Institute of Politics

Overview of Organization:

Founded in 2008, Advance Illinois believes all kids deserve a quality education. We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization with an independent, objective voice that works toward a healthy public education system preparing students to achieve success in college, career, and civic life. We are committed to an aligned education system that strives for equity, stresses college and career readiness and completion, and supports the whole child from the earliest years through adulthood.

Since its founding, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in birth through post-secondary education policy and advocacy. We believe that through advocacy, partnership, and understanding and using data well, we can drive changes that elevate the quality of Illinois’ education system for all. We champion equity and excellence in education to improve lives, communities, and society.

We are known for:

• Developing data-informed policies to support student success. We make data and research accessible through clear, compelling communication, and linking it to action. We seek to be a go-to source for unbiased insights and what it takes to ensure excellence in Illinois’ education system.
• Building leadership, community partnerships, and coalitions of advocates. We partner with communities, education leaders, businesses, and government to make lasting change for the Illinois education system.
• Elevating racial and socioeconomic equity in the education system. Our passion is to give every student an opportunity to succeed, and we won’t stop until the system produces better results for historically underserved students.
• Thinking about the whole system and taking on big challenges. We seek bold opportunities to make a difference in the lives of Illinois’ students from birth to career.

We have sought and achieved higher statewide student learning standards and aligned assessments; a new accountability system that is designed to be fair, clear, and supportive; an improved teacher evaluation system; a statewide school-level report card accessible to parents; new requirements for teacher and principal preparation; and statewide adoption of new strategies to reduce college remediation. We have helped foster a statewide network of communities, bringing business, education, and community organizations together to improve education outcomes locally.

Advance Illinois worked for years in collaboration with partners and stakeholders to reform the formula, which was designated worst in the nation for equity. In 2017 after years of advocacy, Illinois enacted a transformative new school district funding formula. Since the implementation of the new funding formula and with several years of continued state investment, we have seen the number of schools operating with less than 60% of the resources they need drop from 164 to 1. We will continue to advocate for additional funding each year until every district has 100% of the resources it needs.

Internship Summary:

In the past, our interns have played an integral role in our organization and created briefs and research reports that are still in regular use as information and background for our work. Our interns do substantive, project-based work. This is a highly entrepreneurial position and the intern will work closely with the Advance Illinois team on various policy and research projects that will shape Advance Illinois’ policy positions and build public support for them. The intern will gain a thorough understanding of education policy through immersion in several areas of the organization’s work.

Responsibilities:

• Completing research, including literature reviews and landscape scans, to inform our organizational position on current policy or proposed policy changes and support the development of policy proposals.
• Completing data analysis to inform our understanding of the education landscape in Illinois, investigate potential impacts of existing policies, bolster advocacy efforts, and support the development of policy proposals.
• Producing policy briefs and summaries of various topics in education and education policy.
• Presenting findings from research or data analysis.
• Proofreading and editing documents, and other duties as assigned.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Interest in education as a policy area.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills. Experience in research and/ or statistics is a plus.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including ability to interact with senior management, supervisors, and other interns.
• Ability to work independently and meet deadlines.
• Proficiency using Microsoft Office.
• Experience in basic data analysis using Excel, R, Stata, or other statistical software is a plus.

About the Supervisor:

Your supervisor will be Jim O’Connor. Jim grew up on a farm near Kankakee, Illinois and has degrees from University of Notre Dame, the University of Chicago, and National Louis University. Before joining Advance Illinois, Jim was a Noble Street Charter School teacher, and the founding principal at KIPP Ascend Charter School in Chicago, where he was a principal for six years. Jim was also the Executive Director of Student Services at School District U-46 in Illinois, where he administered SES tutoring for 1,000 students. Jim is an elected school board member in an elementary school district with about 5,600 students (including his two children) in Oak Park, Illinois. Jim works to ensure that every student has the opportunity to attain an excellent education.

Location, Modality, and Commute:

Our office is located at 303 E Wacker and the team currently works remotely 2 days a week and in-person 3 days a week.

Start and End Date:

Summer internships will take place during the period of June 10 - September 27, with specific dates to be determined by the employer partner and intern during the interview process.