FREE
1 • Thursday, January 19, 2017 - The Independent
Independent Bensenville
11th Annual
Antique Quilts Quilter’s Barn Sale 16W680 Grand Ave. , Bens
enville
$4 adults ages 18+ $1 ages 5-17 Pay at the door
For more information vis it bensenvilleparkdistrict.o rg
also serving Wood Dale
VOL. 14 • NO. 42
March 17 & 18 10am-3pm
WWW.THEINDEPENDENTNEWSPAPERS.COM
309651
TAKE ONE
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2018
Illinois lawmakers look to change licensing, testing to find more teachers
By Illinois News Network Illinois lawmakers are looking at two reasons why they say there aren’t enough teachers in the state. There’s a lot of focus on testing and licensing for teachers at the Illinois Capitol this year. Lawmakers are trying to end Illinois’ teacher shortage. A recent report found 90 percent of schools have trouble finding a teacher or substitute. Jason Helfer with the Illinois State Board of Education said they are taking a year to study the issue. “Our year of study will focus on work teacher workforce issues,” Helfer said Wednesday. “Licensure is one part of that, but not the only part. There are three other parts that include pipeline issues. How do we get young people to enter into the field? Teacher preparation, how are they being prepared and so forth? And finally recruitment, hiring and retention once they are in the district.”
“
A lot of our college kids are unable to pass the test. They’re not going into teaching.” –State Rep. Rita Mayfield
But lawmakers say they want to know why so many people who want to teach can’t pass the state’s basic skills test to start a career. State Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, said about 60 percent of teacher candidates fail the state’s basic skills test. At Wednesday’s statehouse hearing, she said that’s unacceptable. “A lot of our college kids are unable to pass the test. They’re not going into teaching,” Mayfield said. “They are like ‘You know what, I’ve given you four years. I’ve taken this test three times, I can’t pass it. You know what. I’m just going to change my major.’ We’re losing teachers.” Helfer said most prospective teachers in Illinois easily pass the state tests for their subject or specialty, it’s the broader basic skills test that they are having problems with. Helfer said the the state’s licensing issues deal mostly with allowing out-of-state teachers to ease into an Illinois classroom without having to jump through additional hoops. Lawmakers are also proposing their own fixes. There are more than a dozen proposed laws on file this spring that’d deal with the state’s teacher shortage in one way or another.
Inside:
Police Reports...........4 Sports ����������������������7 Worship Services....10 Classifieds..........13-14
SUBMITTED PHOTO Bensenville Independent
Cubs chairman addresses business luncheon
Chicago Cubs Chairman and owner Tom Ricketts reprises his 2012 Keynote Address to local DuPage County business people, this time with a 2016 World Series Championship ring on his finger! The event was held at Bobak’s Signature Events in Woodridge on March 7.
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