contributions they make. I have been continually impressed by the quality of work. I can give you countless examples.

This morning, I was here really early. I was here about 6:30 and I sent an e-mail to an employee. This was based on my conversation with the Senate Appropriations Committee regarding substance abuse and violence prevention. I said I really need some concrete data on how these programs have been successful and I'd like it sometime in the next week. I have a whole list of things and stacks already.

I think if you treat people right and make your expectations clear and you listen to them and have some fun with what you're doing, there is no ceiling on the potential of this organization.

Q. Gov. Ryan has added a deputy governor for education. How do you see your role in the hierarchy?
I report to the State Board of Education and the State Board of Education is appointed by the governor.

Hazel [Loucks] and I have a great relationship. We're both new at this job and we're both extremely busy with other commitments and demands on our time. I mean everybody wants to hear from both of us, either separately or together, and we laugh about that sometimes.

But I have been very appreciative of her willingness to listen, and she is very accomplished at getting information to the governor and getting information from the governor to us. It's a good relationship.

Q. Do you see your role as activist or as one who guides policy?
All of the above. Sometimes I'm probably too outspoken. I really am an activist for students and have some very strongly held beliefs about what I think about the way things should be in public schools. That said, the role of the state board is a policy-making role. We take that job very seriously.

Q. Can you outline for me what your major goals are, long-term and short?
Implementing the standards in each classroom is a top goal. We really want to make sure all students are achieving high standards in every classroom. And we are aggressively moving toward implementing those standards. That would be the first. The second would be -and I alluded to this earlier - to provide assessment results that drive instruction and that make a difference in students' education. The third is an unwavering commitment to have the highest quality teachers in each and every classroom. And, finally, we need to provide an outstanding quality of service from the agency, and develop renewed trust in our ability to deliver outstanding service.

Q. You were particularly interested in special education.
I've been interested because there needs to be a close relationship between special education and regular education. I'm worried that too often special education is seen as one enterprise and regular education is seen as another enterprise. I'm also worried because the state has not historically done its share in funding special education and, consequently, the local districts have been taking more and more money away from regular education programs and services to fund special education. Until we solve the special education funding formula problem, we'll continue to have overall funding problems in every district in the state. Yeah, I am interested in special education - but not that alone. I am interested in that relationship between special education and regular education.

Q. Do you have specific thoughts in terms of reform in special education?
We have a [proposed] formula right now It ties special education funding to enrollment and also has a safety net for students that are really costly As superintendent in Deerfield, we had a child who, oh gosh, I think we were paying $85,000 per year for him. It has a safety net for extraordinary cost. That $85,000 is an estimate, but it's probably pretty close. It was an out-of-state special placement.

Q. Is there one goal closest to your heart? One thing you want to change?
What I would like to see is that the expectations I have for all students' achieving standards become a reality You know our standards are tough. If we can do that, folks won't be talking about what's happening in Texas and North Carolina and in New York. They'll be talking about what's happening in Illinois. And the others will be the also-rans. That's my hope and dream that Illinois truly is the top state in the country.

Q. How would you achieve that?
We won't get there working alone. The State Board of Education has to work with the governor, and the General Assembly and local districts. And I think we need to remember that it's the local districts that are driving the train - a trainload of children to a bright future. We need to make sure that we share and articulate best practices, that we foster an environment where we can discover and explore what I'll call new best practices.

Q. What might new best practices be?
Just for example, I love the idea of having foreign language beginning in kindergarten. I love the idea of all-day kindergarten. Those are two examples that I think could make a big difference in the lives of kids. The question is how do you fit those into the existing day? What do you replace?

I haven't even touched technology, on how we could use technology effectively It astounds me what kids can do and what they can learn from the Internet. That can be a tool that wastes an extraordinary amount of time or it can be a great tool for learning.

I'd like to have more time for professional development. I'd love to have more days for teachers to work together. There's all kinds of things we can do. I'm just scratching the surface. .