William Daley

A leader of the education reform advocacy group Advance Illinois gave local town hall meeting attendees a subtle warning in regards to the future of education.

The United States and the State of Illinois are falling behind the competition.

Speaking in front of a group of area-wide educators, school board members, education administrators, co-chair and former Secretary of Commerce William Daley flatly stated that education in the Prairie State must find a non-partisan-led new direction.

“Education is not a Republican or a Democratic issue,” said Daley, who has been rumored as a possible Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2010 or a future Illinois Senatorial candidate. “Nor is it a rural, urban, black, Latino or white issue.

“In this time of economic crisis, the states who allow their educational achievements to keep sliding will be less equipped to weather the storm,” Daley continued. “Problems are more severe in Illinois in part because we under-invested in education. Despite the fact that Illinois is the fifth-largest economy in the United States, we shoulder a smaller share of public school funding than almost any other state in the union.”

The evening of addresses, dinner, educational advocacy and break-out sessions involving the audience was co-sponsored by Advance Illinois and the North Central Regional Betterment Coalition. The goal of Advance Illinois is to promote a state public education system that readies all students for college and an ever-challenging global workforce.

“So much has changed since many of us were in school,” remarked Daley. “Forty years ago, a high school graduate might expect a good, lifetime job at a plant near home. A college-bound student would view his competition as coming from Missouri or Michigan. In today’s economy, manufacturing plays a smaller role and a career requires consistent retraining to keep up with changing technology. Our competition is from India, China and Europe. The challenges for today’s high school graduates are unlike any in our history. Those challenges call us to take an independent approach to reform that moves beyond old divisions and puts facts, research and best practices – not politics – in the driver’s seat to make our schools better.”

Also speaking at the meeting was Mendota High School valedictorian Joe Buchanan. The Holy Cross School alumnus and future Illinois Valley Community College student wanted the crowd to know how education can stay ahead of global students – one way to advance ahead of the competition is to rely on state-of-the art technology.

“One thing I have noticed throughout my years as a student is the growing emphasis on technology within the schools,” Buchanan said. “It is not that difficult to pick up the fact that technology is quickly becoming more and more infused with the educational curriculum. I feel this is a very good and important direction that our educational system is taking.”

While technological upgrades and retraining working students are viable options to strengthen schools, community colleges and universities, Advance Illinois’ Daley noted that solutions to Illinois’ educational woes do not include dollar signs. Parental and community awareness in relationship to education was also discussed, and the advocacy group would like to see barriers between parents, the community and schools whittled to next to nothing.

“(Advance Illinois Co-chair) Governor (Jim) Edgar and I feel strongly that some of the toughest reforms don’t require money,” said Daley. “Recently, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan rightfully called Illinois to task for being far too complacent for far too long on education. We are failing too many children and their families. We are failing them by not equipping students with the skills they need to succeed.”