Camelina partnership considered

Yield10 Bioscience Inc. and Mitsubishi Corporation plan to jointly undertake a feasibility study for the supply and offtake of camelina oil from the plant’s grain. Camelina can be used as a low-carbon feedstock oil for biofuels. Mitsubishi Corporation plans to mass-produce sustainable aviation fuel to decarbonize commercial aviation.

Camelina would be grown under contract using Yield10’s proprietary camelina seed genetics. The companies also plan to jointly study the development and future offtake and marketing of camelina to produce bioplastic. Visit yield10bio.com for more information.

Soil-carbon certificates examined

Increasing soil organic carbon stocks in agricultural soils removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and contributes toward achieving carbon neutrality. Greater soil organic carbon levels have benefits for farmers such as increased soil fertility and resilience against drought-related yield losses.

But increasing those levels requires management changes. Private soil carbon certificates could compensate for related costs. In those schemes farmers register their fields with commercial certificate providers who certify soil organic carbon increases. Certificates are then sold as voluntary emission offsets on the carbon market.

A new study assesses the suitability of the certificates for climate change mitigation. From a soils perspective, the researchers address processes of soil organic carbon enrichment, potential and limits, and options for cost-effective measurement and monitoring.

The researchers assess farm-management options likely to increase soil organic carbon and discuss their synergies and trade-offs with economic, environmental and social targets.

While increasing soil organic carbon is a cornerstone for more sustainable cropping systems, private carbon certificates fall short of expectations for climate change mitigation. That’s because permanence of sequestration can’t be guaranteed, the researchers stated. Governance challenges include lack of long-term monitoring, problems to ensure additionality, problems to safeguard against leakage effects, and lack of long-term accountability if stored carbon is re-emitted.

Soil-based private carbon certificates are unlikely to deliver the emission offset attributed to them and their benefit for climate change mitigation is uncertain, the researchers stated. Additional research is needed to develop standards for soil organic carbon change metrics and monitoring, and to better understand the effect of short term, non-permanent carbon removals on peaks in atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations and on the probability of exceeding climatic tipping points, they said.

The research was published in Journal of Environmental Management. Visit sciencedirect.com and search for “soil carbon certificates” for more information.

Soil eroding faster than it forms

The rate of soil erosion in the Midwest is 10 times to 1,000 times greater than pre-agricultural erosion rates. The newly discovered pre-agricultural rates, which reflect the rate at which soils form, are orders of magnitude less than the greatest allowable limit of erosion set by the US Department of Agriculture.

A US National Science Foundation-supported study makes use of a rare element, beryllium-10 – or 10Be – that occurs when stars in the Milky Way explode and send high-energy particles – or cosmic rays – rocketing toward Earth. When the galactic shrapnel slams into the Earth’s crust, it splits oxygen in the soil apart. That leaves trace amounts of 10Be, which can be used to determine average erosion rates in the span of thousands to millions of years, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

They collected deep soil cores from 14 small patches of remnant native prairie that still exist in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. The cores contain material dating to the last ice age, said Isaac Larsen, a geoscientist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the paper’s senior author.

The researchers sifted soil to isolate individual sand grains. They removed everything that wasn’t quartz and then ran spoonfuls through a chemical purification process to separate the 10Be.

The basic research addresses scientific questions about landscape evolution, said Justin Lawrence, a program director in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences. The knowledge gained could lead to more sustainable agricultural practices, he said. The study recently was published in Geology. Visit pubs.geoscienceworld.org and search for “pre-agricultural soil erosion” for more information.

Native seed supply called insufficient

An insufficient supply of seeds from native plants is a major barrier to ecological restoration and other revegetation projects across the United States, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The report’s authors call for action to build a more robust native-seed supply as climate change increases the possibility of extreme-weather events that often damage natural areas.

Conserving and restoring native-plant communities is urgently needed in many areas, particularly the millions of acres of lands affected by extreme wildfires, floods, drought, invasive plants and other hazards. Native plants have coevolved with native animals in distinctive environments. Native plants often are more drought tolerant than nonnatives and are a foundation for biodiversity in ecosystems.

When areas are damaged agencies such as the US Bureau of Land Management seek native seeds to restore plant populations and stabilize ecosystems. In 2020 alone the agency’s field offices purchased about 1.5 million pounds of seed to use in areas affected by wildfires, according to the National Academies report.

