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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Illinois Schools Report Ongoing Teacher Shortage

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Tuesday, October 18, 2022   

School districts nationwide are struggling to meet student needs with a teacher shortage made worse by COVID. The Illinois State Board of Education reports there were more than 5,200 teacher and support personnel job vacancies as of Oct. 1.

Economists point to the gap between what teachers are paid compared with their peers who have similar education. Economic Policy Institute said in 1979, teachers made 7% less than those peers, but this year, the pay gap has grown to 23%, a record high.

Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, citing 300,000 public education vacancies nationwide, said the issue boils down to two factors.

"What's happening is that it's becoming more and more difficult to find teachers and other education personnel who will take those jobs under current working conditions and at current wages," Shierholz said.

According to the National Education Association, Illinois teacher pay ranked relatively high at 12th in the nation in the last school year - but since 2011, that pay has declined by more than 9% in constant dollar terms.

In addition to schools having to do more work with fewer people, teacher turnover is expensive, the Learning Policy Institute reported recruitment, hiring and training are estimated to cost between $9,000 and $21,000 per teacher.

The American Federation of Teachers released a report in July, outlining policies to fix the teacher shortage. The recommendations include reducing the focus on standardized testing, reducing paperwork, lowering class size and providing living wages for teachers and paraprofessionals.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said while the profession was never especially well paid, the joys of teaching once outweighed the negatives.

"What we used to have is a lot more intrinsic joy about teaching and learning," Weingarten said, "and a lot of that changed in the No Child Left Behind, 'no test was bad' kind of process that made us fixating on tests as opposed to fixating on children."

The state Legislature has made some changes in an effort to address the teacher shortage in Illinois. In 2022 the Legislature reduced the cost of renewing an expired teaching license from $500 to $50, as well as lowering the minimum age of paraprofessionals in K-8 classrooms from 19 to 18.

Disclosure: The American Federation of Teachers contributes to our fund for reporting on Education, Health Issues, Livable Wages/Working Families, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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