Teacher assistant shortage in central Illinois

(WAND) - School districts across central Illinois are struggling to fill hundreds of open teacher assistant positions in the region.

These roles can be critical to assisting classrooms, especially where these are students with special needs.

In Springfield, there are 89 open teaching assistant positions. The district is looking for 20 general teacher assistants and 69 paraprofessionals for classrooms with special need students.

"Special needs children have shorter attention spans normally and need assistance one-on-one with a student in order to complete tasks," Michelle Check, a paraprofessional at Dubois Elementary School, told WAND News.

Springfield is in desperate need of more employees like Check.

"Because of the shortage, it's a disservice to some of the children because they are still waiting for paraprofessionals, so they're not getting the attention that they need. And it's a disservice to the community because everyone deserves to have an equal education," Check added.

It's not just Springfield. Districts across the region are struggling to fill these openings.

"We are having monthly job fairs, that's something new that we are doing to attract our paraprofessionals," Lyn Williams, supervisor of classified staff and student services for Springfield, told WAND.

Williams said the job can be a perfect fit for parents who want to work while their children are in school. He said applicants don't necessarily need a college degree to help mold our next generation.

"We have some of our paraprofessionals who are one-on-ones who have been with their students for several grades, through graduation, and they build a very tight bond with them," Williams explained.