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Professional Learning
Social Emotional Learning
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Area 2 SEL Hub Hosts Successful
2023 SEL Symposium at Rockford University
On a beautifully sunny day in the middle of June, the Area 2 SEL Hub and the Professional Learning Department at the Boone-Winnebago Regional Office of Education descended on the City of Rockford to host the first ever Social Emotional Learning Symposium for Northwestern Illinois educators and community professionals. And, oh, what a day it was!
Beginning as a vision of former ROE 4 Professional Learning Director, Casey Veitch, the idea of a large conference seemed an efficient way for the Area 2 SEL Hub to meet the long list of social emotional learning requests from schools in the Area 2 region. At the end of 2022, she proposed the idea to SEL Hub Director Allison Pierson; Assistant Director, Kim Maville; Specialist, Kelly Duncan, and PL Facilitator, Linda DeYounge. Overwhelmingly in favor, the team immediately jumped on the symposium bandwagon and began planning the event, and six months later, an amazing seminar was born.
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Click Graphic Above for 2023 SEL Symposium Testimonials | |
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The turnout of over 180 participants in the first year of existence was a bit of a surprise even to the planning team. Allison Pierson was quick to praise those who spent the day at the symposium, noting that each and every one of them took a full day out of their summer vacation to be present. Mrs. Pierson added, "This is a first year event. With that, we wanted to make sure to include outstanding presenters in our lineup. We felt confident in the presenters and topics we selected, knowing it would continue to meet the high standards educators and professionals have come to expect from our projects." She is committed to producing an even bigger event next year.
The 2023 SEL Symposium kicked off with author and national speaker, Heidy LaFleur. Her keynote filled the seats of the Grand Ballroom of Regents Hall at Rockford University. Ms. LaFleur shared real-life strategies to help even the most challenging kids become successful. Her impactful personal story brought a wide range of emotions to the packed room, many finding it dfficult to hold back tears.
Following the keynote, individuals were able to choose up to four of the 38 breakout sessions presented for the day. While transitioning between those workshops and one featured administrator academy, there was time to stop by Vendors' Row. There, local agencies handed out mental health and wellness resources and answered questions. All three Rockford television stations took time to cover the conference, while KMK Media of Rockford video documented workshops, networking, as well as testimonials (click the 2023 SEL Symposium graphic above to view their amazing video).
When asked about takeaways from this year's conference, Ms. DeYounge, who dedicated a majority of her professional time developing the event, gave a laundry list of thoughts on the day. Those included the fact that the sessions provided support for school and classroom SEL goals, that local community presenters were able to keep the information relevant and close-to-home for those who attended, and that such a large group feeling part of a critically needed and growing movement was heartwarming to witness. She also shared, "We are so grateful for the helpful staff and volunteers who joined us, making the entire experience personal and special for everyone involved."
If you were unable to attend the 2023 SEL Symposium, the Area 2 SEL Hub and ROE 4 are creating a similar event for Illinoians in October. The combined team is hoping to bring education and awareness to an even broader audience as the upcoming 2023 HEART Summit will be offered virtually for added convenience. Keep an eye out for details on the HEART Summit - coming soon! ❤
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Mental and Behavioral Health Screening Listening Tour | |
JULY 18, 2023 | 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. | ONLINE | FREE TO ATTEND | |
The Illinois State Board of Education is administering a one-time landscape scan of all school districts in Illinois regarding mental and behavioral health screening of students, pursuant to Recommendation 9 in the February 2023 Blueprint for Transformation: A Vision for Improved Behavioral Healthcare for Illinois Children report and in accordance with Senate Bill 724. The landscape scan consists of a listening tour and an online feedback form.
Please join ISBE, the Area 2 Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Hub, and the Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative as we embark on a series of listening sessions to gather feedback from districts, community members, students, and families across the State of Illinois.
