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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify that one of the 50 teachers to receive a notice of non-renewal is a certified teacher, who was included for performance reasons.
KANKAKEE – A long list of permanent substitutes and instructors will be dismissed and not rehired after the current school year ends as part of Kankakee School District 111 Superintendent Teresa Lance’s initiative to require certified teachers across the district.
The District 111 board approved two resolutions this month authorizing the nonrenewal of a total of 50 nontenured teachers other than final-year probationary teachers.
On March 10, a list of 54 staff to be dismissed at the end of the 2024-25 school year came before the board. Before approving the list, the board amended it to remove six names.
On Monday, the board approved two additional nontenured staff to be dismissed after this school year.
While mostly containing the names of permanent substitutes and instructors, the list also included one administrator – Kankakee High School Assistant Principal Calvin Works – along with JROTC instructor Iva Stampley.
A community parent liaison and student support specialist also were included.
One of the names was a certified teacher who was included for performance reasons, Lance said.
The rest of the names are non-certified teachers.
Lance said the district’s non-certified teachers have until the April 15 deadline set by the state to decide if they want to pursue certification. Those not pursuing certification by that date will receive a notice of non-renewal for the upcoming school year.
James Henderson, interim assistant superintendent of human resources, updated the board March 24 about efforts to fill 43 vacancies across District 111, including vacancies that will be left by the departure of noncertified instructors.
He said the district’s “aggressive recruitment plan” has resulted in more than 125 resumes received and second-round interviews slated for 27 teachers.
“The hope is to have all positions filled by the next school year, but with certified individuals and not instructors,” Henderson said.
The 43 vacancies include:
- eight positions at Kankakee High School
- three at Kankakee Junior High School
- 10 at Kennedy Middle School
- eight at King Middle School
- four at Steuben Elementary School
- six at Taft Elementary School
- two at Mark Twain Elementary School
- two at the Avis Huff Student Support Services Center
The district also has been attending recruitment fairs and visiting historically black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions across the country.
Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi are among the locations targeted for recruitment.
“Now, let me make this very clear,” Henderson said. “These 43 vacancies are true vacancies. Right now we are only looking at 27 certified candidates. We only have 43 vacancies throughout the whole district.”
In November, the district had about 83 vacancies, he said.
“Our principals are interviewing every week trying to fill the vacancies,” Henderson said.
Lance said the district currently has about 25 student teachers, several of whom are interested in working in Kankakee schools.
“If we got half of those student teachers, that continues to dwindle down our list,” Lance said. “The recruitment efforts are literally every single day. We are not going to stop.”
Lance’s goal is to have a licensed teacher in every classroom by August 2027.
“We are moving along,” she said.
Board member Cynthia Veronda noted that hiring delays in the past have cost the district new recruits.
“I’m just strongly encouraging we act quickly in responding to teachers who are available who would like to be interviewed, and decisions made swiftly,” Veronda said. “This is a critical hiring period, and we only have one teacher coming to us tonight. It is a concern. I know it’s the end of March, but people are making their decisions.”