Restoring the Soul to Education: Equity Closes the Achievement Gap

Dr. Carmen I. Ayala has 36 years in education and serves as the 30th State Superintendent of Education in Illinois. She is the first woman and person of color appointed to the position. Previously, she served children and families as a bilingual and general education teacher, director, assistant superintendent, and district superintendent. She has a strong background in systemic curriculum development, which has resulted in all students being able to thrive, grow, and achieve.

Bea Young has been actively involved in supporting educational equity since her teaching days in the 1960s. She spent the summer of 1964 in Mississippi helping to develop the curriculum for the Civil Rights Freedom Schools. In 1965, she became the first education services director for the Illinois Commission on Human Relations and was later appointed to executive director. Shortly thereafter, she became a consultant in the business world where she was a pioneer in developing cultural change through diversity and inclusion for Fortune 500 companies across the country. In 2005, she returned to her first love, education, and created Bea Young Associates, LLC: Collaboration for Educational Equity.

Michael Kilgore worked as director of education and planning at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics during the 1980s. Over the past four decades, he has partnered with Bea Young, managing corporate and educational change efforts related to diversity and now educational equity. He coauthored cultural audits for multiple school districts, including those for Plainfield District 202 and Berwyn North District 98. Michael is also a magazine editor, musician, and vocalist.