The Center: Resources for Teaching and Learning and the Illinois Resource Center are proud to announce that our own Silvia V. Rogel, Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Affairs for the Center, has been named to the Illinois State Board of Education’s new State Education Equity Committee. As organizations committed to a future where every student’s culture and language are valued and affirmed in Illinois schools, we are excited that this committee is adding such a dedicated champion of equitable and just education as Silvia to this important group. The principles of JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) are essential to [...]

by Olivia Mulcahy   Every bilingual or ESL teacher I know in Illinois looks forward to the winter. Or at least, we all look forward to one special week in early December when it’s usually time to head to Oak Brook for the bilingual conference (as it’s been popularly called), or The Annual Statewide Conference For Teachers Serving Linguistically And Culturally Diverse Students (as it was actually called), or Multilingual Illinois (as it was renamed last year).  This chilly week is the one time a year we get to feel the full warmth of our huge community--to enjoy the embrace of [...]

The 2020 Census self-response deadline has been extended to Oct. 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; starting Aug. 11, Census Bureau enumerators will be deployed in the field to conduct in-person interviews with those households that have not yet responded. Prior to August, we're encouraging everyone to either: 1) visit the 2020 U.S. Census website to fill out their questionnaire online; 2) call the toll-free number at (844) 330-2020 (English) or (844) 468-2020 (Spanish) to speak with a live operator; or 3) mail in their completed paper copy of the 2020 Census. ISBE’s Census website has toolkits and resources to help you reach your community.  [...]