The Macomb School District has joined more than 400 other Illinois districts in supporting the Vision 2030 plan.
Vision 2030 is a blueprint for public education in the state.
Superintendent Patrick Twomey said the plan calls for relief from hundreds of unfunded mandates that cover a wide range of issues, such as academics, student safety, and administrative procedures.
“They seem like small things, but they are all something you have to do,” he said.
Twomey said many of the mandates are well-intended, but he feels they’re bogging down school systems.
“There’s 750 of those things. Many of them take away from our ability, where we could just be focusing on a core curriculum taught to children,” Twomey said.
“The mission keeps getting shifted through those mandates.”
Vision 2030 also addresses issues such as education funding, future-focused learning, and teacher shortages.
Organizations such as the Illinois Association of School Boards, the Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools, and the Illinois Principals Association created the plan with input from teachers, administrators, school boards, and parents.
John Meixner, Superintendent of Regional Office of Education #26, thinks it’s impressive to see professional education associations in the state coming together on a plan for schools.
“Years ago, we would all be fighting our separate battles on what we wanted,” Meixner said.
But then they collaborated on Vision 2020, which he said yielded legislative victories such as the evidence-based funding formula for education.
“We’re going to have the same mission moving forward to really enhance our schools. We’re going to have one common vision versus all having multiple visions and fighting against each other,” he said.
ROE 26 serves Fulton, Hancock, McDonough, and Schuyler counties. The office has endorsed Vision 2030, as have more than a dozen school districts throughout west central Illinois.
In addition to Macomb, they include Galesburg, Monmouth, Hamilton, Nauvoo-Colusa, Dallas City Elementary, Southeastern, Astoria, Cuba, Havana, Brown County, Quincy, Spoon River Valley, West Central, Knoxville, Beardstown, Canton, and ROWVA.
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