A nonprofit aims to help Illinois State University and other teaching colleges in Illinois address the teacher shortage by recruiting more educators from other professions.
Grow Your Own Illinois hosted a recruiting event at ISU on Monday to find prospective educators for ISU and more than 20 colleges and universities across the state. The group's recruitment director, Herman Reeves, said the group is targeting those considering a career change and nontraditional students through its We See the Teacher In You campaign.
“We are more interested in students who may have taken some time off, older students, students who have careers and jobs. These nontraditional students are our key focus within that target audience,” Reeves said in an interview on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
Among those looking for a career change, Reeves said paraprofessional educators and jobs he defines as “school adjacent” are prime candidates to consider making the shift to teaching full-time.
“That sort of captures anybody around a school who are working with kids, from a tutor, to mentors to coaches who might be interested in taking this step to becoming a licensed teacher,” Reeves said.
According to the latest data from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools and the Illinois State Board of Education, nearly 4,000 teaching positions went unfilled during the 2024-25 school year. Also, more than 6,000 teaching positions were filled by other means, such as hiring substitutes or retired educators, or combining classes.
Reeves said the greatest needs for teachers statewide are in special education, bilingual education and STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math]. There's also a lack of diversity among teachers that’s representative of the student body in Illinois, he said, not just among race but among underrepresented communities in general.
“Part of the shortage is a shortage in teachers who look like the students that they are teaching,” Reeves said. “We want to make sure that we’re providing in this campaign an invitation to those who have not been invited before."
Kelli Appel, director of recruitment, retention and student services in ISU’s College of Education, said she hopes the campaign will support increased access for future teachers.
“The Grow Your Own Teacher campaign can help people become more aware of the possibility of becoming a teacher and point them to the next steps in navigating the journey to teacher licensure,” Appel said.
Danville Community College, Eastern Illinois University, Richland Community College and Western Illinois University also attended the recruiting event held at ISU’s Alumni Center in Normal.
Reeves said Grow Your Own has signed about 2,500 prospective teachers during the first year of its statewide campaign, but it's been unable to track how many of them have found teaching jobs.
Reeves noted it typically takes up to three years to complete the teacher licensure program. He said more than 80% of teacher candidates that go through Grow Your Own Illinois accept classroom teaching positions.
