The Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools recently completed an Illinois Educator Shortage Study that shines a spotlight on a problem that many districts are facing statewide. (https://iarss.org/educator-shortage/) Jodi Scott, Regional Superintendent for nine districts in Warren, Knox, Henderson and McDonough counties, shared some of the numbers in a recent “Community Hour” interview on WRAM: (https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e1dek0u)
- 88 percent of school districts report a teacher shortage problem.
- 77 percent report that the problem is getting worse, not better.
- 96 percent of school districts report a shortage of substitute teachers; 55 percent of those said the shortage is serious.
- 95 percent of school districts expect the substitute teacher shortage to be a problem in the 2023 and 2024 school years.
“There are some very large substitute shortages out there,” Scott said. “Our office is encouraging anyone who is interested in serving in this role (especially seasonal workers) to contact our office directly in order to begin the application process.”
Locally, Monmouth College is working with Scott’s office to increase the number of short-term substitutes with education majors working on their degrees. (https://www.monmouthcollege.edu/live/news/3229-short-term-subs)
Monmouth educational studies professor Tom Sargent said his department colleagues determined that the situation was dire enough to also have qualified students become short-term subs.
“Our students have their own classes to take, so they can’t do this all day, every day,” he said. “But they can cover partial days, or they can work certain full days. Working part of a day is ideal for them, although some of our students have Fridays that are completely open, which is a high-need day in many school districts.”
The survey included responses from 663 of the state’s 852 school districts, representing 78 percent of public schools in Illinois. It was conducted in the fall of 2021 by Goshen Education Consulting, based in Edwardsville. The shortage is most acute in the east-central and west-central regions of Illinois, where more than 90 percent of the districts responding said they had a teacher shortage problem.
If you are interested in becoming a substitute teacher in Warren, Knox, Henderson or Mercer counties, please contact the local Regional Office of Education #33 at (309) 734-6822 or stop by the ROE office in the former Willits School building, 105 N. E Street in Monmouth.
