISBE’s EBF Distribution page . In total, the passage of the evidence-based funding model provides an additional $650 million for public schools in two years. A special feature in this issue of Leadership Matters explores ways that districts are using their EBM funds to improve student outcomes. Be thinking about how you can accurately explain your planned spending for new tier funding as the ISBE anticipates having an EBM spending plan report available to districts around September 1.

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