Prairie State Wire

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC) have released early results from a $45 million state investment aimed at improving recruitment and retention in some of the state's most understaffed school districts. The Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program, initiated in the 2023-24 school year, provided funds to 170 districts with significant teacher shortages. These funds were used to recruit new hires and support current educators.

While data collection is ongoing, ISBE and IWERC reported that nearly 5,400 new teachers have been hired and approximately 11,000 additional educators retained through this initiative. The participating districts collectively serve around 870,000 students.

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders remarked, "It's a great time to be a teacher in Illinois," highlighting how the grants empower districts with financial incentives and pipeline programs for recruitment and retention. He praised Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly for their support of evidence-based strategies to enhance the teaching profession.

Dr. Meg Bates, director of IWERC, noted that "Illinois districts used strategies to address teacher vacancies that matched the root causes they were seeing on the ground." The analysis revealed diverse strategies aligned with each district's unique context.

The funding allows districts to implement locally tailored strategies based on data-driven decisions. In its first year, over half of the grant-receiving districts saw a decrease in unfilled positions compared to only 17% of non-receiving districts.

ISBE partnered with IWERC for program evaluation and released two studies. The first study identified key factors contributing to teacher shortages such as compensation issues, lack of qualified applicants, attrition, and competition. Districts utilized funding for compensation improvements, tuition support for licensure or endorsements, and professional learning opportunities. The second study showed that these efforts led to hiring 5,387 new full-time teachers—10% of the total workforce in those areas—and engaged over 10,700 employees in programs targeting attrition reduction.

The Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program plans three years of funding pending appropriations. Governor JB Pritzker and the General Assembly have continued funding into fiscal year 2025 with another $45 million allocation. This multi-year grant supports long-term workforce development strategies including coursework for licensure among non-certified staff and further endorsements for certified staff.

This grant is part of ISBE's broader initiatives addressing teacher shortages which include Career Pathway Grants impacting nearly 12,000 high school students interested in education careers; a marketing campaign generating over 5,000 inquiries from prospective teachers; and a Teacher Apprenticeship Program designed to upskill paraprofessionals into teaching roles.

For more information about these initiatives visit the ISBE Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program webpage.