(October 31, 2006) Twenty-three secondary and postsecondary institutions from across the state will participate in the New Look Award, receiving a total of $76,200 in funds to support their fieldwork. The New Look Award is a technical assistance project that assists secondary and postsecondary career and technical educators in identifying, developing, and strengthening aspects of programming for special population learners. These awards are made available by the Illinois Center for Specialized Professional Support (ICSPS) through funding from the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Community College Board.

In its fourth year, The New Look program improvement model supports career and technical education programs with two different levels of investment, the Innovation Award and the Research Action Award. The Innovation Award allows institutions to apply for a level of financial support ranging from $500 to $1,500, depending on need and intent of the project. Special consideration was given to those projects with a secondary/postsecondary partnership. The Research Action Award allows institutions to apply for levels of financial support from $3,000 to $5,000, depending on need and intent of the project. Research Action Awards requires intensive self-assessment and thorough research to support the project activities. Due to the nature of this award, a limited number of grants were awarded.

The following is a list of New Look Award recipients:

Research Action Awards
Black Hawk College
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges/Olney Central College
John Wood Community College
Northwest Suburban Education to Careers Partnership
Sauk Valley Community College
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southwestern Illinois College

Innovation Award
Bloomington Area Vocational Center
Capital Area Career Center
City Colleges of Chicago/William Rainey Harper College
Danville Area Community College
College of DuPage
Illinois Central College
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges/Frontier Community College
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges/Lincoln Trail College
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges/Olney Central College
John Wood Community College
Kaskaskia College
Lewis and Clark Community College
Marion, Clinton, Washington Counties Regional Delivery System for Voc. Ed.
Southeastern Illinois College
Starved Rock Associates for Vocational and Technical Education
Regional Office of Career and Technical Education
Tazwell County Area EFE Regional Delivery System
Sauk Valley Community College
West Central Regional System
Western Area Career System
Williamson County Regional Vocational System

ICSPS, a sponsored project in the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations, provides professional development, publications and technical assistance to career and technical education professionals. ICSPS supports special populations, including those with disabilities, those preparing for nontraditional careers, economically and academically disadvantaged individuals, displaced homemakers, single parents and individuals with limited English proficiency. The project was recently recognized for its work in recruitment and retention efforts (pdf) for individuals in training and careers that are nontraditional for their gender. Visit the ICSPS Web site for more information.