1/3 The first year in any career is challenging—and teaching and supporting students is no exception. As Sr. Policy Associate Mercedes Wentworth-Nice writes in the latest blog, retaining #IL teachers and school support personnel is crucial to sustaining a strong educator pipeline.

2/3 However, targeted supports for early career educators are missing from Governor Pritzker's proposed budget for FY26 despite research showing that well-designed mentoring programs improve teacher effectiveness and #retention. bit.ly/4jY4p2M