Illinois Alternative Certification Programs

Status of Teacher Openings in Illinois

Here is a recent summary of the status of teacher openings and related factors that should paint a hopeful picture for candidates trying to enter the profession at this time...

In summary:

· As the number of students in the Illinois public school system increases, so will the demand for educators. This increase over the next eight years (until school year 2008), will be especially apparent at the secondary level (16% increase or 87,256 students). At the elementary level, the enrollment will grow slightly through school year 2004 (2% or 27,589 students) and then begin to decline about 3,411 students by school year 2008.

· The average growth of teachers in the workforce has been about 2.3% a year from school year 1996 to school year 2000. In school year 2000, the rank of teachers grew by 3,300, or 2.6%. The number of administrators in the same period rose by 215, or 2.7%.

· In school year 2000, 11,352 new teachers (either first-time teachers or those re-entering the profession), were hired. In that same period, 2,060 positions went unfilled. Taken together, these numbers represent an 11% increase in demand for teachers from the previous year.

· Those teaching areas experiencing the highest demand (19% or greater) in this time period are Speech and Language Impaired, Cross Categorical, Multiply Handicapped, Behavior Disordered, and Bilingual Education.

· In school year 2000, 180 new administrators were hired; 73 positions went unfilled. Taken together, these numbers represent a 3% increase in demand for administrators from the previous year.

· Those administrative areas experiencing the highest demand in this time period include Assistant Elementary Principal (18% increase), and Assistant Junior High Principal (12% increase).

· Currently, nearly 16% of the teaching force is eligible to retire (i.e., 55 years old with 20 years of experience or more).

· Based on the growth over the next seven years in the number of teachers who will attain age 55 with 20 years of experience, the percentage of teachers eligible to retire will increase substantially in the next three years (40%) and plateau for several years before starting to decline in school year 2007.

· There were 19,237 teachers eligible to retire in school year 2000. The areas with the largest number eligible to retire were: Self-Contained Classroom (7,201), Special Education (2,262), English Language Arts (1,670), Science (999), and Social Science (983).

· Overall, 15% of the teaching workforce was eligible to retire. Areas with 20% or more of their workforce eligible to retire include: Driver Education (26%), Industrial Occupations (21%), Business (21%), Other Foreign Language (21%), English as a Second Language (21%), Title I (20%), and Chemistry (20%).

· Currently, 24% of administrators are eligible to retire (i.e., age 55 years old with 20 years of experience or more); however, 60% of all administrators are 50 years old or older.

· Based on the growth over the next seven years in the number of administrators who will attain age 55 with 20 years of experience, the percentage of administrators eligible to retire will increase substantially in the next three years (47%).

· In addition, 27% of other certified staff (e.g., library/media) and 24% of school service personnel (e.g., school nurse), are currently eligible to retire.

· There were 426 full-time administrators who left education in school year 2000. Based on current experience levels and attrition rates, that number is projected to increase 50%-- to 640 by school year 2003.

· In contrast, there were 7,859 full-time teachers who left education in school year 2000, and that number is only expected to rise 11%, to 8,688 by school year 2003.

 

Here is the link to the 60+ page pdf document from which this information is taken

http://www.isbe.net/research/SupplyDemand/Educator%20Supply%20%20Demand.pdf