A longtime south suburban educator elected recently to head a state union that represents elementary and high school teachers and support staff said his goals include addressing a statewide teacher shortage and ensuring students are getting an equitable and well-rounded education.
Al Llorens is a resident of Chicago’s Beverly community who taught math for 33 years at Thornridge High School in Dolton and also coached girls track and cross-country.
He was elected president earlier this month of the Illinois Education Association, which represents 135,000 prekindergarten through 12th grade instructors outside Chicago.
Llorens is succeeding Kathi Griffin as union president, who is retiring this summer after completing her second term as president.
He said he would also like to see schools foster better relationships with people in their communities, regardless of whether they have children attending school.
“We need to have stronger relationships,” Llorens said. “They are parents, taxpayers, caregivers. We are all responsible for our children’s education.”
Llorens was vice president of the IEA for six year, and before that secretary-treasurer. He said he has not retired from Thornton Township High School District 205, which Thornridge is part of, but took a leave of absence in 2011 due to his union work.
His term as president would be for three years, and Llorens would not be able to serve more than two terms.
“I am very excited about this opportunity,” he said.
After his graduation in 1974 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Llorens initially worked as a teacher’s aide in Champaign, then at an alternative school in Kankakee before coming to Thornridge in 1978.
Llorens, 71, and his wife, Wanda, a retired educator with Chicago Public Schools, have three adult children and eight grandchildren.
Llorens said working to attract and retain teachers are among his goals, noting shortages in schools include positions such as school nurses and social workers.
“We need to make sure we are attracting and retaining new teachers at a higher rate,” he said.
Llorens said he doesn’t have any numbers to quantify the teacher shortage, but in talking with IEA locals around the state “it is a pressing need.”
“In some buildings there are up to 40 to 50 positions that are not filled, and that means teachers are doing double duty,” he said.
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Llorens said that equity in education has been a priority for the union and will continue to be.
“When it comes to fairness and inclusion we need to make sure fairness and inclusion are the order of the day,” he said. “Every child deserves access to a high-quality education, no matter where they live, what language they speak, the color of their skin.”
“I want to do everything we are currently doing and extend it,” he said.
Llorens said school district budget cuts that curtailed or eliminated music, art and shop classes are hurting students, particularly in deciding their career paths.
“We don’t need shop, we don’t need all these ancillary classes,” Llorens said of approaches by some districts to curriculum. “Kids need multiple pathways to success. All of that stuff is very, very important.”
He said not all high school graduates are heading off to college, and learning skills in the trades at the high school level is important. Llorens said that IEA is working with unions on creating opportunities for students who want to learn the trades.
“Who is going to become the plumber, who is going to be the electrician?” Llorens said.