Title: | Policy Spotlight: An Unfolding Crisis in the Satisfaction and Supply of Teachers in Illinois |
Author(s): | Kessler, Meghan A. |
Subject(s): | spotlight, illinois, policy, pandemic, covid, teachers, educators |
Abstract: | This report, the seventh in IGPA's Policy Spotlight series, examines the impact the pandemic has had on teachers and school administrators in Illinois. While some of these challenges predated the pandemic, many have been exacerbated by COVID-19. This Policy Spotlight places the challenges facing Illinois educators in the context of COVID-19. It closes with suggestions for what can be done to support teachers at this crucial time.
Teachers are facing a perfect storm of challenges during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Their professional realities have been
upended to a degree experienced by few other professionals,
yet the importance of their work has never been greater. Teachers express compounding fears for their own and their families’ well-being
alongside their concern for the well-being of their students and communities. Although school districts across the state have worked hard
to plan and implement instructional modalities that best respond to
the needs of district families and communities, numerous challenges,
fears, and concerns persist for classroom teachers. Put simply, the
most foundational and rewarding elements of teachers’ jobs—such
as interactions and caring relationships with students—have changed
dramatically and strained teachers’ capacity to support those who
are most vulnerable. Teachers are tackling these and other enormous
challenges while fearing sharp decreases in funding and support.
While some of these challenges predated the pandemic, many have
been exacerbated by COVID-19. This Policy Spotlight places the
challenges facing Illinois educators in the context of COVID-19. It
closes with suggestions for what can be done to support teachers
at this crucial time. To prevent a new wave of teacher vacancies,
there must be a major reinvestment in retention and support of the
state’s teaching workforce. |
Issue Date: | 2020-11-24 |
Publisher: | Institute of Government & Public Affairs |
Genre: | Article |
Type: | Text |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110248 |
Date Available in IDEALS: | 2021-08-04 |