Latest news with #StateofEducation
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
IEA releases State of Education report
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — According to the Illinois Education Association, Illinois adults overwhelmingly are fans of public schools. The IEA released polling Wednesday as a part of its 7th annual State of Education report. The polls showed more than 91% of adults from the state agreed that 'students have a right to education at a public school.' That number stayed the same for students with disabilities. Manufacturers would stop selling Styrofoam containers under Illinois bill 'Public education is the great equalizer. It's the key to the American Dream. It is the one thing our country does that levels the playing field for all children. Rural, suburban, urban, no matter who you are or where you come from, a good education can change your life,' IEA President Al Llorens said. 'We will continue to do whatever it takes to make sure our students have access to strong public schools. It's what Illinoisans want and it's what our students deserve.' Also found from the poll is a majority of Illinoisans are empathetic to teachers, with 74% of people think teaching has become harder over the last few years and 78% of the public say they are very worried about the teacher shortage. Other findings from the report include that the majority of Illinois residents believe schools should get more funding. 'The people of our great state strongly support public education and our students, so much so that they support fixing the funding issues facing our schools. They recognize teachers and staff are working harder than ever before and they also know our educators are not making enough money and don't have enough support in our schools,' Llorens added. Illinois Attorney General joins lawsuit to stop closure of US Dept. of Education The poll was conducted with both a Republican pollster (Next Generation Strategies) and a Democrat polling firm (Normington Petts). 1,000 Illinois adults were surveyed for the poll between Jan. 27 and 30. The pollsters said it has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent with 95 percent confidence. The full summary report can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Report analyzes state of education in Pennsylvania
(WHTM) – The Pennsylvania School Boards Association released its 2025 State of Education report. For the third year in a row, the biggest challenges school leaders face include continued mental health needs, budget pressures, and staffing shortages. More specifically, special education teachers. 'This is something that we hear anecdotally from our members. These positions are very difficult to fill,' said Chris Lilienthal, Pennsylvania State Education Association Communications. 'Currently we have five teacher vacancies. Most of those are special education teachers, but we also have vacancies for para educators who support those special ed teachers in the classroom,' said Dr. Tamara Willis, Susquehanna Township School District Superintendent. There's a rising demand for students needing extra support. 'For the third year in a row, we've experienced an increase, almost double the number of students that are coming into kindergarten who need early intervention services,' said Dr. Willis. President Trump wants to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Lilienthal says a big portion of that money supports special education services for students. 'You know at a time when we're seeing a rising demand for these services and more students in need of these services and the cost are rising, those investments are critically important,' said Lilienthal. Also in the report, more than 80% of school districts say they're having trouble hiring qualified mental health care providers. 'As a school district, we cannot meet all the mental health needs that we have currently so we're partnering with outside organizations,' said Dr. Willis. 'Governor Josh Shapiro working with lawmakers from both parties has recognized this. There's been a real strong push for investing in school counselors, nurses, other mental health care providers. But more work needs to be done and that's certainly reflected in this report,' said Lilienthal. Another key finding in the report is more than 77% of school districts reported having at least one school building in need of repair or replacement. Plus, for the 6th year in a row, mandatory Charter School tuition payments were the top source of budget pressure. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