The current insufficient supply of native seeds means restoration efforts frequently substitute with nonnative varieties or native seeds sourced from climatically different environments than where they’ll be planted. Seeds need to be genetically adapted to the climate where they’re used. That requires regional collection and agricultural cultivation of future seed supply.

Native seeds can be obtained from natural areas, but judicious harvesting is required so native plant populations aren’t depleted. Some companies produce large volumes of native seeds, but they face challenges such as a lack of the stock seed from appropriate locations, production risks and inconsistent demand from purchasers, the report’s authors said.

At the request of Congress in 2002 the US Department of the Interior and US Department of Agriculture developed a plan for a native-seed supply. But the last two decades have shown that the plan needs to be accelerated.

The agencies should move quickly to strengthen the supply of native seeds and foster a native-seed industry that better meets the needs of producers and consumers. Efforts could focus on developing a policy for native seed collection, reviewing guidance for use of native seeds on public lands, and developing best practices for seed storage and cultivation.

Visit nap.nationalacademies.org and search for “native seed needs” for more information.

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The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research recently awarded a grant to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory which, in partnership with Crop One Holdings, is adapting protein, amino-acid rich aquatic Lemnaceae plants – also known as duckweeds – for controlled environments to improve nutritional value and increase production.

Lemnaceae have elevated protein levels that contain amino-acid compositions more similar to animal protein than other plant-protein sources. The entire plant body is edible and grows quickly.

While Lemnaceae have been cultivated outdoors, researchers haven’t yet transitioned the crop to a controlled aquatic environment. Additionally controlled-environment agriculture often isn’t economically viable compared to traditional, outdoor farming. Further research is needed to refine and adapt existing controlled-environment agriculture infrastructure to aquatic crops, enabling optimal growth and lower cost.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Crop One Holdings are working to advance year-round cultivation, harvesting and commercial production of Lemnaceae plants. The research focuses on optimizing sets of genetic and environmental inputs – germplasm selection and development, light, heat, water and carbon-dioxide concentration – that maximize outputs, including overall biomass production and amino-acid composition. Visit foundationfar.org and cshl.edu for more information.

Agave gene improves poplar biomass

A gene in agave recently was used to develop poplar trees that are about doubled in size. The gene may be used to increase biomass yield in poplars for biofuels production and carbon sequestration.

By sequencing the messenger ribonucleic acid – RNA – of Agave americana, a research team led by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered the REVEILLE1 gene that controls dormancy and budding. Poplar engineered with the gene could potentially extend the tree’s growing season by two to three months in temperate regions.

Poplar containing the gene achieved a 166 percent increase in biomass when grown in a greenhouse. It yielded taller trees with larger leaves and thicker stems compared with standard poplars. Visit ornl.gov for more information.

A new bio-based paint has been created to replace petroleum-based resins with natural plants. Called Naturalle, the paint contains 28 percent renewable raw materials, stated PT Mowilex Indonesia, the product’s maker. The paint’s water-based acrylic binder is sourced from seeds, stalks and grasses.

Building materials, cleaning products, lacquers and other items release formaldehyde. The new paint absorbs formaldehyde and turns it into water vapor, eliminating the contaminant from indoor air, the company stated.

Mowilex is applying to certify the paint through the US Department of Agriculture’s BioPreferred program. The voluntary series of third-party tests confirms that products meet or exceed minimum biobased content requirements. Visit Mowilex.com for more information.

Startup companies selected

Deere and Company recently selected eight companies to participate in its 2023 Startup Collaborator program. The program helps John Deere enhance precision technology in its agriculture and construction equipment.

• Albedo is developing low-flying satellites to collect visible and thermal imagery at ultra-high resolution.

• ANELLO Photonics has developed a reduced-noise and reduced–drift optical gyroscope smart sensor for autonomous applications.

• GrAI Matter Labs has developed artificial intelligence that helps devices in turn help humans act and react in real time.

• Impossible Sensing is developing and applying space technology to help the agriculture become carbon neutral.

• IntelliCulture has developed farm equipment management software to help drive sustainable farming practices through actionable insights, efficiency improvements and risk mitigation.

• Precision AI has developed artificial intelligence-powered unmanned-aerial vehicles for plant-level herbicide applications at broad-acre scale.

• RodRadar has developed technology to provide real-time on-site automatic alerts to prevent damage to underground utility infrastructure during excavation.

