Last week my son walked away from his teaching career to manage valet parking services at a hospital, so the headline: “Illinois still suffers shortage of teachers,” on the front page of the March 28 issue of The Voice, caught my eye. With many friends and family members who are...
By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois continues to suffer from a shortage of teachers and other education professionals, although recent efforts by the State to ease the strain have made an impact. That’s according to the latest annual survey of school officials from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of...
By Erika Hunt and Lisa Hood,Regional Office of Education #17 The “State of Our Educator Pipeline 2023” report by Advance Illinois underscores the challenges in Illinois’ education system and the urgent need to address the teacher shortage comprehensively. While recruiting more teachers is important, addressing teacher attrition, responsible for 90%...
How enchanting it is to teach primary children! Especially preschool and first graders. Their joy and enthusiasm is infectious. One morning as the children were coming into the first grade classroom, I stood at the door to welcome them, and a little one looked up at me and exclaimed, “Boy,...
By Andrew Adams Faculty at Governors State University ended a strike Monday, April 17 after being on the picket line for five days. Governors State was one of three Illinois universities which saw a faculty strike in the past week and the last to see their strike end. Union members...
By Peter Hancock Some Illinois lawmakers are calling for a review of one of the tests prospective teachers must pass in order to be licensed in Illinois. The test is known as the Teacher Performance Assessment, or “edTPA,” and it is intended to determine whether a prospective teacher has the...
By Peter Hancock A bill that allows teachers and other school and university employees or contractors who are fully vaccinated to take paid administrative leave if they have to miss work due to coronavirus (COVID-19)-related issues cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday and will soon be sent to governor JB Pritzker....
After more than 30 years in western suburban classrooms, award-winning teacher and author Ellen Jo Ljung has some stories to tell, stories that helped shape her career and transformed her vision for the future of education. Ljung shares her life-changing and often humorous insights in a newly-published memoir, Tales Told...
By Peter Hancock School officials across Illinois say a shortage of teachers and substitutes is forcing them to cancel course offerings, move them online, or fill open positions with persons who are not fully qualified. Those are the findings of the latest survey by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents...
The Aurora Public Library District (APLD) will be host to a virtual Wine-Down event at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9 on Zoom for its librarians to sit down, relax, and speak with Aurora teachers and educators. During this time, librarians from APLD hope to share information, resources and tools with...
The Aurora Area Retired Teachers Association will hold a luncheon meeting at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct, 1, at Gaslite Manor, 2485 Church Road, Aurora. All retired teachers, both AARTA members and non-members, who are interested in preserving their pension and insurance benefits are invited. Representatives from TRS and IRTA will...
