We Love Illinois Schools Illinois State Board of Education

Focused on our mission to prepare all students for success in college and careers, it’s easy to overlook the fact that some instruction on caregiving would be useful. Katharine Bensinger took on a request from a student club and ended up with some prestigious partners in the creation of ParentABLE, an evidence-based curriculum that has been piloted with hundreds of students statewide. The parenting education program is free for districts to opt into, and ParenTeach offers six Continuing Educa...

Ryan Wamser and Matt Weld from Regional Office of Education 40 are leaders in the world of school Social-Emotional Learning, or SEL. Together, they staff the Area 5 SEL Hub in Southwestern Illinois – one of seven regional hubs that offer professional development to local teachers and school administrators on trauma-informed practices and all things SEL.By far the most popular workshop they offer is “Leadership Lessons from the Lasso Way.” The duo uses the hit Apple TV comedy Ted Lasso as insp...

Briana Morales is our 2023 Illinois State Teacher of the Year. She’s a high school English teacher at Gordon Bush Alternative Center – the alternative school for East St. Louis School District 189. To learn more about our Teacher of the Year program, visit our website. To nominate someone for 2024 Teacher of the year, go to this page. To request Briana for a speaking engagement, express interest here. To be inspired to connect with students, click play.Our theme music is by José Rivera.

The National Teacher of the Year finalist and Oregon High School teacher known as Ms. Rad talks about why she advocates for having special education students in her Spanish class, how she overcame her fear of public speaking, the role llamas played in improving her teaching technique, what she does in her spare time, and so much more. Our theme music is by José Rivera.

Lindsay Record, the communications lead for our Learning Renewal team, hosts this episode. Her featured guests are Mashana Smith, Ph.D, director of REACH at the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, and Marla Graham, principal of the Lovington Grade School in Arthur CUSD 305. They share experiences and strategies to address trauma so that students can feel safe and ready to learn. REACH stands for Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing. It's ...

Steven Herkert is director of ROE services at Regional Office of Education 8. He is also a principal mentor with the Illinois Principals Association, and a passionate advocate for the 5Essentials Culture and Climate Survey. In this episode, he talks about mistakes he made as a principal, what he got right, and how principals can use data to make their schools better.Our theme music is by José Rivera.