The Great Lakes West website provides information about planned and ongoing work in Illinois, Wisconsin, and across the region. This website is a resource primarily for state education agency staff, but it may be useful for educators, policymakers, and technical assistance providers both in the Great Lakes West region and across the country. The website connects educators and policymakers to resources and research, including the comprehensive center network and other regional and national networks.

What's New

Illinois Receives Race to the Top Round 3 Award
Just as 2011 ended, the U.S. Department of Education announced that seven states—Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—will each receive a share of the $200 million Race to the Top Round 3 (RTT3) fund to advance targeted K–12 reforms aimed at improving student achievement. Read more...

New Illinois Learning Standards Online Tool
Resources to support the new Illinois Learning Standards online tool are now more convenient and accessible. Access to the online tool and resources from introductory webinars Great Lakes West provided to ROEs, including an archive of the webinar and the PowerPoint presentation, are now available on the new Great Lakes West Illinois Standards web page. Read more...

October 2011 issue of Your ACCESS to the Region
This issue of the newsletter highlights charter schools and includes a feature article on current charter school developments, with a special focus on Illinois and Wisconsin. The feature article was contributed by the National Charter School Resource Center, which is also the subject of this issue’s Profile. REL Midwest contributed an update on recent REL developments and upcoming events. Read more...