West Central Reporter

Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) passed pastries and coffee around the teachers lounge at Baldwin Elementary School on May 3 to thank educators for their dedication to students.

“It was our pleasure to provide pastries and coffee to the hard-working teachers and staff at Baldwin Elementary School to help them kick-start their day,” Tracy wrote on her website. “It was good to talk with them about issues important to them as they help guide our young people on their educational course.”

Teachers Appreciation Week is marked annually during the first full week in May.

On April 20, 40 students from Tracy’s Youth Advisory Council heard presentations by Liz Tracy, associate legal counsel at Dot Foods, and Dan Teefey, executive director of the Tracy Family Foundation.

“Our Youth Advisory Council members are given an opportunity to hear from and talk with speakers about what they feel is important in pursuing higher education or career path,” Tracy wrote on her website. “Liz and Dan are great role models for these young people. Originally from western Illinois, they each left to pursue their dreams, which ultimately brought them each back to this region. They talked with the students about skills and experiences that served them well in making their decisions about colleges, jobs and other endeavors.”

In other teacher appreciation news, The Geneseo Republic reported Orion High School English Teacher Andrew Lister got a teaching award from the Golden Apple Foundation.

“Four hundred people were nominated for this award, Mr. Lister is one of those participants this year,” Golden Apple Foundation President Alan Mather said during the outdoor award ceremony. “He’s receiving this award not only because he connects with students (or) because he’s the person people go to when they want to talk, but also because he engages people in what they do, he brings different perspectives, he makes people think and he has people disagree respectfully.”

The National Education Association spearheads an annual Teacher Appreciation Day celebration.

The NEA describes it as “a day for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives.”

The State Journal-Register reported Illinois has been losing teachers over the years. 

In Illinois, as in other areas of the country, there has been a shortage of teachers.  According to the Illinois State Board of Education, for 2022, there are currently 5310.8 unfilled teacher positions in the state.