• Vega supports sustainable production by providing traceability, risk analysis and monitoring of environmental, social and governance practices.

Visit JohnDeere.com for more information.

Team facilitates carbon calculation

Making it easier to calculate carbon credits for farmers is the aim of researchers at the University of Illinois-Agroecosystem Sustainability Center in Urbana, Illinois. The researchers are using supercomputing resources to run an agroecosystem model to track soil organic carbon in the Midwest.

Initial soil carbon data are important for downstream carbon budget calculation. But carbon credit measures the relative soil carbon difference between a new practice and a business-as-usual scenario. The uncertainty of the initial soil carbon data has limited effects on the final calculated soil carbon credit, according to the researchers. They’re led by Kaiyu Guan, an associate professor at the University of Illinois-Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.

The research recently was published in Geoderma. Visit sciencedirect.com and search for “soil organic carbon + Kaiyu Guan” for more information.

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Champaign Police said officers responded to a call about an unresponsive man outside at the 2000 block of W. Springfield Ave on Wednesday morning.

Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup said the homeless man discovered dead behind the Ruler Foods store was identified as 59-year-old Michael A. Arvola. He was pronounced dead at the scene around 10 am

‘It’s good to see when he smiles’: recovering victim’s mother opens up after shooting suspect’s arrest in Champaign

Preliminary investigation by the coroner’s office and Champaign Police Department did not indicate any foul play or trauma. Next of kin has been notified by the coroner’s office.

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 at the Champaign County Regional Autopsy Facility in Urbana, Illinois. The circumstances surrounding this death are under investigation by the Champaign County Coroner’s Office and the Champaign Police Department.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police at 217-351-4545 or Crimestoppers at 217-373-8477 (TIPS).

This is an ongoing investigation.

Big changes coming to Champaign’s homeless shelters

Champaign St. Thomas More walked the high-wire before edging Heyworth 55-46 during this Illinois boys high school basketball game.

In recent action on January 27, Heyworth faced off against Fisher . For results, click here. Champaign St. Thomas More took on LeRoy on January 28 at LeRoy High School. For more, click here.

You’re reading a news brief powered by ScoreStream, a world leader in fan-driven sports results and conversation. Help us collect and deliver more game results from your favorite teams and players by downloading the ScoreStream app. Nearly a million users nationwide share team scores and player performance stats with this convenient free app.

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Blind resumes are a good thing. It allows you to judge a team, a coach, or a program without all the externalities associated with the coach, the team, or the program itself.

I’ll go deeper next week with my next blog and explain why I picked the coaches, establish that ground zero, and grade Bielema amongst his peers and away from the vacuum of Illinois football.

So I suggest you not post spoilers in the comment section below for the reading experience of everybody else. I think the best case is to keep the facade of the blind resume until tomorrow, discuss it in the comments, and add to the conversation. Bielema should be easy to guess for those that follow the program closely, but some of the rest will surprise you.

Try not to look up the answers on sports-reference, Wikipedia, 247sports, or ESPN.

All stats below are for the first two years of coaching.

coach 1

bowls: 1 | Recruiting Class Rankings – 1st: 29 | 2nd: 22nd

Top 5 wins: 0 | Top 10 wins: 1 | Top 25 wins: 2 | Conference wins: 2

coach 2

bowls: 2 | Recruiting Class Rankings – 1st:3 | 2nd: 1st

Top 5 wins: 1 | Top 10 wins: 2 | Top 25 wins: 6 | Conference wins: 11th

coach 3

bowls: 0 | Recruiting Class Rankings – 1st: 29 | 2nd: 21st

Top 5 wins: 0 | Top 10 wins: 0 | Top 25 wins: 1 | Conference wins: 3

coach 4

bowls: 0 | Recruiting Class Rankings – 1st: 44 | 2nd: 31st

Top 5 wins: 0 | Top 10 wins: 0 | Top 25 wins: 2 | Conference wins: 7th

coach 5

bowls: 2 | Recruiting Class Rankings – 1st: 36 | 2nd: 27th

Top 5 wins: 0 | Top 10 wins: 1 | Top 25 wins: 2 | Conference wins: 10

coach 6

bowls: 1 | Recruiting Class Rankings – 1st: 63 | 2nd: 46

Top 5 wins: 0 | Top 10 wins: 1 | Top 25 wins: 2 | Conference wins: 9th

coach 7

bowls: 2 | Recruiting Class Rankings – 1st: 36 | 2nd: 32nd

Top 5 wins: 0 | Top 10 wins: 0 | Top 25 wins: 2 | Conference wins: 12

coach 8

bowls: 1 | Recruiting Class Rankings – 1st: 49 | 2nd: 64

Top 5 wins: 0 | Top 10 wins: 0 | Top 25 wins: 0 | Conference wins: 8th

Poll

Which coach represents Bret Bielema’s first 2 year’s in Champaign?

