U.S. congressman visits Highland Park to discuss new bill aimed at improving teacher recruitment, retention

Pairing first-year teachers with experienced mentors, establishing regular classroom observations from school principals and providing funding for teachers to attend professional development conferences.

These were just some of the possible solutions that local and national leaders working in education reviewed with U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider during a roundtable discussion in Ravinia Elementary School on Wednesday, Aug. 27, that focused on teacher recruitment and retention.

Schneider, who represents Illinois’ 10th Congressional District that includes Highland Park, reintroduced the Teachers are Leaders Act to the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, Aug. 26. 

The bill aims to address a nationwide shortage of educators by helping encourage more people to enter the profession, offer more support for teachers to stay in the profession and prevent more teachers from retiring early from the profession, Schneider said. 

If passed in Congress, the bill would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 by expanding federal funding to create a teacher leader development program. The program would center on strengthening curriculum and community engagement, and officially credential “teacher leaders” for peer coaching. 

The Illinois State Board of Education reported in March that the total number of unfulfilled teaching positions decreased by 5.6% in the 2023-’24 school year, but the shortage remains a “serious challenge” across the state with 2.8% or 3,864 teacher positions, still unfilled across the state as of October 2024.

Lake County Regional Superintendent of Schools Michael Karner attributed the recent abetting of the shortage to initiatives like the state’s $45 million Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program, but noted that 40% of all teacher vacancies were reported in critical special education or bilingual areas.

North Shore Education District 112’s Assistant Superintendent Monica Schroeder noted that D112 is lucky not to have a teacher shortage — it only has two instructional coach positions currently unfulfilled — but as president of the American Association of School Personnel Administrators she felt it was important the district host Schneider in order to help advocate for other districts that do struggle.

Seated in the library of the freshly renovated Ravinia Elementary building on Wednesday, Schneider shared how his son just graduated from Harvard Law School, but originally struggled with classwork until one of his teachers identified he had dyslexia and provided him the support he needed.

It’s likely that a first-year teacher might not have the experience to identify those needs, Schneider said, which means schools need overlapping tenures and established mentors who can set expectations and then reward their mentees when they meet them. 

Bryan Henley, a teacher in Lake Villa District 41 who was just recognized as Lake County’s Educator of the Year, said gaining a mentor early on in one’s career is important as he almost considered exiting the profession before he gained a mentor who lent him guidance and confidence. 

“A teacher in their first year, that is a very difficult experience. It’s one of the only times that you’re looking at a grown adult with a college degree and saying, ‘I expect you on day one to be as effective as someone who’s been doing this job for 30 years,'” said Dale Fisher, an assistant superintendent with Deerfield Public Schools District 109. 

“It’s very unfair that those expectations come out, but the reality is no parent wants to hear that their teacher is going to take four years to ramp up to the level,” Fisher said. “What we’re doing is providing opportunities for that mentoring, that coaching that is integral to the success we would want to see in this field.”

Michele Bertola, principal for Warren Township High School, said she appreciated the word “leader” is in the bill’s title as she knows teachers stay in the field when they feel valued and included in decision making. She added her school has all its positions filled but the number of applicants have fallen by half. 

After members of Aug. 27’s group discussion in Ravinia Elementary all agreed that the Teachers Are Leaders Act would make a difference in education and thanked Schneider for reintroducing it, the congressman urged them and others to reach out to their representatives in support of the bill. 

The act is bipartisan with two Democratic and two Republican co-sponsors, Schneider said, emphasizing that the country’s “failure to invest” in its young people will come at an immeasurable cost. 

“It’s not about red versus blue, it’s not about rural versus urban, it’s not about us versus them,” Schneider said.

“It’s about making sure every one of our kids have the opportunity to learn the lessons and skills they need to succeed and they learn those lessons and skills from teachers who have the experience and the wisdom to deliver them the best.”

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