Teachers contribute more to reading and math outcomes than any other factor of schooling. However, teacher shortages are pervasive. How can schools and districts recruit high-quality educators, hold onto to the ones they already have, and reflect the diversity of their students? This infographic highlights innovative models beyond the traditional…

In this brief, JFF (Jobs for the Future) explores what training providers can do to adapt their programming in ways that put the country on a path to an equitable economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors conducted research to examine what education and training providers can do to design programs that emphasize equity and…

In this article, I propose a model to re-frame disproportionality research, which addresses key limitations in this literature. I present a brief overview of the problem and situate it in the historical context in which race and ability became intertwined. I then argue that a cultural-historical understanding of disproportionality requires…

The Minority Teacher Identification and Enrichment Program (MTIEP) is a university-based model that has served as a catalyst in the development of a statewide program to increase the pool of minority teachers in the State of Illinois. The program created a network of Minority Teacher Education Associations (MTEAs) which identified potential…

It is proposed that federal block grants to Illinois be distributed to school districts according to four characteristics of those districts. Funds will be distributed inversely proportional to property valuation per pupil, directly proportional to percentage of minority children, directly proportional to percentage of poverty children (Title I…

This publication examines seven programs that emphasize industrial and educational collaboration for special needs youth and adults in Illinois. The programs use various strategies to help persons with special needs, such as disadvantaged, handicapped, and limited-English-proficient persons, to prepare for the economic and employment mainstream.…

The effectiveness of state enterprise zone programs was examined by using a hypothetical-firm model called the Tax and Incentives Model-Enterprise Zones (TAIM-ez) model to analyze the value of enterprise zone incentives to businesses across the United States and especially in the 13 states that had substantial enterprise zone programs by 1990. The…