The Area 2 SEL Hub's listening tour is the first to drop - it's YOUR chance to share your views following the tour. The first listening tour happens July 18th, 9:00-10:30 a.m. with registration via the Regional Office of Education 4 website. This virtual session is free to everyone. The remaining listening tours schedule is available below. Please email mentalhealth@isbe.net with any additional questions.
Schedule of Additional Listening Sessions:
- July 25 | Collinsville | SEL Hub 5
- July 26 | Marion | SEL Hub 6
- July 27 | Champaign | SEL Hub 4
- July 31 | Virtual | SEL Hub 3
- July 31 | Virtual | SEL Hub 1
- Aug. 2 | Chicago | CPS SEL Hub
- Aug. 3 | Virtual | Students/Youth Listening Session
- Aug. 8 | Virtual | Parent/Caregiver/Community Listening Session
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Area 2 SEL Hub Offers Support with REACH TRS-IA | | | |
Human Resources & Finance | New Regional Office & Summit Academy Hires | |
The summer months are a great time to transition into or out of an education position as the long break gives an individual time to get up to speed in their new role before students return to classrooms in the fall. This rings true for the departments of ROE 4 and Summit Academy as well, as both divisions feel grateful to have secured quality staff in record time this year.
While both locations will share more in-depth introductions as the school year opens and additional personnel joins the work family, the following is a comprehensive list of new hires. Please help us welcome:
Regional Office of Education
Carrie Brockway - Professional Learning Director
Jennifer Kaiser - Professional Learning Coach
Leanna Keith - Professional Learning Coach
Mark Marinaro - Health/Life Safety Consultant
Emily O'Neill - At-Risk Student Services Assistant Director
Cole Yaun - AP and Payroll/Finance
Alex Zimmerman - At-Risk Student Services Intensive Attendance Interventionist
Summit Academy
Nadia Bender - Interventionist
Joshua English - Paraprofessional
Gregory Kuhn - Assistant Director
Angel Love-Adams - Interventionist
Alma Tapia - Administrative Assistant
Valerie Wam - Paraprofessional
We'd also like to congratulate Mrs. Maria Diestelmeier and Mr. Matt Martin on their end of FY23 retirements and to thank them for their contribution and dedication to ROE 4 and Summit Academy. We wish them both well!
In other news, the HR/Finance Team is busy with completion of the following objectives:
- Filling remaining open positions at Summit Academy
- Commencing a Time Tracking build for FY24 implementation
- Reviewing licensure renewal
- Continuing new hire onboarding
- Facilitating Faith's Law requirements
- Reviewing mandated training for FY23
- Implementing FY24 employee training
- Planning for HR Advisory Council
If you're interested in attending the in-person (or remote) monthly HR Advisory Council, please contact ROE 4 Human Resources Specialist Jamie Watts at jwatts@roe4.org or Dr. Kendra Asbury at kasbur@hononegah.org to connect. The Council meetings are scheduled to resume in September.
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ROE 4 Reminds Educators It's Not Too Late to Renew | |
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Illinois Educators! Did the June 30, 2023, Professional Educator License (PEL) renewal deadline slip right by you? That can happen to the best of us. The good news is...the Regional Office can help!
If your PEL cycle had a renewal deadline of 6/30/2023 and you failed to renew by that date, your license has technically expired. You have until August 31, 2023, to log into your ELIS account on ISBE.net and renew your PEL by meeting the cycle requirements and paying the fee.
Don't allow your license to lapse! If you are having issues with your renewal or if you have additional questions about licensure or deadlines, please contact ROE 4 Licensure Director Leah Blake at lblake@roe4.org at any time.
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Earn Your Illinois High School Diploma with
FREE Summer GED Testing
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Are you interested in earning your Illinois High School Diploma via the GED exam? If so, you should be aware that the cost of taking the examination for Illinois residents just increased from $120 to $144 for the full battery of tests. This 20% increase does include one FREE retake.
