Project Lead: Kevin Junk
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) understands the importance of resource allocation and community engagement to support school improvement. ISBE is engaging in a continuous improvement effort in how they conduct district Resource Allocation Reviews (RARs) and enhancing community engagement activities within districts to address inequities across Illinois.
The Region 9 Comprehensive Center is working with a cross-division ISBE team, that includes representation from finance and school improvement departments, to support development and implementation of a multi-tiered approach to RAR’s that provides scaffolded support to schools or districts based on school improvement identification and the number of years identified. R9CC is collaborating with ISBE leaders to develop a tool for districts to complete the RAR process and to define the roles and responsibilities of ISBE staff in scaling the new RAR process across the state. In addition, R9CC and ISBE are collaborating on the development and distribution of a community financial meeting toolkit to support district leaders across the state in engaging with their communities to discuss district current reality, spending priorities, and goals for improvement.