Anita Tejada and Roz Hunter are longtime paraprofessionals with Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 who will soon complete their college programs to become certified teachers. Their goal is to teach in the district. An immigrant to the United States at the age of 15, who graduated from Waukeg an High School, Tejada went to work for the district in 1998 as a paraprofessional and discovered a passion for working with students in the district’s elementary schools. Just over two years ago, she learned of a program to cover tuition. “I applied, and receiving my acceptance email was a moment I will never forget,” Tejada said in an email. “For the first time, I no longer had to worry about financial barriers standing in the way of my dream.” Participating in the same program, Hunter is a nearly 20-year paraprofessional in the district, working with students at the Alternative Optional Education Center (AOEC) campus of Waukegan High School. As she nears her degree, she is doing her student teaching at the AOEC. “The best part of this program is that I’m learning and working as a student-teacher with the very students I’ll continue to teach — right here in the district I’m committed to serving,” Hunter said in an email. “This (program) lets me learn how to teach my students.” Hunter and Tejada are two of 18 District 60 paraprofessionals nearing completion of an Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) pilot program this month, designed to help school districts recruit and retain teachers, combating a nationwide teacher shortage. Both District 60 and North Chicago School District 187 are participating in the pilot program using different methods to obtain similar results. Amanda Milewski, District 60’s associate superintendent of strategy and accountability, said the district received nearly $1.7 million over three years. Along with providing paraprofessionals with the opportunity to pursue teacher education, 34 current teachers are earning their master’s degrees, 16 are obtaining certificates as learning development specialists, and 11 will become certified to teach English as a second language. District 187 Superintendent John  Price, who had just over $400,000 to spend in a three-year span, said he hired an educational coach to make high school teachers better, as well as getting teachers certified to teach English as a second language. Milewski said that helping paraprofessionals become certified teachers benefits the district by providing educators who are new to the profession but veterans within the district. Teaching vacancies arise each year, and little recruiting is necessary when they are already district employees. “The best part of growing your own is they know our story and are already part of the community,” Milewski said. “They do have to apply and go through the process.” With the hardest positions to fill being special education, English language learners, science and math, Milewski said current teachers becoming certified in those areas allows the district to fill needed positions. As a paraprofessional becomes a teacher, or current teachers obtain master’s degrees, Milewski said there is also a financial incentive. The higher the level of education, the greater the salary. For paraprofessionals, the increase in pay can be significant. A 10-year paraprofessional earns approximately $25,000 a year. Milewski said they are paid hourly rather than making an annual salary. A first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree currently makes $52,279 annually, according to the collective bargaining agreement. Though Tejada is thrilled with the financial reward of moving from paraprofessional to teacher, she already has a good idea of what to expect. She said she hopes to teach kindergarten, first or second grade, and has already worked at six of the district’s 15 elementary schools. “This program has been a life-changing opportunity,”  Tejada said. “It has brought me one step closer to achieving the dream I have carried for many years — becoming a teacher who inspires, supports, and serves as a role model for her students.” Through nearly 20 years in the district, Hunter has worked at the AOEC, and she hopes to start the 2026-2027 school year as a full-fledged teacher there. She said she knows the qualities of the youngsters she will teach and looks forward to helping them. “I hope to work with diverse high school learners,” Hunter said. “I’m passionate about helping students who think and learn differently develop the academic, social, and self-advocacy skills they need to succeed both in school and beyond.” By hiring an instructional coach at North Chicago Community High School, Price said it will improve the teaching and learning throughout the building. A coach works with a teacher in the classroom, helping them expand their skills and develop new ones. “It’s the highest quality professional development a teacher could get,” Price said. “It’s one-on-one in the classroom. It’s helped us keep the teachers we want — 96% are rated excellent by their principals. We’re keeping our irreplaceable teachers.” Like Waukegan, Price said North Chicago has a significant number of English language learners. Some of the money is being used to help teachers become certified to teach English as a second language, filling an acute need. ...read more read less