Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative

ICYMI: IWERC recently released a qualitative evaluation of the Teacher Vacancy Grant. Read the full report here: go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Did you know? 5% of principals overseeing a school with a kindergarten grade level held an ECE endorsement. 11% had experience teaching in kindergarten. 41% had experience teaching in a primary grade (K-3).

Did you know? 5% of principals overseeing a school with a kindergarten grade level held an ECE endorsement. 11% had experience teaching in kindergarten. 41% had experience teaching in a primary grade (K-3).

Read more in our new brief: ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/...

On Friday, IWERC & the Kersten Institute for Urban Education co-hosted an event on student attendance. We were honored to bring together over 200 participants to build connections across sectors and learn from students, educators, policymakers, and researchers on this important issue.

Teacher Vacancy Grant Year 2 Evaluation. A text box reads: Key Finding #3. Program-participating districts plan to prioritize effective recruitment and retention efforts upon completion of the grant. “There's no way that I will give up [the student teaching] program now that we've got it rolling. It's an important part of our strategy now on how we're going to get people to come to the community.” – Rockford SD 205. Visit https://go.illinois.edu/teachervacancypilot.

Findings from IWERC’s qualitative evaluation of the Teacher Vacancy Grant indicate that program-participating districts plan to prioritize effective recruitment and retention efforts upon grant completion. Visit go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Teacher Vacancy Grant Year 2 Evaluation. A text box reads: Key Finding #2. Program-participating districts’ plans to reduce teaching vacancies varied based on staffing needs and local contexts. Three spending groups emerged in how interviewed districts allocated grant funding. Districts directed their strategic focus to one the following: Mainly recruitment, mainly retention, or both recruitment and retention. An image of an empty classroom serves as the background. Visit https://go.illinois.edu/teachervacancypilot.

Districts participating in the Teacher Vacancy Grant devised plans to reduce teaching vacancies based on staffing needs and local contexts. Our new report features the experiences of nine participating districts. Visit go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Teacher Vacancy Grant Year 2 Evaluation. A text box reads: Key Finding #1. Program-participating districts rely on multiple data sources to determine areas of teaching vacancies and their causes. “For many years, we’ve been a passive consumer of whom universities are graduating. Through multiple pathways, one … that’s supported by the Teacher Vacancy Grant, we are now no longer a passive consumer. We can say, we have vacancies … in these specific areas and we want to tackle them.”- Chicago Public Schools. An image of an empty classroom serves as the background. Visit https://go.illinois.edu/teachervacancypilot

IWERC’s qualitative evaluation of the Teacher Vacancy Grant in #Illinois found that districts rely on multiple sources of data to determine areas of teaching vacancies and their causes. Read more at go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

New Report. IWERC’s qualitative evaluation of the state’s Teacher Vacancy Grant is now available. Image of the report cover. Visit https://go.illinois.edu/teachervacancypilot

New report from IWERC on the Teacher Vacancy Grant. What are the experiences of program-participating districts with early success reducing teaching vacancies? Our qualitative evaluation is out now. Read our report: go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Did you know? Kindergarten teachers with an ECE endorsement rated children slightly higher on KIDS, holding student characteristics constant.

Teacher credentials do influence implementation of the state's kindergarten readiness assessment (KIDS). Read more: ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/...

IWERC & @uchiconsortium.bsky.social have continued to present their research on economic mobility to important audiences. Yesterday, they presented to 100+ participants at a College & Career Access, Persistence, and Success event. Today, the team met with CPS counselors and college/ career coaches.

Kindergarten Teacher Credentials. 30% of Kindergarten teachers in Illinois held an ECE endorsement, though the proportion is rising.

Did you know? Around 30% of kindergarten teachers in Illinois hold the Early Childhood Birth to Grade 2 endorsement, but the proportion is rising each year. Read more in our new brief: ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/...

New Addendum Report! KIDS Series Addendum 1: Teacher and Principal Credentials and KIDS Implementation

New IWERC brief! After the first two KIDS reports, we were asked about how teacher and principal credentials and experience might relate to KIDS implementation in schools. In this addendum, we address these burning questions!

Find the addendum report here: ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/...

Photo of three people standing together at the IES event: Ying Chen (IWERC) on the left, IES Commissioner Liz Albro in the middle, and Jeremy Riel(UIC) on the right.

Action shot of Jeremy Riel and Ying Chen working during a team activity and discussion, writing ideas on a sticky note with markers.

Recently, IWERC’s Ying Chen (Co-PI) and UIC collaborator Jeremy Riel (PI) represented our IES-funded SkillTree project in Washington, DC at the Accelerate, Transform, Scale (ATS) Hub meet-up to workshop our project progress. Thank you to Elizabeth Albro, Digital Promise, and IES for hosting.

