East Central Reporter

The Illinois Early Learning Council met Aug. 15 to reauthorize the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the council:

Illinois Early Learning Council Executive Committee Meeting August 15th, 2016, 2pm to 5pm Chicago: ISBE Video-teleconference Room (100 W. Randolph St., 14th Floor) Springfield: ISBE Video-teleconference Room (100 N. 1st St.) Call: 1-888-494-4032 Access code: 6113045703 Minutes Chicago: Samantha Aigner-Treworgy, Karen Berman, George Davis, Gaylord Gieseke, Diane Grisby Jackson, Phyllis Glink, Dan Harris, Reyna Hernandez, Sylvia Puente, Beth Purvis, Sara Slaughter, Kathy Stohr, Cynthia Tate, Josie Yanguas Springfield: Shauna Ejeh, Beth Swanson, Cynthia Zumwalt Phone: Barb Payne and Tasha Green Cruzat I. Welcome and Introduction Co-chairs Phyllis Glink and Beth Purvis welcomed the members of the committee to the meeting. II. Introduction of New Executive Committee Members Co-chair Glink went around and introduced the new members of the Early Learning Council’s Executive Committee. With the addition of new members to the Executive Council, members questioned the expectations of their roles and of the council. Glink also encouraged committee members to give suggestions for anything they would like to see on future meeting agendas. III. Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Presentation Jennifer Butler and Carol Kraus from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget presented on the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act. GATA makes it easier for agencies to find grants that they might not have otherwise found. It also allows more than one organization to benefit from the available grants. IV. FY 17 Early Childhood Block Grant Increase Committee member Reyna Hernandez from the Illinois State Board of Education gave an update on the continuation of grantees for FY17. It has been communicated to grantees that they should be going through the GATA application process. There was a $79.5 million increase, a small piece of it being from FY16, making it larger than usual because there was no $50 million increase last year. Committee member Samantha Aigner-Treworgy from the City of Chicago office gave another update on FY17 ECBG money happening on the city level. $34.5 million dollars will be allocated to infants and toddlers. V. Race to the Top Outcomes and Implications Kathy Stohr, interim director for the Office of Early Childhood Development, shared with the committee that the Race to the Top grant expires at the end of this year and that there will be a federal monitoring grant coming up in September. Currently, there is a lot of transition happening in OECD and staff members cannot be replaced until OECD can figure out what are the next steps in the strategic planning for early childhood in the state as well as how to sustain that infrastructure. VI. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Reauthorization Co-chair Beth Purvis explained that ESSA is primarily a K-12 act to replace “No Child Left Behind” and that there is much excitement about the many opportunities it will give the state. ISBE has been having a series of community based meetings in order to hear the voice of the people actually on the ground. Currently, data has been collected and being re-worked before going out again into the community. Purvis is looking to bring in the P-20 Council and sub-committees of P-20 to help look at specific parts of ESSA and will also be bringing in Director Karen Hunter Anderson of the Illinois Community College Board and Director Jim Applegate of the Illinois Board of Higher Education to also help the Early Learning Council with ESSA planning. VII. Update on NGA Two-Generation Grant Co-chair Purvis shared that the grant application for the NGA Two-Generation grant was sent out the day before this Executive Committee meeting. She thanked those who wrote letters of support for the application and urged committee members to think about things related to two-generation work here so that what is done in one area is not messing with what is being done in another place. The grant is about $100,000 and it is hoped to be embedded into the Children’s Cabinet to pay a staffer and for additional data work. VIII. Search for Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development Kelley Washington, the former Executive Director of the OECD stepped down from her position to return home for personal reasons. A full scale search for a new director will begin. Beth will send out a job description and encourage members to share with people.