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The Forum on the Future of Public Education

The Forum on the Future of Public Education strives to bring the best empirical evidence to policymakers and the public.

The Forum draws on a network of premier scholars to create, interpret, and disseminate credible information on key questions facing P-20 education. The Forum pursues original research and facilitates collaboration between researchers and policymakers to examine the pressing issues shaping the future of public education. Key constituencies of the Forum include scholars who influence research, policy and practice; policy makers and policy making bodies at all levels; members of the media who influence public opinion; foundations, organizations, business groups and others who support, criticize and advocate for reform; and citizens who make choices about education for themselves and their children.

America is witnessing a drastic redefinition of the policies and practices associated with “public education.” Too often, discussions around the future of public education are strong on passion but short on actual evidence. The Forum for the Future of Public Education is filing that gap by building a resource of objective, research-based insights on key educational issues. We are establishing an open venue- a true public forum to debate controversial and consequential policy issues that will shape American’s future.

Latest News

Student and alumna of College earn 2017 Cupcake Awards

by the College of Education at Illinois / May 9, 2017

An alumna and a student in the College of Education are recipients of the 2017 Cupcake Awards from the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation.

Awardee Steve Keepes-England is pursuing a master’s degree in the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership (EPOL). He has been a kindergarten teacher at Bottenfield Elementary in Champaign for a decade and is known for making the educational experience for children “magical,” according to his nominee, thanks to his high-energy personality and creative ideas.

Honoree Rhonda Turner ’99 C&I, Ed.M. ’03 C&I, is a fourth-grade teacher at King Elementary in Urbana, a school she attended as a child. Turner’s nominator said she has a “tenacity for teaching” that has led to student projects ranging from battery-powered boats to robots. Along with her two degrees from the College, Turner earned a certificate of advanced study in EPOL in 2009.

The Cupcake Awards began in 2010 and recognize educators who display outstanding service, hard work, positive attitudes, and cutting-edge ideas that enhance students’ learning. Keepes-England and Turner will be recognized for their efforts at a May 10 ceremony at Pear Tree Estate in Champaign and will receive $500 grants for their classrooms.

Karen Kaplan, a five-year nursing teacher in Urbana, will be honored as a Cupcake Award recipient alongside Keepes-England and Turner.