The Illinois State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) is:
A five-year federal grant that the U.S. Department of Education awarded to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Its purpose is to scale up implementation of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), commonly known as response to intervention (RtI), statewide. The primary, overarching goal of the Illinois SPDG is to:
Scale up implementation of a coordinated, statewide system of personnel development that will increase the capacity of school systems to establish and implement a multi-tiered model of scientific, research-based instruction, intervention, and assessment to improve the progress and performance of all students in grades K-12, including those with disabilities.
There are three key components/projects of the Illinois SPDG, plus external evaluation of the SPDG, as follows:
- Illinois RtI (I-RtI) Network
- Illinois Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) Partnership
- Parent and Family Engagement