Teacher shortages

National education leaders met in Chicago to talk about teacher shortages.They say Illinois is a leader in trying to solve it, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

A growing number of schools are “growing-their-own” teachers as a solution to staff shortages. WNIJ’s Peter Medlin reports on a new initiative to “grow-your-own” principals too.

'Teacher shortage' stories are everywhere right now. What do staff shortages actually look like?

Thousands of Illinois students with disabilities have to learn in a classroom without a special education teacher or with an educator who doesn’t have the right teaching license.

“You have to have an amount of patience, and amount of character. And you got to have that balance. For some reason, it's hard to get people to do that.”

Mark Klaisner tells us how the teacher shortage became personal for many families this year.

Here's how a lack of substitutes makes staffing so much more challenging, especially during the pandemic.

Mark Klaisner says districts are already relying on microcredentials for teachers as well as support staff and bus drivers.

Two classrooms sit empty as they struggle to find teachers to cover them

The 3rd COVID-affected school year starts soon. And schools are scrambling to fill positions.