IWERC was delighted to be part of an event today on the Illinois Early Childhood Workforce, co-hosted by Latino Policy Forum and Advance Illinois. This event looked back on two seminal reports about the early childhood workforce nationally and in Illinois, while engaging practitioner voices.

Join IWERC, @uchiconsortium.bsky.social, and the College and Career Access, Persistence and Success (CCAPS) group on February 25 as we explore the question: What are the most promising and equitable routes to good work for Illinois youth?

Learn more & register here: myforefront.org/event/promis...

Want an easy way to keep up with IWERC's news and releases? Subscribe to our newsletter! https://go.illinois.edu/IWERCnewsletter

Keep up with us in 2026! go.illinois.edu/IWERCnewslet...

Illinois Early Childhood Education Workforce: What Does Research Say? - Latino Policy Forum (Abajo en español)Join the Latino Policy Forum, Advance Illinois, the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC), the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Schreiber Philanthropy, and t...

Join us next week for a discussion of the early childhood workforce. We will be sharing new research in the field and asking for your input on a future Illinois-focused research study. More info below! latinopolicyforum.org/event/illino...

Illinois Comprehensive Numeracy Plan

IWERC is proud to assist Illinois State Board of Education as they develop the Illinois Comprehensive Numeracy Plan. We are summarizing stakeholder feedback to support plan development and revision. To learn more about the plan and to read IWERC's first report, go to: www.isbe.net/Pages/Illino...

Did you miss our Tuesday webinar discussing the importance of attendance in @chipubschools.bsky.social and beyond? Catch the replay, featuring research findings and a panel discussion from frontline workers here: consortium.uchicago.edu/resources/st...

Sarah Cashdollar (IWERC), Jenny Nagaoka (UChicago Consortium on School Research), and Meg Bates (IWERC) at the IBHE board meeting held at Kennedy-King College.

Yesterday, researchers from IWERC and @uchiconsortium.bsky.social presented at the Illinois Board of Higher Education board meeting. They shared findings from their studies of economic outcomes for Illinois high schoolers from low-income backgrounds.

ICYMI: Our research on computer science education was featured by WMBD-TV in Peoria. Read more: www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-n...

ICYMI: Join us Tuesday to talk attendance in Illinois schools!

“Getting Your Foot in the Door”: Challenges and opportunities facing artists and arts graduates in non-arts jobs. New Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership Report. Image of a stage with spotlight. Logos of Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership

The latest report from the Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership is out now. We asked artists about the challenges and opportunities they encountered in securing and maintaining jobs outside the arts. Read our report to find out what they said: ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/...

Challenges and opportunities facing artists and arts graduates in non-arts jobs. New Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership Report. Quote: “One of the things I love about being an artist is I don’t love capitalism.” Image of a dancer on a stage. Logos of Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership.

The latest report from the Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership is out now. We asked arts graduates about the challenges and opportunities they encountered in securing and maintaining jobs outside the arts. Read our report to find out what they said: ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/...

Challenges and opportunities facing artists and arts graduates in non-arts jobs. New Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership Report. Quote: I know that I could do most of the jobs that I’m applying for…Its just about accruing enough trust in a gatekeeper to do that.” Image of a stage with spotlight. Logos of Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership.

The latest report from the Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership is out now. We asked artists about challenges and opportunities encountered in securing and maintaining jobs outside the arts. Read our report to learn more: ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/...

Photo by Paul Green for Unsplash

“Getting Your Foot in the Door”: Challenges and opportunities facing artists and arts graduates in non-arts jobs. New Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership Report. Image of a woman on a stage. Logos of Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership

Read the latest report from the Illinois Creative Workforce Partnership (ICWP)’s Branching Out Series: ws.engr.illinois.edu/sitemanager/...

Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash

Please join us on 1/20 for a discussion of student attendance!

ICYMI: IWERC is excited to be part of this new IES grant.

IWERC's page from the NNERPP yearbook, available here: https://rice.app.box.com/s/sbkf7vayoalpwiq9iwi29pi67mr9x7se

IWERC is a proud member of NNERPP (@rpp-network.bsky.social). Below is our feature in their annual yearbook, which has stories of impact from RPPs across the country. Thanks, NNERPP!

What’s the best path to a good job? A bachelor’s degree, new Illinois report finds. New report from the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative and the UChicago Consortium on School Research found alternative pathways in certain industries, such as construction and ag...

Happy New Year! ICYMI before the break, read more in @chalkbeat.org about our study with @uchiconsortium.bsky.social on upward mobility for Illinois high schoolers.

www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025...

Happy Holidays! We enjoyed working and learning with you in 2025. Here's a look back, and we're excited to continue the work in 2026.

mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_22...