ITEEA Partners with Illinois State Board of Education

ITEEA Partners with Illinois State Board of Education

Group Memberships will be Provided to Every Elementary Educator in the State

RESTON, VA., JULY 21, 2020 – ITEEA has partnered with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to provide a group membership for every elementary educator throughout the state. This unique and groundbreaking project was coordinated though the innovative work of Steven Parrott, (ISBE) Technology and Engineering Principal Consultant and Marci Johnson, CTE and Innovation Director who sought a way to help Illinois’ elementary educators to become more knowledgeable and comfortable with teaching technology and engineering through integrative STEM Education approaches at these primary grades. They believe the ITEEA schoolwide membership will provide a pathway in developing a STEM professional learning community (PLC). This PLC, based on integrating technology and engineering instruction into the elementary curriculum, will benefit ALL children.

As stated in the new STEL Standards “The goal of technology and engineering education is to develop students with a breadth of knowledge and capabilities who see the interactions between technology, engineering, and society and can use, create, and assess current and emerging technologies. This goal is achieved by focusing teaching and learning across all three domains of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.” The statewide elementary group membership allows each of 2,500 elementary schools (principal and all teachers within the elementary grade level buildings) the following access and resources to accomplish these goals:

• Complimentary electronic subscription to Technology and Engineering Teacher (TET) journal
• Complimentary electronic subscription to The Elementary STEM Journal (ESJ)
• Individual login profile with full access to all resources available through the iteea.org website
• Complimentary subscription to all ITEEA Professional Learning STEMinars
• Discounted ITEEA annual conference registration
• Eligibility for individual and program/school recognition
• Eligibility for awards/scholarships
• Discounted insurance programs
• Access to all the Elementary Engineering byDesign™ (EbD™) courses via the Illinois EbD Access webpage
• ITEEA publications, product, and Engineering byDesign™ course and unit discounts
• Free resume posting on ITEEA's Career Connection page
• A Complimentary Customized Professional Learning STEMinar designed for Illinois elementary educators to access and utilize the resources provided through this special membership and website tools (Archive access also provided)

In addition to the membership benefits, ITEEA will provide an option for all elementary teachers to join ITEEA’s Elementary STEM Council (ESC) as a part of the project. ESC will be collaborating with ITEEA to develop STEMinar sessions and materials to help the Illinois teachers better understand and utilize the resources provided through the website, journals, and conference.

On Tuesday, July 7, ITEEA provided a statewide session to explain the project goals and objectives, along with the technical process of activating the teachers' individual membership credentials.

Speaking about the partnership, Steve Parrott commented, "Teachers are the front line to a successful student and ultimately a productive citizen. Too often, we have overlooked our elementary teachers and students along this process. I feel our partnership with ITEEA will provide the necessary resources for Illinois teachers to teach exciting and engaging STEM concepts. In a technology-driven world, we must provide every opportunity for our students to develop the skills to become technologically literate. Today’s elementary students will propel our country’s STEM workforce to greater heights tomorrow." 

This innovative project provides an exciting opportunity for our field at the elementary level. We are hoping to build and demonstrate success through this project so other states might follow this pathway in the future!

ITEEA (www.iteea.org) is the professional organization for technology, innovation, design, and engineering educators. Its mission is to promote technological literacy for all by supporting the teaching of technology and promoting the professionalism of those engaged in these pursuits. ITEEA strengthens the profession through leadership, professional development, membership services, publications, and classroom activities.

Media Contact:

Kathleen de la Paz

Communications Director

703-860-3868

kdelapaz@iteea.org