ELMHURST, IL — As Ilinois faces a shortage of teachers and other academic professionals, Elmhurst School District 205 says it remains stable but has encountered difficulty attracting teacher's aides.

CBS Chicago reports that since last fall, the number of open positions in Illinois schools has increased by 28 percent, with 5,301 open positions.

And according to a 2021 study by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents, 88 percent of school districts said they were facing a teacher shortage, with 77 percent of districts reporting the issue getting worse.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a series of bills in April aiming to address the shortage. They included lowering the teacher license renewal fee from $500 to $50, no longer requiring substitute teachers to have bachelor's degrees and lowering the minimum age for teacher's aides from 19 to 18.

However, despite stating it has remained stable, District 205 says it has had some difficulty filling specialized teaching positions in areas such as special education, French and speech therapy.

And to attract new teacher's aide applicants, the district has held targeted job fairs, advertised on social media and posted on education association websites such as the Illinois Association of School Administrators.

The district also says it recently ordered yard signs with QR codes that will send people to a list of the district's vacancies. These signs will be posted locally in high-traffic areas, according to the district.

According to District 205's jobs website, it has more than 15 open positions for teacher's aides.

The first day of classes is Wednesday.

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