With this in mind, we are happy to share some valuable information for potential testers. From now through September 30th, GED test takers will be able to use promo code ILSAVE to cover the entire cost of the test plus the test center fee. That means GED testing for everyone (both online and in-person exams) is FREE this summer! For those who require a retake, promo code ILRETAKE can be utilized to cover the cost of the retake plus the test center fee.
Head to the www.freegedil.org website for all pertinent information. Good luck to all GED testers this summer - your future looks bright! ☀
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Para Testing Offered at Reduced Rate at ROE 4
Registration for ACT WorkKeys paraprofessional testing is available on the ROE 4 website. Head to tinyurl.com/paratesting and follow the orange link to schedule your exam date. This test is now offered at the Regional Office Testing Center at a reduced rate of only $50.
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The Regional Office is all a-buzz, ready to update you with the latest Spelling Bee news!
Districts and Schools, watch your email and snail mail inbox following the start of the FY24 school year. ROE 4 will be sending out important 2024 Spelling Bee information once school is back in session!
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Per the Illinois State Board of Education, the signing of Public Act 103-0111 extends short-term substitute teaching licenses through June 30, 2028. If your STS License had a June 30, 2023 expiration date, you may renew that license for a five-year period by logging into your ELIS account on isbe.net and clicking "Renewals" in your Action Center. The STS license application fee is now $25, and short-term substitutes can teach a maxium of five consecutive days for any licensed public school teacher. | | |
Pictured: Logan W (R) of ROE 4 fingerprints Rodrick for local school district employment | |
Services Available at ROE 4
- Fingerprinting
- Licensure
- GED Transcripts
- Minor Work Permits
- School Bus Driver Training
- Pearson Testing Center
- Homeschooling Information
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Flinn Middle School Leadership Team Clocks Summer Hours to Improve Schoolwide Relationships | | |
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The leadership team at Flinn Middle School elected to invest multiple half-days over their summer break to work directly with ROE 4's Chris Collins on building relationships within their school.
This animated group of leaders is on a quest to improve student-to-student, student-to-educator, and educator-to-educator relationships across the board at Flinn. They have a collective vision of healthy interactions schoolwide, which, in turn, will help support both students and staff on their campus.
We appreciate this team and their continued commitment to create the very best learning environment possible for the Flinn Middle School community.
Congratulations to Cory Schrank and his staff - well done!
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Four: For Leaders - Summer Edition | |
Are you enjoying Four: For Leaders with Chris Collins of ROE 4? To receive the F4L monthly email, head to https://conta.cc/3pmMPyV today and subscribe! | |
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Time is Running Out to Register for ROE 4's
FY24 Administrators' Kick-Off Breakfast
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- Keynote Topic: TIME
- FREE signed book
- Delicious breakfast
- Community/networking time
- Gift baskets/prize drawings
- Optional round of golf (including cart) for only $45/person
Bring your school admin team!
Simply register ASAP to save your spot.
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Meghan Hawkinson, ARSS Director at ROE 4, is excited to announce that Emily O'Neill has accepted the role of At-Risk Student Services Assistant Director. In addition, current interventionist Alex Zimmerman will transition to the position of Intensive Attendance Intervenionist beginning with the FY24 school year. Mrs. Hawkinson is also adding two new interventionists to her team. New ARSS employees will be officially introduced in an upcoming newsletter. | |
Success Story: Meet Student A
Through my position as an interventionist, I began working with Student A, who is court involved, back in 2020. When I first met Student A, all students were attending school remotely. I would often visit "A" at her home during this time to discuss her poor attendance and academic performance with remote learning. However, after visiting with her a few times, I realized that something deeper was going on at home. I also realized that this issue was presenting as an attendance barrier for this student.
I brought my concerns to the attention of the court, and, together, we created a plan to assist in Student A’s return to in-person learning and to also assist in the challenges she faced at home. This included bringing other agencies onto the case.