Some questions to discuss:

• Who are the rest of the coaches?
• Which coach surprises you the most?

Please let me know if you have any burning questions or comments, and I’ll answer them in Part 2.

An email to the UMass community reveals finalists in search for replacement for Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy

Jessica Picard / Daily Collegian (2017)

On Feb. 1, University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees Chairman Victor Woolridge released an email announcing the two finalists chosen in the search for an individual to succeed existing UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy.

The email named the two candidates as Javier Reyes, Interim Chancellor at the University Illinois Chicago, and Paul Tikalsky, Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology at Oklahoma State University. Woolridge forwarded the two finalists to UMass President Marty Meehan and the Board of Trustees for consideration.

Woolridge’s email, directed towards UMass students, faculty, staff and community stakeholders, noted the “comprehensive and inclusive” search that led to the two finalists being chosen.

“Throughout this process, I have been most impressed by our search committee members’ collaborative spirit and determination as well as the candid feedback we have received from the University’s many stakeholders,” the email stated.

The search committee, which consists of 21 members, held forums for stakeholders, faculty, staff and students in September to gain feedback regarding the next chancellor. Executive search firm Isaacson, Miller was also hired to aid in the selection process.

The search firm “communicated with 108 potential candidates and interviewed 26 of them,” the email added. “As a committee, we interviewed 12 candidates, leading us to today’s designation of finalists.”

The email also provided a resource for viewers to “meet the finalists,” with attachments to their biographies and professional and academic histories. According to the website, Reyes and Tikalsky will be visiting campus in the coming weeks to receive feedback from the UMass community and stakeholders.

Jack Underhill can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @JackUnderhill16.

On Monday, the Illini ended their search for a running backs coach. And it’s a name that Illini fans will forever associate with a movement.

As first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Kansas State wide receivers coach Thad Ward will be returning to Champaign for the 2023 season.

Sources: Kansas State wide receivers coach Thad Ward is finalizing a deal to become the running backs coach at Illinois. Ward is the former RB coach at Illinois from 2016-18. He’s been at Temple, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 30, 2023

The Mayor of Littyville is back at City Hall. But how will this administration be different?

So what is/was Littyville?

Photo by Ivan Apfel/Getty Images

Littyville was supposed to be a state of mind. It was a mood. It was a vibe. It was the feeling recruits, commits, and roster members alike would be subsumed by when they set foot on campus at the University of Illinois’ flagship campus.

It should have been a pervasive sense of positivity that filled the community with optimism and created critical mass for Illinois football.

It was based on a song by Meek Mill.

It was a part of the movement that convinced top-125 prospects Marquez Beason and Isaiah Williams to pledge to the Illini over offers from more prestigious programs.

And Ward was the pied piper of that movement.

Unfortunately, the energy wasn’t matched by the previous coaching regime. The recruiting gains made by Ward and Cory Patterson’s engaging enthusiasm was blunted by a laissez-faire attitude from the top of the program. That’s not the case anymore.

Littyville, in reality, is similar to FamILLy. It’s a slogan that hits players in the heart and creates a sense of togetherness that helps build classes.

Okay, it is/was a recruiting motto. So what?

Allow me to explain why mottos and slogans matter so much.

Illinois’ football program doesn’t have a sexy sell.

• Illinois doesn’t have a long track record of success like Ohio State.
• Bret Bielema doesn’t have the same living room swagger as Mel Tucker.
• Illinois doesn’t have the air raid offense that Wisconsin and Purdue now have.
• Illinois can’t currently boast two of the most fun players of the NFL as alumni like Penn State.
• The Illini aren’t coached by an ex-NFL quarterback and head coach like Michigan.

In other words, Illinois can’t talk kids onto campus with the same ferocity that many of its conference rivals can. Illinois plays a ball control offense. The Illini rely on a stingy, aggressive defense and controlling the clock with a powerful running game.

That isn’t the most electrifying foundation. So slogans like Littyville and FamILLy matter insofar as they provide a shared expression. They build community where said community needs to be developed. Without an extensive history of winning, Illinois has to sell high-end prospects on a vision.

Thad Ward is a proven shepherd of that vision.

After the Charlie Bullen hire, the Illini need a recruiter. Can Thad Ward recruit?

This takes us right back to the Littyville topic again. Thad was either a primary or secondary recruiter for Isaiah Williams, Shammond Cooper, DJ Barker, and Nick Fedanzo. Williams and Cooper were two of the biggest signees of the Lovie Smith regime. Barker set records at Illinois and Fedanzo is actually still on the roster with a chance to crack the rotation.

Ward’s connections to Chicago, St. Louis, and Miami will come in handy for a team that lost one of its best recruiters in Littyville co-founder Cory Patterson. It’s fitting that Ward returns to the Illini during the Bielema era after Patterson succeeded with a loaded running backs room for the first two seasons.

So is Littyville really back?

Only time will tell what happens with Ward’s re-emergence in Champaign. He’s a proven offensive coach with a sophisticated knowledge of this program, its needs, its challenges, and its potential. But make no mistake about it, he’s back under utterly different circumstances.

The program has demonstrated two consecutive years of competency. Bret Bielema has established a baseline of expected accomplishments. This isn’t a per coach hiring a per staff. This is a college program being run by a college CEO. So Ward’s recruiting prowess could resonate more strongly with an emerging winning program.

So, Ward inherits a pretty good room. Reggie Love and Josh McCray look to be the current starters. But I am particularly high on redshirt-freshman Jordan Anderson. Anderson has potential to be a special threat in the passing game, and at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, he’s a matchup nightmare. And Ward will have all of these high-end toys at his disposal. True freshman Kaden Feagin and redshirt freshman Aidan Laughery add a young thunder and lightning home run threat duo.

I know many Illini fans wanted Dre Brown in this chair. But Thad Ward isn’t some consolation prize. He’s one of the most important Illini sideline figures of the past decade, and his return could pay rapid, impactful dividends on the field and on the trail.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – If you have hospital bills stacking up, three credit reporting agencies are making a change that may improve your finances. Medical debt less than $500 will no longer appear on credit reports run by Experian, Equifax or TransUnion.

To Champaign County Health Care Consumers Executive Director Claudia Lennhoff, this is a great step forward – but she doesn’t think it goes far enough.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said while most individual medical collections tradelines are removed from credit reports, a majority of reported medical collections in terms of dollar amounts will still appear. Lennhoff hopes that eventually, medical debt won’t be reported at all. That’s because she says it’s often involuntary. Lennhoff works with clients who felt they didn’t have a choice but to get medical attention, but didn’t have the means to pay for it.

“It’s not like someone who’s going to purchase a television that maybe they don’t really need,” Lennhoff said. “Maybe they want a new television, they go and purchase it and they fall behind on their payments or don’t make their payments. That’s very, very different than healthcare.”

When those debts show up on credit reports, Lennhoff says that can wreck consumers’ ability to take the next step in their lives, like rent an apartment.

Lennhoff also said in this community, healthcare providers are less likely to report medical debt to credit bureaus, but it can happen. If you need help, Champaign County Health Care Consumers can connect you with financial assistance programs.

Days before they’re set to battle at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City this weekend, the Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini are already jousting with one another.

The Orange Krush, a longstanding group of Illinois supporters and fans, said its purchase of 200 tickets for Saturday’s matchup between Iowa and Illinois was canceled by Iowa’s athletic department on Wednesday. That decision will cost the group more than $6,000 it can’t recoup because it’s too late to cancel its charter buses and other travel arrangements. The group accused Iowa’s brass of being “fearful” of its presence on Saturday.

But Iowa officials have pushed back on that claim and accused the Orange Krush of being deceptive. Per a statement from the school sent to ESPN, the Orange Krush purchased its tickets at a discount rate after claiming the tickets were for a Boys & Girls Club chapter in Illinois.

The school said it will subsequently donate tickets for Saturday’s game to a local Boys & Girls Club chapter in Iowa.

“The Iowa Athletics Department became aware of a discounted group ticket order for the Iowa-Illinois men’s basketball game on behalf of an Illinois chapter of the Boys & Girls Club,” Iowa said in a statement. “In following up with that organization, it became clear this was not factual. When contacting the individual who made the original ticket order, they admitted to falsely ordering tickets under the non-profit organization. Iowa Athletics has refunded the original ticket order and donated Tickets to the Boys & Girls Club of Cedar Rapids. We look forward to welcoming these kids to a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena this Saturday.”

The Orange Krush, a nonprofit organization, also released a statement on Wednesday that said its tickets were “legally purchased.”

“It is highly unfortunate for our group that this trip has been canceled because we were looking forward to it since receiving the tickets in the mail in October,” the statement said. “It is highly unfortunate for the 150 students that collectively fundraised a total of $2,649.41 for local charitable organizations in order to be invited on this trip. Most of all, it is highly unfortunate that the University of Iowa and their athletic department refused to face the Consequences of the mistake they made in selling tickets to a billing address in Champaign, Illinois.”

Illinois has an 89-76 edge over Iowa in a series that began in 1908. Illinois and Iowa have split the past 10 matchups (5-5).

Iowa star Kris Murray (20.6 points per game) has helped the Hawkeyes finish 6-2 in their past eight games. And with Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr. (17.2 points) leading the way, Illinois is 7-1 in its past eight games.

DECATUR — Decatur Public Schools will hold a hiring fair 4:30 to 6 pm Wednesday, Feb. 15, at MacArthur High School.

The district will reimburse staff who further their educations, and representatives from Eastern Illinois University, Grand Canyon University, Illinois State University, Millikin University, Richland Community College, and University of Illinois at Springfield will all be in attendance to talk with current and prospective employees .

The district also recently launched TeacherReady, an accelerated program for current substitute teachers to get their teaching certification, paid in full by the school district.

Alltown and Aramark will also be available to talk to potential job candidates for positions at those companies.

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The district is looking for teachers, teaching assistants, maintenance, security, food service staff, bus drivers, and more.

These are alternatives to teacher licensing requirements across 16 states

These are alternatives to teacher licensing requirements across 16 states

The United States was already facing a critical shortage of teachers before COVID-19 brought the world to a screeching halt; the pandemic only exacerbated the problem.

To address this, many states are testing out alternative programs that loosen the requirements for obtaining a teaching license, including considering sufficient education or internship experience in lieu of sitting for and passing a qualification exam. Some criticize these loopholes for supposedly degrading the quality of public education. However, there are a variety of potential benefits that come with introducing nontraditional routes to becoming a teacher.

Alternative pathway programs could help address teacher shortages in critical specialized areas, including foreign languages ​​and special education. They could lead to teacher preparation that emphasizes learning to teach in practical settings rather than focusing so heavily on theory. They could also help diversify teaching staff by bringing in people of varied educational and social backgrounds, thus leading to an education system better equipped to address unique variations among students.

Such programs could pave the way for expanding routes to teaching license even further. For instance, Florida is the only state so far to consider military experience in lieu of and equivalent to a teaching degree.

TeacherCertification.com collected data on states that allow alternatives to standardized teacher licensing tests. These states are spread throughout the US, have diverse socioeconomic statuses, and have largely different political leanings—indicating that the shortage of teachers is due to universal stressors rather than legislative shortfalls or infrastructural differences.

Read on to learn about alternative paths some states are offering aspiring educators and what it could mean for the future of the teaching workforce.

Ground Picture // Shutterstock

No teacher license tests required

– State(s) that use this alternative: Iowa

Iowa has removed the requirement for teacher license tests entirely. On June 13, 2022, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds formalized HF2081, which removed the requirement for teachers to undergo an assessment upon completing a preparation program. The relatively recent development was meant to address the severe lack of educators in the state—as of Jan. 31, 2022, there were more than 1,000 teaching positions open.

To become an educator in Iowa, prospective teachers can use either of two alternative license programs, which are only available for teaching at the high school level. Rather than pass an exam, candidates can take a minimum amount of courses in teaching methods before spending a year in a classroom as an intern.

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

Teacher license tests for reading only

– State(s) that use this alternative: New Mexico, Montana, Maine, and Wisconsin

Citing the prohibitive costs—around $700 total in New Mexico, for example—of taking multiple license tests to become a teacher, these states only require testing to teach elementary-level reading.

Additionally, in Wisconsin, alternative ways of obtaining a teaching license aim to help fill gaps in subject areas lacking educators, such as the STEM fields. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree but can then prove their teaching competency via practical work experience.

