The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic led districts and schools to experiment with new staffing and support structures to meet students' academic, emotional, and physical safety needs. Shortages of teachers and substitute teachers, challenging conditions for student teaching, and early retirements all became pressing issues during this time.…

This essay is a compilation of several conversations with Dr. Gene Roth, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University. Dr. Roth is past President of the Academy of Human Resource Development, and although he is well known for his efforts in bringing humor into the field of HRD, he is not the same Gene Roth that played…

The U.S. teacher pension system is in major financial trouble, with almost $390 billion in unfunded liabilities, according to a recent report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). And funding shortfalls grew in all but seven states between 2009 and 2012, the nonprofit research and policy group found. Though the current economic…

Boosting early retirement in cash-strapped districts does not hurt students' math and reading scores, according to new studies released at the American Economic Association meeting, but pension-incentive programs may cost schools some of their most effective teachers. Separate studies of teachers in California, Illinois, and North Carolina paint a…

Community college presidents often get advice about how to land a job or, once hired, how to be more effective leaders, but they do not hear as much about their role in preparing their institutions for life after their service. Three successful community college presidents share how they left a legacy at their respective community colleges by…

Just 18 minutes before the midnight signing deadline on May 15, 2010, Minnesota state legislators breathed a sigh of relief. Their bipartisan pension reform legislation, which passed both chambers by large margins and aimed to help shore up a potentially failing pension system, had just escaped a veto threat. Under pressure from his Republican…

This report, submitted in compliance with 105 ILCS 5/1A-4E, provides a discussion of the overall condition of education in Illinois. Information is included concerning student and teacher demographics; data on teacher and administrator licensure; federal, state, and local resources; and other data on Illinois education. The 2021 Condition of…

This past year has been unlike any in recent history. In March, the global COVID-19 pandemic forced Illinois to shift suddenly to remote learning for all students. This adjustment exposed the digital divide as a stark reality. One bright spot in the year occurred in May, when the Illinois' plan for career and technical education (CTE) received…

Chicago teachers voted last week to suspend a 7-day-old strike, sending some 350,000 students back to the classroom and paving the way for the teaching force to vote on a tentative contract. But for many in the Windy City, the contract has raised another potentially tall hurdle: how the cash-strapped district will manage to pay for it. District…

On Dec. 1, Nick Penning, a longtime fixture on the advocacy team at the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), retired as the association's senior legislative analyst. In his 26 years with the association, Penning played many roles relating to advocacy, but the one he relished the most was serving as the principal communicator with…

Those following recent employment trends have heard about the nursing shortage. A combination of increased demand and impending retirements means 1 million nurses will be needed in hospitals, homes, and medical facilities by 2018. That's good news for job seekers. But it is not just shortages in nursing. Allied health careers, including…

As conceived by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLAs[SM]) are employer-matched, portable individual accounts used to finance employee education and training. They provide employees with an affordable means of upgrading their skills and knowledge, while helping to meet the needs of employers and…

This report presents the Illinois edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook." The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals…

Although the rules for public-employee pension funds vary, they operate under the same guidelines. Throughout their careers, teachers and other state and local employees contribute portions of their salaries into retirement funds managed by states and municipalities. In almost all cases, the employers also pitch in a percentage of the employees'…

School business administrators are devoting a significant portion of their time to retirement-related issues. Describes the retirement systems in place in Illinois and provides some budgeting examples for retirements and early retirements of school district personnel. (MLF)