There is a critical shortage of high-quality educators locally, statewide and nationwide. At the beginning of the current school year in Illinois, there were over 1,000 unfilled teaching positions. While, over the past 10 years, schools of education in Illinois have experienced a 50% decline in enrollment.
Golden Apple Scholars provide a solution to this problem. As a pipeline of highly effective, diverse teachers, our Scholars are well-prepared to teach in challenging schools throughout the State and STAY at much higher rates than teachers prepared by any other program.
Tragically, limited funding affects the speed and depth at which we can address this shortage at present. Despite dwindling education enrollment at many Universities, each year, interest in and highly qualified applicants to our program far outpaces the funding necessary to support our Golden Apple Scholars.
As the recent report released by the Illinois State Board of Education “Teach Illinois: Strong Teachers Strong Classrooms” describes, the time to implement solutions to the Teacher Shortage problem is now. We MUST grow The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program. And...we need your help to make that happen.
Please support the Golden Apple Scholars Program today, so that we can make a material difference in ensuring that every student has a highly-effective teacher.