Illinois Administrative Code › Title 23 - EDUCATION AND CULTURAL RESOURCES › Part 65 - NEW TEACHER INDUCTION AND MENTORING › Subpart A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 65.5 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
"Anti-Bias" means to acknowledge and actively work against
				  your own biases while also actively challenging biases, stereotyping, and all
				  forms of discrimination in schools and communities. It is a recognition that
				  everyone has biases that we are culturally socialized to internalize. Biases
				  are learned beginning with early childhood and are messages that children
				  receive about their identities and the identities of others. These messages can
				  be subtle or explicit and come from multiple sources, including family members,
				  news media, books, and entertainment media. Our biases influence our judgments,
				  decisions, and actions. Anti-bias work provides teachers a way to examine and
				  transform their understanding of their students' lives and do self-reflective
				  work to more deeply understand their own lives.
"Anti-Racist" means a recognition that disparities exist
				  between white people and Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) due to
				  inherently racist policies, practices, procedures, guidelines and beliefs (both
				  written and unwritten) and is based on the outcomes, not the intended goal or
				  purpose. To be antiracist means to actively disrupt racist policies, practices,
				  procedures, and guidelines and push for alternatives that promote positive
				  outcomes for BIPOC and marginalized groups. Antiracism is intersectional in
				  that it also works against classism, sexism, trans- and homophobia, etc.
"Dedicated Time" means time set aside specifically for
				  mentors to become mentors, in order to allow them to learn about, develop, and
				  plan their mentoring roles, processes, and procedures. This process is
				  continuous, allowing for sustained growth for the mentor.
"Eligible Applicant" or "Eligible Entity" means a
				  regional office of education, an intermediate service center, an Illinois
				  institution of higher education, a statewide organization representing
				  teachers, a local education agency, or a public or private not-for-profit
				  entity with experience providing professional learning, including mentoring, to
				  early childhood educators.
[105 ILCS
				  5/21A-5 ]
"Equity" means an equitable educational system that values
				  and embraces students and adults of diverse racial, ethnic, ability,
				  linguistic, socioeconomic status, and gender identities. This system
				  acknowledges the impact of systemic and historical inequities that have limited
				  progress, opportunity, and access. Systems, policies, and practices that have
				  perpetuated systemic and historical inequities are dismantled and redesigned to
				  promote educational justice for students from diverse backgrounds. Resources,
				  opportunities, rewards, and burdens are fairly distributed across groups and
				  communities so that those with the greatest challenges are adequately supported
				  and not further disadvantaged.
"Evidence-Based Practices" or "Evidence-Based Programs" means
				  practices or programs that have evidence to show that they are effective at
				  producing results and improving outcomes when implemented. The kind of evidence
				  described in ESSA has generally been produced through formal studies and
				  research.
"Induction" means a distinct phase of teacher development
				  that occurs upon an individual's entry into the profession, a period of
				  socialization and enculturation into the norms and practices of the teaching
				  profession, or a formal program for beginning teachers of guided entry into the
				  profession of teaching.
"Induction Program" means a locally developed comprehensive
				  and systemic program aimed to accelerate the effectiveness of beginning
				  teachers (or those new to the district) through ongoing, job-embedded mentoring
				  and professional learning.
"New Teacher" means the holder of a professional educator
				  license who is employed by a public school and who has not previously
				  participated in a new teacher induction and mentoring program required by
				  Article 21A of the School Code, except as provided in Section 21A-25 of the
				  School Code.
"Protected Time" means time set aside specifically for the
				  interaction of mentors with beginning teachers. It means the explicit creation
				  of spaces, within or beyond the confines of the school day, that allow for the
				  teaching and learning relationship between the mentor and the beginning teacher
				  to actually happen.
"Public School" means any school operating pursuant to the
				  authority of the School Code, including, but not limited to, a school district,
				  charter school, cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or board
				  of control, or a school operated by a regional office of education or State
				  agency.
"Resources" include assets or materials that support
				  induction and mentoring program goals, such as people, time, training, money,
				  or technology. This Part specifically is concerned with the equitable
				  allocation of resources to program participants.
"School Code" means 105 ILCS 5.
"Teacher Leadership" means the development of teachers so
				  they can have an influence that extends beyond their own classrooms to others
				  within their own school community and elsewhere. This includes developing
				  teachers to serve as catalysts to build the profession, mobilize, and energize
				  others in support of the critical responsibilities of strengthened teaching and
				  learning, both formally and informally, and developing teachers to have
				  specific expertise and skill in engaging others in complex work and confronting
				  obstacles within the school context. Within a school structure, a teacher
				  leader may or may not be a formalized role or position.