Greetings,

We would love to see you at the Success Network's 12th annual conference on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, in Champaign, Illinois. This year's theme is Building the Future We Want: Increasing Equitable Postsecondary Attainment. This will be an engaging learning opportunity designed for leaders from secondary and postsecondary education, local and state government, community-based organizations, policy advocates, grantmakers, employers, and other stakeholders interested in equitably increasing postsecondary attainment in Illinois.

• Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2025
• Location: I Hotel & Illinois Conference Center, Champaign, Illinois
• Cost: $75 per attendee, includes conference materials, breakfast, and lunch
• Professional development hours and continuing education credits available

Staying the night before in Champaign? Join us on February 24, 7 p.m., at Houlihan's to network and enjoy pay-as-you-go drinks, appetizers, or dinner.

Agenda

Download the full agenda with session descriptions, room assignments, and speaker bios.

8:00–9:00 a.m. | Breakfast & Networking

9:00–10:15 a.m. | Welcome & Opening Plenary

• Bridging the Divide: Opportunity Gaps Impacting Students of Color and Students from Low-income Communities with Wil Del Pilar, PhD, senior vice president at Ed Trust

10:25–11:20 a.m. | Concurrent Sessions

• Data-Driven Advocacy: Tackling Opportunity Gaps in Postsecondary Success
• Navigating the Future: An In-Depth Look at the Illinois PaCE Framework
• Successful Dual Credit Partnerships and How They Increase Enrollment and Student Success
• Breaking Barriers: Communicating College and Career Pathways to Students and Families
• Building Blocks for Equity… Literally

11:30 a.m.–12:25 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions

• Unlocking Financial Aid: Navigating FAFSA Simplification and Supporting Students for 2025–26
• Employer Panel: Work-Based Learning in Northern Kane County
• Growing Future Educators: Building a Pathway for Change at Crete-Monee High School
• Supporting Students in Rural Communities: Updates from the Rural Illinois CTE Project
• Improving and Accelerating Access to Credentials and Degrees for Working Adults in the Early Childhood Field
• Foundations for Equitable Systems: Policy Updates

12:35–2:00 p.m. | Lunch & Student Voices

• How the College and Career Pathway Endorsements Process Prepares Students For Life After High School

2:15–3:10 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions

• Student Perspectives on College and Career Preparedness
• Thinking Longitudinally: Using Data to Support Postsecondary Readiness and Success
• High-Quality Criteria for Pathways and Work-Based Learning
• Partnering Industry and Education for Student Success
• Post-Pandemic Learning Renewal: Lessons Learned and Lingering Equity Issues

3:20–4:15 p.m. | Concurrent Sessions

• Building an Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Formula to Better Support Students
• Chronic Absenteeism: How It Started and How It’s Going
• Regional Collaboration for Student Success: Authentic School and College Partnerships
• Bridging the Gap: Supporting ‘Some College, No Credential’ Learners

The Illinois Education and Career Success Network Organizers: