Teacher retention and recruitment has become a central priority of Yorkville School District 115.

During last month’s State of the District event, Superintendent Matt Zediker said the board has focused on strengthening teacher recruitment and retention by approving policies like increased pay for substitutes, a program to sponsor masters program for staff members and coursework reimbursement.

The board also recently approved paid student teachers and co-curricular stipends, as part of their focus on providing “regionally competitive salary and benefits.”

Last month, district administration provided the board of education a multi-year summary of certified staff retention rates.

The report showed retention rates per year have increased from 88.5% in 2021 to 92.5% in 2025. This most recent rate is a slight dip from 2024’s retention rate of 92.8%.

This represents 43 certified resignations in 2025, slightly up from 40 in 2024. However, the trend has improved over the past five years, decreasing from 2021’s number of 54 resignations.

Over the past five years, the rate of overall new hires has slowed, while certified employees are still being added to the roster.

From 2024 to 2025, there were 63 new certified employees, an 11% increase of the total number of certified employees and teachers. This brings the full number to 582 certified employees and teachers.

Next spring, the district will also have 25 paid student teachers, its most ever.

New hiring is the same rate as the 11% rate from 2023-2024, but lower than the 18% rate from 2021-2022.

Zediker said during the State of the District that close partnerships with neighboring colleges and universities, like Aurora University, will help bring in new talent with an extra emphasis on supporting them throughout their teaching careers so they always want to remain a Fox.