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* Press release…
Today Governor JB Pritzker visited Streamwood High School in Elgin to highlight a new teacher pipeline initiative aimed at addressing chronic shortages in the state’s most understaffed districts. The proposed Teacher Pipeline Grant Program will direct $70 million per year over the next three years to the 170 school districts with the greatest need to fill teaching positions.
“When it comes to our kids, we can always do more. And when that comes to our schools, that means not just more funding, but more resources — and most crucially, more educators,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “All across the nation, school districts are fighting the impact of teacher shortages — as education professionals struggle to weigh their passion for their classrooms with their own mental, financial, and personal wellbeing. So as part of my education investment plan, I’m proposing an additional $70 million annually specifically targeted at addressing teacher shortages.”
Governor Pritzker was joined by, Dr. Tony Sanders, who began his tenure as state superintendent on Feb. 23. He previously served as the superintendent of School District U-46, which is based in Elgin and is the second largest school district in Illinois, for nearly a decade. […]
The Teacher Pipeline Grant Program will allow districts maximum flexibility to use the funds in innovative, creative, and evidenced-based ways, such as offering signing bonuses, housing stipends, down-payment assistance, or loan repayments; paying tuition and fees or providing residencies or apprenticeships; and sustaining current teachers by providing materials, supplies, coaching, and school culture supports.
ISBE will also utilize $6 million in federal funds to procure a multimedia advertising and marketing firm to develop and implement a statewide teacher recruitment campaign. […]
However, teacher shortage data recently released by ISBE show that Illinois schools reported 3,558 unfilled teaching positions as of October 2022; these unfilled teaching positions are concentrated in high-need subjects and in under-resourced schools. The vacancies in the 170 districts targeted for the Teacher Pipeline Grant Program account for 80 percent of all unfilled teaching positions and affect 870,000 students.
* ABC Chicago…
This announcement comes as the Illinois Education Association released a study showing concerning numbers of teacher and education employee shortages.
Additionally, 83% of Illinois schools are underfunded, and these concerns could potentially impact student performance.
“Persistent vacancies in under-resourced schools still exist, and we need to do something about it now,” said Tony Sanders, state superintendent of education.
The study also showed Illinois residents support policy changes to help turn things around, including changing the pension system, loan forgiveness for educators and higher pay. […]
Right now, there are 3,500 open teaching positions across the state.
* Last month, the governor signed four bills addressing the teacher shortage. SJ-R…
Pritzker announces new proposal to address shortage of teachers. […]
The four bills mostly deal with making it easier to hire and keep substitute teachers in classrooms. The first of the four, HB 4246, was sponsored by Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur. The bill lowers the fee for reinstating a lapsed teaching license from $500 to $50. […]
SB 3907, shifts the number of days a short-term substitute can teach in a row from five to 15. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, was passed unanimously and goes into effect immediately, though it does only apply in the event of a disaster declaration. […]
A third bill, HB 4798, removes a requirement that substitute teachers have a bachelor’s degree and instead requires that subs have 90 credit hours of college education. This is roughly equivalent to two years of a four-year degree or a completed associate’s degree. […]
SB 3988 lowers the minimum age for paraprofessionals from 19 to 18 years old.
* Pritzker during today’s press conference…
Before I take any questions, if we have any, I just wanted to acknowledge a group that hasn’t gotten a lot of acknowledgement yet today. And that’s the parents out there that support teachers. There are so many parents who really do care about the teachers and know how important the work is that you do.
I know there’s a loud minority out there of folks who want to attack teachers, frankly, with misinformation and other things. And I think it’s important for us just to acknowledge that parents want what’s best for their children, there’s no doubt about it. And I appreciate very much all the parents out there who know how important teachers are, and who are willing to stand with us in investing in the existing teachers, as well as our teacher pipeline.
posted by Isabel Miller
Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:23 pm
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If you want to attract and retain teachers, improve the pension. Tier II is so draconian (how many want to teach 2nd graders until 67 to receive their full pension amount?) that it is one factor that is steering college students away from getting a teaching certificate.
Comment by G'Kar Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 1:43 pm
Glad to see this going toward the districts that actually need it. Hopefully it’ll also go to the shortage areas (special and bilingual education, etc.) and to candidates of color, who are in extreme demand.
We graduate 12 times as many social studies candidates than there are jobs for them. Most of those are chasing the same jobs in the suburbs.
Comment by Proud Papa Bear Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:15 pm
= at addressing chronic shortages in the state’s most understaffed districts.=
I would like to see the list of districts but I think this is a swing and a BIG miss.
Small districts are suffering the worst, but our numbers won’t look like a big deal against U-46. One teacher for a district with 23 teachers can be a major blow and leave entire subject areas unfilled.
Now, some districts that have far more resources and staff dedicated to recruiting will now have additional advantages over us? That is malpractice on the state. This should have been for everyone proportionally.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:17 pm
=We graduate 12 times as many social studies candidates than there are jobs for them.=
Not anymore. Outside of elementary ed, almost every other area is short. PE teacher used to be abundant like social studies. That is no longer true either.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 2:52 pm
It seems we have two sets of problems. One is too few students applying to be teachers and secondly school districts that have teachers and administrators that are working in systems where students are underperforming.
We actually have had the same problems in having enough competent medical doctors, engineers and tech folks. In those cases we use the immigration system to fill the void.
Why not use our immigration system in a focused and aggressive way to attract administrators and teachers from other nations to improve our educational system.
Appreciate the Governor’s effort, but we also need to be more aware that we have a need for educational systems that prepare our children to compete in a global economy.
Reading the article, I am not sure these funds would be used by private or charter schools. Including those options might also improve education for our children as well as attract administrators and teachers that would prefer a different environment than public schools offer.
Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 3:02 pm
A family member who was involved in education (and their father was a small-town Superintendent a long time ago) argued that a good teacher could teach just about anything. I disagreed at the time, but I now think there is some truth in that.
My best Computer Science instructor at NIU had a PhD, but she had taught in the PhysEd department and got re-trained (got a masters in CS) to teach in the CS department. As a teacher she was the best I had in the department.
Comment by OneMan Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 3:08 pm
@JS
I’ll find the link but probably not before comments are closed. This is data from this year.
Comment by Proud Papa Bear Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 3:23 pm
Importing teachers from elsewhere, “fixing” the pension system (that was already supposedly fixed, aka Tier 2), etc., etc., mean nothing. The reason bright students don’t want to go into Education is that for very little pay (for their credentials—-all the way through their career) nothing they can do is approved of or even credited. Show me any newspaper or news source that isn’t blasting educators/education. who would this attract?
Young people are asking what their return on the cost of their own Education will be and if they can have a comparable quality of life as others who’ve gotten degrees. And that’s not just monetarily. They’re no fools.
Comment by A Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 3:29 pm
Tier II needs to change. I think there would be a lot more interest in education if there is a light at the end of the tunnel for people that put their time in.
Comment by Diver Down Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 3:53 pm
Here’s the article:
https://www.the74million.org/article/yes-theres-a-shortage-of-special-education-teachers-and-thats-nothing-new/
Comment by Proud Papa Bear Friday, Mar 3, 23 @ 3:53 pm