At ROE4, we are always looking for ways to improve and better serve the schools and communities of Boone and Winnebago counties. That’s why we developed our Collective Action Plan (CAP), a three-year roadmap designed to strengthen our organization from the inside out.
The plan focuses on five priority areas: Culture, Customer Service, Organizational Structure, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement.
Where traditional strategic plans focus on where an organization wants to go, the CAP identifies exactly how we’ll get there with specific action steps, measurable outcomes, and clear responsibilities for each area.
A Plan Built by Our People
What makes this work meaningful is that it’s truly collective.Cross-departmental working groups bring staff together to share ideas, solve problems, and help move ROE4 forward, because some of our best ideas come from the people doing the work every day.
At our recent 4 Each Other Day: CONNECT (pictured above), employees from across ROE4 came together for the first of three ROE4-wide PD days. Through a CAP Gallery Walk, cross-departmental conversations, and collaborative activities, staff had the opportunity to see how their work connects to our organizational priorities on a greater scale.
In a post-event survey following ROE4 Each Other Day, 97% of staff reported that they:
better understand the CAP and ROE4's organizational direction
feel more connected to ROE4 as a whole
The CAP isn't just about checking boxes. It's about growing together, holding ourselves accountable, and continually improving how we serve others. By investing in our people and our organization, we're ultimately strengthening the support we provide to schools, educators, students, and communities throughout our region.
Student Support Services
Winter Clothes Drive
Coats, boots, hats, gloves....
Our wish list has been curated with the items our families most need!
Purchase directly from our Amazon Wish List. See something similar in a store? Use the list as your guide and drop off items at ROE4!
The drive is open all winter long, but families are in need now! Consider helping someone stay warm this winter.
Give your students the chance to compete on Regional and National stages this year! As an official regional partner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, we invite you to register and host your own classroom and school-level spelling bees!
Enrolling is simple, and hosting a bee gives your students a fun, high-impact way to expand their vocabulary, build public speaking confidence, and experience healthy competition. The winner of your school bee will also be eligible to compete in the Regional Spelling Bee!
Thanks to a generous grant from the Eunice Winshop Stromberg Spelling Bee Endowment, we fully sponsor the Regional Champion (and a parent) to travel and compete at the national competition in Washington D.C.!
Want to enroll? Sign up before November 30 to take advantage of a reduced rate!
Summit Academy recently welcomed three community presenters (pictured from left):
Workforce Connection guided a career exploration session for our students
Kevin Polky, Founder and President at Four Corners Wellness Center and Shatter Our Silence, talked about his career and life as a social worker making an impact across our region
Dr. Jon Devereueawax, Rock Valley College, shared how he became an economics professor (and held a spontaneous push-up contest with students)
School Support Services
IL SLD Support Project & ROE4 Region Educators
We have all had moments when we struggled to figure out where to start on a new project or how to stay on task. Getting past those moments depends on our executive functioning skills. For students with learning disabilities, gaps in these developing skills can lead to added challenges like keeping focus, turning in homework, and keeping track of supplies.
To help meet this need, ROE4 Director of School Improvement Carrie Brockway partnered with Amy Weltin of the IL SLD Support Project to bring “A Framework to Support Executive Functioning Skills for Students With Learning Disabilities” to our region. More than 30 participants took part in strategy-building exercises, wrote IEP goals, and explored specially designed instruction to build these skills into their classroom routines.
Thank you to the IL SLD Support Project for helping us bring this essential work to our area educators!
Communications & Marketing
Internship Program: Meet Marlowe!
I'm Marlowe, a senior at Harlem High School, and I'm in a class called Work Based Learning that gives students the chance to intern at a job based on their interests. Through this class, I'm working at ROE4 as a marketing and communications intern, where I've loved getting hands-on experience and learning how marketing works in the real world. A fun fact about me is that I love baking and I once made 5 batches of cookies in one day!
Register for RSAC!
IARSS's two-day, annual, statewide Raising Student Achievement Conference (RSAC) is coming to Oak Brook, Illinois this December!
700+ educators in attendance
2 national keynote speakers
160+ breakout sessions
Register by October 21st for your Early Bird Discount! Use code "EARLYBIRD!" for $50 off admission!
Illinois Special Education Leadership Academy (ISELA)
800+ Educators Statewide Join ISELA’s Cyclical Monitoring Workshop Series
When districts face special education cyclical monitoring, knowing what to expect matters. This August and September, more than 800 educators from across Illinois turned to the Illinois Special Education Leadership Academy (ISELA) for that clarity.
ISELA hosted a two-part virtual workshop series, offering each session twice to meet demand:
→ An Overview of the Cyclical Monitoring Process and the Comprehensive Assessment of Special Education Policies and Procedures Form
→ An Overview of the IEP File Review Form
Pre- and post-survey data clearly showed that participants left more prepared to serve their communities. The data showed that familiarity with the IEP File Review Form climbed from 51% before the session to 83% after, and the share of participants rating themselves “very familiar” nearly tripled!
2027 ICEARY Call for Proposals
The Call for Presenters is now open for the 2027 Illinois Coalition for Educating At-Risk Youth (ICEARY) Conference. Want to present? Visit this link: ICEARY Proposals 2027
They are accepting applications through November 3, 2026.
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