In Montana and New Mexico, candidates can choose to complete a non-content-specific portfolio in lieu of taking a test. Additionally, prospective teachers in Montana can also skip the test if they had a 3.0 GPA or higher while completing teaching-related coursework.

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

Teacher license tests with some flexibility

– State(s) that use this alternative: Alabama, Delaware, Missouri, and Colorado

In these states, taking a license exam is a must—but not necessarily passing with flying colors. In Alabama, those who fail their test within a certain narrow margin are able to submit alternative evidence to qualify for a teaching license.

In Delaware, otherwise-qualified educators will still receive their licenses if they make no more than two standard errors below passing. Missouri has adopted the same rule, Albeit with a stricter allowance of only one standard error below passing. In Colorado, a still-developing program will allow aspiring educators to submit a portfolio of work or transcripts above a certain caliber in lieu of a passing exam score.

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

College degree in teaching subject

– State(s) that use this alternative: West Virginia, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Utah

These states waived the need for examination in elementary content for those who have already achieved a degree in their teaching area. Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation in July 2022 allowing anyone with five years of experience in a subject area to teach that subject, a move that was commanded for recognizing the high debt that many take on in order to become teachers. The move is also expected to address teaching shortages in niche areas, such as special education and foreign languages.

In Utah, a full degree is not even necessary: ​​Candidates who have completed coursework in their teaching subject without necessarily obtaining a finished degree may be eligible for exemptions. However, those who are hired must undergo three years of mentoring with a “master teacher” as designated by the school at which they are teaching in order to become licensed.

Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

Allowing districts to apply for waivers

– State(s) that use this alternative: New Jersey

New Jersey is grappling with a teacher shortage due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and a plethora of aging educators moving into retirement. To address this, the state just finalized a five-year pilot that will allow individual districts to apply to the state for approval to hire new teachers directly, waiving either the minimum content test score or GPA requirements.

Districts must submit alternative evidence that prospective teachers are qualified for their position, such as recommendations or evaluations from previous practical teaching experience. However, such hires will only be granted limited certificates of eligibility. Applications from districts are expected to be processed within just five days, indicating the urgency with which the state views the teaching shortage.

This story originally appeared on TeacherCertification.com and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

Anton Gvozdikov // Shutterstock

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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SPRINGFIELD – Central Illinois Builders of AGC has elected officers for the association for 2023. The election took place at its 68th Annual Meeting in Champaign on Jan. 20.

2023 Officers

President—Ryan Poettker

Poettker Construction

Breese, Illinois

Senior Vice President – Cody Gerdes

River City Construction

East Peoria, Illinois

Vice President—Michael Slagel

Vissering Construction

Streator, Illinois

Secretary/Treasurer—Butch Buesing

Schomburg & Schomburg Construction

Danville, Illinois

Associate Delegate—William Walter

A&R Mechanical Contractors

Urbana, Illinois

Past President—Michael Broeren

Broeren Russo Builders

Champaign, Illinois

Continuing service on board:

Directors

Larry Baford

Christy-Foltz – Decatur, Illinois

Ann Deedrich

Petry-Kuhne Company – Champaign, Illinois

Gregory J Goetz

RD Lawrence Construction Company—Springfield, Illinois

James Meek

Felmley-Dickerson Company – Bloomington, Illinois

Troy Ozenkoski

Grunloh Construction—Effingham, Illinois

Mitchell Schinzler

Christy-Foltz – Decatur, Illinois

Michael Sunley

O’Shea Builders – Springfield, Illinois

Chris Uhlarik

Petry-Kuhne Company – Champaign, Illinois

National directors

Ed Hynds, Jr.

English Brothers Company—Champaign, Illinois

John Meek

Felmley-Dickerson Company – Bloomington, Illinois

Associate & Affiliate Directors

Mike Landgrebe

Landgrebe Interior Construction—Springfield, Illinois

brian rich

GA Rich & Sons – Deer Creek, Illinois

Brian Vogt

Henson Robinson Company/Petersburg Plumbing & Excavating – Springfield, Illinois

Central Illinois Builders of AGC (CIB) is a trade association representing firms in the commercial building construction industry throughout 46 counties in downstate and central Illinois. Founded in 1955, CIB is a regional chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America. Additional information about CIB may be found at cibagc.org.