“This presents us with a chance for transformative change.”

CHICAGO – State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas called on the General Assembly to act on recommendations in the report released last week by the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding and spoke on her own plan to increase education pathways and economic stability for early childhood educators.

“The Early Childhood Funding Commission has made our duties clear,” Pacione-Zayas said Thursday. “For the first time, this report clarifies the vision and investments we need to break down the barriers young children face in reaching their full potential.”

Pacione-Zayas worked with the commission as a member of the BUILD Initiative’s Illinois State Team, specifically focusing on the importance of building up the early childhood system in addressing systemic racism.

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Illinois pleas to skip SATs

State and federal education heads disagree on tests

Illinois Times, April 1, 2021 | Original article

By Madison Angell

The Illinois Senate has added to the call for the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to waive spring assessments, such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), for students, as it did in 2020. State Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, D-Chicago, spearheaded a resolution, approved March 17, calling for testing waivers. She said many students have been learning remotely or in a hybrid system for the past year, and expecting them to return to school for in-person testing is unrealistic.

"We all know this is not a typical year," Pacione-Zayas said in a statement. "Let's have some compassion for our students and teachers and allow them to use their limited time in the classroom to learn and recover from the trauma of the pandemic, rather than to take stressful tests."

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SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) led the Illinois Senate in calling on the U.S. Department of Education to waive spring student assessments, as it did in 2020.

“So many students have been learning remotely or in a hybrid system over the past year. Expecting them to run to school for federally required tests just isn’t realistic,” Pacione-Zayas said. “More importantly, without every student in school to take the tests, we won’t be able to get reliable data that allows us to assess and compare progress between schools and districts.”

The Illinois State Board of Education has already announced that it has delayed its normal testing window out of respect for the more than one million students still learning in fully remote environments.

Data from federally required testing is normally used to target supports and improvements for struggling schools and school districts. In the state’s largest school district, Chicago Public Schools, students would potentially be returning to the classroom only to immediately jump into standardized testing.

“We all know this is not a typical year,” Pacione-Zayas said. “Let’s have some compassion for our students and teachers and allow them to use their limited time in the classroom to learn and recover from the trauma of the pandemic, rather than to take stressful tests.”

Senate Resolution 166 was adopted by the Illinois Senate today.

State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas issued the following statement today following Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget address:

“While the governor’s general approach is commendable given the circumstances, I’m disappointed that he has outlined a plan that doesn’t deliver schools the annual increase in Evidence-based Funding, nor an increase to the Early Childhood Block Grant to protect the early care and education workforce during a time when they have shown up every day to serve students and young children. As the General Assembly begins negotiating on the budget, we will need to seek explicit assurance from the federal government that these funds can be used in the ways they are most needed for our schools.”

Senadora Estatal Cristina Pacione-Zayas dio la siguente declaración despues del discurso de Gubernador JB Pritzker sobre el presupuesto estatal:

"Mientras que el enfoque general del gobernador es positivo dadas las circunstancias, estoy decepcionada de que presentó un plan que no otorga el incremento de presupuesto anual a las escuelas con base en la fórmula Financiamiento-con-Base-en-la-Evidencia. Tampoco el aumento a los fondos a la Educación Temprana que protejen los cuidados tempranos y el entrenamiento a la fuerza laboral, en un tiempo en que han mostrado cada día que sirven a los estudiantes y a los niños pequeños," dijo Pacione-Zayas. "Mientras que la Asamblea General comienza las negociaciones sobre el presupuesto, necesitamos las garantías explicitas y necesarias del gobierno federal de que estos fondos podrán ser usados en las cosas que hacen más falta en nuestras escuelas."