Teaching Opportunities in the State of Illinois
Published: January 31, 2025
Author: T. Sunderland
Teaching opportunities in the State of Illinois
Are you a teacher who is just starting your career? Or do you already have twenty years of experience under your belt? Well, you are in luck. The State of Illinois holds many of the same opportunities for teachers with a variety of experience!
By the numbers
Research shows that teacher vacancies in Illinois are concentrated in rural and urban areas; specific content areas, such as special education, bilingual education, and mathematics; and specific grade bands (Bates et al., 2024; Beilstein & Withee, 2022a, 2022b, 2022c; Bruno, 2022; ISBE et al., 2024). Additionally, districts with persistent teacher shortages also tend to serve higher proportions of students from low-income families, students with individualized education programs, and English language learners (Withee & Beilstein, 2023). As a result, teacher shortages contribute to inequitable student access to high-quality education.
The Illinois Association of Regional Superintendent of Schools (2023) survey reported that 79% of schools reported they have a teacher shortage problem. 63% of the superintendents interviewed stated that their district has a “significant problem.” This shortage has created a great opportunity for future educators to jump into the field and directly impact students’ lives.
One source of teacher shortages stems from historically declining numbers of educators. Enrollments in and completions of teacher preparation programs in Illinois and nationwide have decreased substantially over the past decade, though the number of completions has rebounded slightly in recent years (Advance Illinois, 2023). These decrements have led to smaller pools of qualified teacher applicants. In response, many teacher pathway initiatives have been developed that offer financial support, experiential learning opportunities, and mentorship for teacher candidates, such as teacher residencies and Grow Your Own programs. Adopted widely at both the district and state levels, teacher pathway programs have been linked to higher rates of retention (Carl & Seelig, 2023; Espinoza et al., 2018; Gist et al., 2018; Goldhaber et al., 2017; Silva et al., 2015), though it should be noted that the evidence base for some pathway programs is small but growing.
Opportunity? Endorsements
This shortage has also created an environment for educators to teach more than one subject and to make themselves more marketable to districts by taking endorsement classes and broadening their teaching ability! Endorsement coursework is reasonably priced, all online, and can be taken when convenient for you – during the summer months. Courses are only 8 weeks long, and some endorsements can be completed in one summer. Some common endorsements include driver’s education, teaching English as a second language, middle grades, early childhood education, special education, and our newly approved early childhood special education!
The Illinois State Board of Education reported 3,588 unfilled teacher positions as of October 1 for the 2023-24 year. Your investment in yourself through endorsements will advance your career and help fill the state's needs.
If you want to learn more about endorsement opportunities at Greenville University, click here!
