Teacher Workforce Research Portfolio
Maintaining a diverse, high-quality early childhood and K-12 workforce.
Portfolio Overview
Approximately 130,000 full-time teachers and administrators are employed in Illinois public schools, comprising a workforce responsible for supporting the positive, holistic development of 1.9 million youth across the state. However, rates of educator turnover and adequate levels of staffing are not monolithic throughout the state, with variation occurring both within and across districts. For example, educator shortages are disproportionately concentrated in certain subject areas, such as special education and bilingual education/English as a Second Language; educator demographics, such as race; and geographic areas, including rural and urban districts. Such variability translates to inequitable student access to high-quality educators. By focusing our research on those areas where turnover and shortages are pronounced, IWERC aims to explore the factors that contribute to the development and retention of diverse, high-quality teachers.
Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program Evaluation
IWERC is conducting an evaluation of the state’s Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program (TVGPP). The TVGPP is a three-year initiative, which began in the 2023-24 school year, that provides state funding to school districts experiencing the highest shortages of teachers in Illinois, as indicated by unfilled teaching positions. The goal of this evaluation is to examine how successful the TVGPP is for solving Illinois teacher shortages, for whom, and through what mechanisms.
Pilot Year 2: 2024-25 School Year
District Progress and Variance in Reducing Teaching Vacancies in Illinois: A Second-Year Evaluation of the Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program: Read Full Report »
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Coming Soon – A Qualitative Study of District Experiences with the Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program
Pilot Year 1: 2023-24 School Year
How Illinois Districts are Addressing Teacher Shortages : Read Full Report »
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Early Teacher Staffing Trends: Read Full Report »
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Rural Science & Math Teacher Retention
Cultivating a high-quality science & math teacher workforce in rural Illinois: Identifying effective practices that promote teacher retention
IWERC and its partner, NORC at the University of Chicago, received a National Science Foundation grant (Award #2344942) to investigate and identify effective retention strategies for science and math teachers (SMTs) in high-need school districts in rural Illinois. Together, they will conduct a mixed-methods study that examines:
- What organizational and community characteristics are associated with rural SMT retention and effectiveness; and
- What school and district policies, strategies, and practices contribute to rural SMT retention and effectiveness.
The quantitative components of our work will include a landscape analysis of high-need rural districts using administrative data at the school and district levels and a web-based survey of all middle and high school SMTs in rural high-need districts in Illinois.
The qualitative component will be a case study that includes five high-need rural districts with positive trends in teacher retention to better understand variations in geographic and district, school, and community contexts.
Rural areas experience teacher shortages that exceed the national average. Nonetheless, research on the retention of high-quality teachers – who are essential to student learning – in rural settings remains scarce. This study will help address that gap by examining what factors impact teacher retention in rural Illinois while carefully considering the context of these communities, including school-community relationships, the lingering impacts of COVID-19 on rural districts, and other unique factors.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2344942. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Educator Shortages 2024 – 2025 School Year
Educator Shortage Survey: 2024 – 2025 Academic year: Read Full Report
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