A very special speaker took the stage Wednesday, June 30, at the Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown Rockford. Before Rockford Mayor McNamara introduced Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, a student from the Goodwill Excel Center stepped up to the podium.
She began sharing her story: a mom who decided to go back to school to earn her high school diploma. While enrolled at the Excel Center, pregnant for the second time, she faced an emergency delivery that left her in the midst of courses and assignments she was still determined to finish. She shared how the work was never easy with her two little ones at home, but even so, her perseverance paid off. Standing on that stage, Alondra Evette Campos addressed the 46 students of the Excel Center's inaugural graduating Class of 2026 with a message that felt like many of their own stories.
ROE4's partnership with the Excel Center is the first of its kind among Regional Offices of Education in Illinois. It is an honor for our Regional Services team to review transcripts and issue diplomas to these extraordinary adult learners. For each of these graduates, their diploma carries more than their name and a graduation date — it carries the weight of everything they overcame to earn it.
Pictured (left to right):Goodwill Northern IllinoisPresident Ben Bernsten, ROE4's very own Regional Superintendent, Scott Bloomquist, Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, andCity of Rockford GovernmentMayor Thomas McNamara, who joined graduates in celebrating this historic achievement
Education Services | Summit Academy
Summit Represented at RVC Event
Rock Valley College and Grow Your Own Teachers Illinois recently held their joint Male Teacher Pathway Closing Seminar and Recognition Ceremony, and they invited Summit Academy's Aerianna Cicero to attend and represent Summit Academy.
Through a partnership with Empower Boone, the Student Services team helped bring a Blessing Box to Summit Academy, creating a readily accessible resource for non-perishable food and hygiene products that anyone can use—no questions asked.
School Support Services
ROE4 & ISBE Present: ISELA Director's Conference
When hundreds of Special Education leaders from across the state come together, they make a major difference in improving Special Education services and programs in schools across every region in Illinois. This year, we partnered with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to make it happen.
The Illinois Special Education Leadership Academy (ISELA) Statewide Director's Conference took place in Bloomington, IL, last month and we're proud of the work our team did coordinating the event. Every conference like this requires hours of planning and organization, from the call for proposals, to registration, to organizing breakout sessions and managing schedules. Our team put in the work to make this a valuable experience for Special Education leaders across the state.
We're excited to continue this important work into the next school year, as the ROE4 team gets to work putting together a year of customized professional development for these Special Education leaders.
Three of Northern Illinois’ top voices in equitable education joined forces on June 30 to bring The Impact Lab: Building Bridges to Belonging to our area educators.
Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, Dr. Kierra Pickens, and Dr. Devon LaRosa presented an immersive, full-day workshop in the beautiful Prairie Street Brewhouse in downtown Rockford. The collaborative spirit of the day was contagious, and all 120+ participants (including local teachers, administrators, counselors, and social workers) didn’t hesitate to jump into the work of dismantling barriers to student success and redefining what inclusivity looks like in their classrooms.
True to its name, the workshop served as a ‘lab’: a space for educators to share their own experiences, learn from each other, and brainstorm actionable solutions, giving attendees the practical tools needed to turn inspiration into action. The day proved that when our region’s educators unite around a shared goal, they can make real progress towards lasting transformation inside our schools.
Regional Services
ROE4 Helps Future Educators at RPS 205 Job Fair
Over 200 people attended the RPS job fair on June 24th, and our Licensure team was there to help guide them through the various pathways to licensure. By the end of the day, they assisted over 50 people in officially starting the process of applying for an educator license!
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