Answering the call: NLU works to remedy the chronic shortage of teachers in Illinois
Illinois, like many states around the country, is afflicted by an acute shortage of teachers. In 2019, over 6,000 teaching and educational support positions went unfilled; since 2012, Illinois has seen as 50% drop in the number of graduates from its educational preparation programs, as well as a decline in the number of programs themselves; from 2012 to 2016 the number of special education teacher preparation programs declined by a quarter, and those devoted to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by a third; in 2018, a state survey reported a full 80% of districts were experiencing a significant shortage of some kind; 65% reported receiving fewer applicants than five years before; and 74% reported a major problem with shortages of substitute teachers.
Yet the numbers don’t capture a full extent of the damage the shortage is causing, for students, schools, and their communities. Its impact is uneven, mostly affecting students in underfunded and under-resourced districts. This is true in urban districts like CPS, but also in suburban and more rural areas as well. The harsh reality is that students from historically marginalized populations are mostly likely to be negatively impacted by the shortage.
If the teacher shortage had long been getting worse, a slow-burning simmer rolling toward a full boil, then the COVID-19 pandemic turned it into a full-blown crisis. Historical inequities were compounded as many students lacked access to the necessary digital infrastructure for remote and blended learning. Many districts are feeling the squeeze from funding shortfalls, exacerbating a chronic problem of underfunded schools and the undervaluation of teaching work.
There is no silver-bullet solution to a problem of this scale. This is why National Louis University (NLU) is taking a proactive, comprehensive approach in tandem with its partners across the city and state, focusing on building talent pipelines with school districts, especially those with high need; using cutting-edge technology to make Educator Preparation accessible to anyone called to the profession; and lifting up a new generation of future educators whose background reflects the communities they will go on to serve.
Across all its teacher preparation work, NLU emphasizes on-the-ground, practical experience and wide-ranging student support resources at every level of its programs. The result is that 98% of NLU graduates in 2019 received were rated as Excellent or Proficient after their first year on the job.
Since 2016, the National College of Education (NCE) has trained nearly 2,000 teachers, with 50% taking positions in high-needs schools. It currently is supervising over 600 student teachers across Chicago and the state, who are working with teachers to help develop and deliver online and hybrid content, and currently enrolls over 1,100 students in educator preparation at the undergraduate level. This pipeline is set to grow substantially in coming years, as NLU lifts up aspiring teachers to become the best educators they can be to support and serve in today’s high-needs classrooms.
An example is early childhood education (ECE), an area of high need that has emerged with growing urgency in recent years. As a leader in ECE, with deep roots in this area of Teacher Preparation, NLU is answering the call head-on. Through residencies, specialized scholarships and fully online programing, students interested in working with children birth to age 8 can find programming at NLU that fits their needs. New this year to the Undergraduate College is the Infant-Toddler Studies (ITS) program, one of the few B.A. Degree programs in Illinois geared toward preparing educators to work with children during their most formative and critical years of development. This program is aligned to several statewide credentials, including Gateways to Opportunity and the Early Intervention and Developmental Therapy Credentials.
NLU’s Graduate Teacher Residency Program is another crucial component for addressing the educator shortage. The residency program provides future teachers with hands-on, practice-based experiences, lending a critical skillset that goes beyond the university classroom and traditional coursework in theory and methods. Teacher Residents are an integral part of the classroom and school community—learning while in the classroom and working with students in meaningful, real-world ways alongside seasoned teachers and administrators. Developed in close collaboration with partner districts to meet the areas of highest need, the Residency Program trains teachers who are attuned to the unique challenges and concrete circumstances of specific communities. These circumstances often include the need to recruit and retain Bilingual and Special Educators, both of which NLU is well-positioned to do.
The path to teacher licensure can sometimes be challenging for students. Compacting the problem is that no one knows what the lasting effect of the Coronavirus will be on the education system in Illinois, but it is certain that the need for teachers who are well trained and skilled in online and remote instruction will only grow. NLU has incorporated skills and competencies related to remote teaching and instruction across all of its educator preparation programs, ensuring not only that teacher candidates learn best practices in remote instruction in the event that students will continue to require such instruction, but also position themselves as leaders in this area. Districts will be looking for technologically savvy teachers who understand the needs of diverse learners, both in the classroom and over the screen. NLU has ensured that, through its curriculum and practice-based formula for student success, future and existing educators are well-prepared in this area.
The Undergraduate College at NLU, and its Undergraduate Educator Preparation Programs, are built upon a mission to serve non-traditional students. In an effort to train teachers that represent the diversity of children in Illinois schools, these programs have made it their mission to recruit and train a diverse teacher pipeline. For example, in the Chicago Public Schools, 80% of students come from Black or LatinX backgrounds. In NLU’s undergraduate educator preparation programs, 75% of students identify as Black/African American or LatinX, while 59% of students identify as first generation college students. 40% of current NCE teacher candidates are BIPOC individuals. NLU is on track to meet or exceed the diversity goal of an 80% diverse Undergraduate Educator Preparation student body by 2023, in order to reflect the diversity of the largest district it trains for: Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
The effort must go beyond initial teacher preparation, however. A chronic problem in the public school system is teacher retention, with high turnover as many leave the profession after only a few years. One way to address this issue is giving current teachers the option of upskilling into new areas, particularly in high-needs areas that are often difficult to staff, like English as a Second Language, Bilingual and Special Education. At NLU, through the National College of Education’s graduate programs, many teachers are currently pursuing advanced endorsements in areas like these, which will allow them to stay in the profession and thus mitigate the retention problem, while also serving a pressing need to support students in these specialized populations.
The next generation of teachers will need to have highly developed skills in trauma-informed practice, as well as a specialized skill set that can dismantle institutionalized racism and inequities in our education system. They will also need to be able to skillfully facilitate learning in a remote or online environment. NLU envisions—and is preparing—the teachers of tomorrow as change agents who represent the diversity of the communities they serve and who are interested in leveraging education as opportunity for children, families, and communities. All educator preparation curriculum across the university is steeped in the tenets of social justice, anti-racism, and differentiated, inclusive instruction—preparing the educators of tomorrow to meet critical challenges directly.
As Chicago and the country gradually emerge from the long shadow of COVID-19 in the coming year and move into recovery, the ideals of progressive, socially-engaged, community-based education will be critical. By making education the collective priority it deserves to be in any functioning democracy, the shortage of teachers afflicting the school system can be addressed in a way that empowers local communities and, ultimately, American democracy. NLU is well positioned to support all educators, no matter where they are in their development as teachers—thereby supporting the very fabric of society itself.
