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The Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been selected to take a more active role in addressing the state’s preschool to workforce needs on the Illinois P-20 Council. 

Dr. Janet Holt, IERC executive director, was named as coordinator of the Illinois P-20 Council, a statewide initiative established by the legislature to bring together state agencies, educational institutions, community groups and others to improve educational outcomes from birth to adulthood in a coordinated way in Illinois. The “P” stands for Preschool and the 20 stands for grade 20. 

Dr. Elizabeth Purvis, Illinois secretary of education and P-20 chair, named Holt to coordinate the 30-member council, of which Southern Illinois University System President Randy Dunn is also a member. The IERC has been the research arm of the P-20 Council. Holt and previous IERC directors have been ex-officio members of the Council since its inception in 2009. 

The goals of the Illinois P-20 Council are critical, challenging and according to Holt, attainable. 

“In Illinois, only 43 percent of people have an associate’s degree or higher,” Holt said. “As reported by the Georgetown Center for Education, the workforce will need approximately 70 percent of all adults to have some postsecondary training by 2020. The economy requires more of a skilled workforce because of the technological and specialized nature of jobs today.”

The state P-20 Council supports the state goal that 60 percent of Illinois adults should achieve a high quality degree or credential by 2025. 

“Illinois is not the only state working to enhance the education of its residents,” Holt said. “The P-20 Councils exist across the country. The Illinois P-20 Council is one of several in the country bringing various educational, community and industry expertise together to accomplish initiatives that often span the educational sectors. 

 “As the Council coordinator, we will do research for each of our meetings,” she continued. “We will conduct background research on speakers, issues and topics, as well as provide research support for the many sub committees. 

“For instance, there is one committee looking at how to get qualified teachers and teacher leaders in schools and the IERC has done extensive research in this area that has supported the work of this committee.” 

The first order of business for IERC is to research other P-20 models in the country. “We will look at what others are doing and, what if anything, to adopt. We will also be looking at the inequities of school funding in Illinois.”

The Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) is an independent research organization at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) that conducts education policy research on issues of import to the state of Illinois. Since 2009, we have been the legislated research arm of the Illinois P-20 Council. Our policy research follows important educational trends in Illinois and is disseminated through our research reports, presentations to the Illinois P-20 Council and its subcommittees, and through conference presentations. Readers of our policy reports have come to expect high quality research on issues relevant to Illinois. 

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Dr. Janet Holt, coordinator of the Illinois P-20 Council and executive director of SIUE’s Illinois Education Research Council (IERC).