In Illinois and many other states, students, teachers and administrators are facing a new educational landscape as they return to the classroom this fall. For most, it’s their first look at a curriculum driven by the Common Core standards. The Common Core aims to improve elementary and secondary education across the country by identifying higher standards for student achievement in English and math. It’s widely considered to be the most significant change in education policy in more than a decade.

But what exactly is the Common Core? What challenges and opportunities does it present for students, teachers, administrators and parents? And how is the Core playing out in classrooms in Illinois? We’ll hear from key education stakeholders about how the Common Core standards will shape the country’s challenging, and changing, education landscape.

Participants:
Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
Rick Hess, Resident Scholar and Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, author of the Education Week blog “Rick Hess Straight Up” and executive editor at Education Next
Tim Knowles (moderator), John Dewey Director of the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute (UEI)

Panel on Education in Illinois:
Darren Reisberg (moderator), Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, former General Counsel and Deputy Superintendent at the Illinois State Board of Education
Jose Torres, superintendent of School District U-46, which serves over 40,000 children from portions of Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties.
Dan Montgomery, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Illinois Federation of Teachers
Robin Steans, Executive Director of Advance Illinois, an independent statewide education policy and advocacy organization

This event is free and open to the public with registration.

Presented by the Global Voices Lecture Series and the Institute of Politics.