When Student A returned to in-person learning, her academics and attendance slightly improved. Student A visited me regularly while at school, and I eventually built a good rapport with her. She began to open up about her home life, as well as the ongoing issues at school.
As Student A started to share with me more often, we made major strides in improving her attendance/academics, as I had been able to establish a student services plan that better fit her needs. She was almost a year behind in school, so I often stayed with her after school for tutoring to assist her in getting back on track. I also ensured Student A received counseling services to address mental/emotional concerns.
Eventually, Student A was removed from her home and placed with a family member, who took great interest in Student A’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Once Student A was settled in her new home with this family member, she began attending a different school, where she has had perfect attendance. Student A is now back on track to graduate high school on time (next year). She has come a long way and has worked very hard to reach this level of success.
Today, in closing her case, Student A personally addressed the court. She thanked the courts for never giving up on her. In addition, she said, “Thank you for not throwing me away like trash.” That is something I will never forget. I am in awe of Student A’s resilience at only 16 years of age, as she has recovered quickly from a traumatic life. Today, I’m reminded that there is hope for every student we encounter and that our jobs as attendance interventionists are so much more than just "tracking attendance”.
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Summit Academy Hires Assistant Director
Summit Academy is very excited to welcome their new assistant director, Greg Kuhn. Mr. Kuhn joins the Summit Eagles Administrative Team, which includes Executive Director Nicole Corbett along with Faith McNamee and Kevin Anderson.
Greg's previous professional experience includes a role as Center Director for an alternative learning outplacement program, as well as Lead Teacher in the alternative learning opportunities program for District 300, which is housed at Dundee-Crown High School. Most recently, he spent four years at Huntley High School serving as the RTI Facilitator, managing the school’s credit recovery program, and assisting in operations in the school’s ALOP program. Mr. Kuhn carries an administrative license and earned his Master’s degree in educational leadership.
Welcome to Summit Academy, Mr. Kuhn!
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Summit Academy Staff Summer Team Building | |
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The Summit Academy Administration Team along with select staff members have been spending their summer days together. They have been dedicating two days per week to launch or work through the continuous improvement cycle on key structures and processes. They are currently focusing on those that lie at the core of their mission, which is to reset, connect, restore, and return. This includes those that have proven to maintain or improve Summit Academy to be as safe and progressive as possible.
Each day the group navigated the Plus/Delta/Rx evaluation discussion around one strategically chosen topic. This activity was utilized to help them work through data trust and improve an already existing structure. They would then affinity map the components that required agreement, made consensus statements, and then tasked out any action items.
In June, they worked through Special Education Services, Multi-tiered Systems and Supports, Middle School Curriculum, and the Life Cycle of a Student.
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The plan for July is to work through Universal Classroom Design, Homebound Student Programming, SRO Role Theory, Technology Plan, PE Curriculum, and Crisis Management.
Recently, the Summit Leadership Team participated in a norming activity in the morning, worked through Enneagram personality styles and needs assessments, and, finally, capped off the team-building day with a scavenger hunt around the local area.
They ended the day with an "I've got your back AND your front" activity, during which the members wrote positive adjectives describing one another on the backs of t-shirts. They included a short private note suggesting areas to improve on for the front pocket. The team worked as partners throughout the impactful day, with a closing activity of writing a letter to the partner that would ultimately be opened and read on the first day of school.
We love hearing how the Summit Eagles are integrating creativity into their training. Ultimatley, Summit students will benefit the most from the Eagles' continued innovation.
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Learning Technology Center of Illinois Monthly ROE 4 #TechTip
Check out Cybersecurity Resources from K12SIX, brought to you by Eric Muckensturm of Learning Technology Center of Illinois. Enjoy this month's Tech Tip with LTC and Boone-Winnebago Regional Office of Education 4.
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Quote of the Month:
"One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by."
~ Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle ~
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300 Heart Boulevard, Loves Park, IL 61111 • (815) 636-3060
www.roe4.org
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