LM Sept.2017

By Tony Smith State Superintendent It’s time toseizeexcitingmoment of opportunity

As you all know, the more than 2 million students in Illinois’ public schools bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to their classrooms. Each student has unique strengths and dreams and faces unique challenges at home, at school, and in the community. Our unique work is to find ways to meet students where they are and get them ready for the world they live in today and the one they will encounter tomorrow. As educators, we have a responsibility to ensure our students and families feel a deep connection to our schools. We know that children learn the most when they are safe and healthy. Every child in Illinois deserves to feel a sense of belonging and that they are well cared for at school. We have reached an exciting moment of opportunity in Illinois—one that I hope we can seize to create the conditions for every school community to nurture the whole child, the whole school, and the whole community.

The new system of funding for our Illinois public schools, approved by the General Assembly and then signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner on Aug. 31, takes a historic step toward more equitably distributing state resources. The new law acknowledges that where students live in the state impacts the resources they have access to. Students need different types of support to meet the same goal. The new system will differentiate resources, providing more for the students who need it. Schools will have more of what they need to ensure the academic excellence, emotional well-being, and postsecondary success we want for all of our students. The entire state benefits when the students in the greatest need receive the most support. I believe equity in education funding in Illinois is an important move toward guaranteeing our long-term economic and civic success. Over the past 2 1/2 years, ISBE has moved the focus of our work with the aim of fortifying the health of Local Education

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