Teachers are in short supply
Image: iStock
Get out those apples, because maybe one per day will make the teachers stay. School districts across America are currently scrambling to deal with a nationwide shortage of educators for all levels that represents a “five-alarm crisis,” according to the president of the National Education Association.
While it’s hard to know exactly how short we are, since no national database precisely tracks the issue, here’s what we do know: there are 386,000 open teaching roles nationwide, per the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. A decade ago, that number was 108,000.
🏫 Driving the trend… Experts point to a wide range of factors, including pandemic-induced exhaustion, constantly changing remote learning and other Covid protocols, low pay, worries about gun violence, staffing shortfalls, and contentious political battles over what they can or can’t discuss in the classroom. ~300,000 public-school teachers and other staff left the field between February 2020 and May 2022, per BLS data, representing a nearly 3% drop in the overall workforce.
Many schools across the country have turned to stopgap solutions to combat the shortage:
- In Texas, several districts switched to four-day weeks this summer and fall due to a lack of educators.
- Florida has asked qualified veterans to step in and teach classrooms.
- Arizona’s governor signed a bill allowing college students to simultaneously teach and pursue their degree.
👀 Looking ahead… A recent poll by the National Education Association found 55% of educators say the pandemic has made them more likely to leave or retire from education sooner than planned – up from 37% last August.
📊 Flash poll: The DONUT is being used across more than 15,000 classrooms on a consistent basis, so we wanted to take a different approach with today’s question. Instead of presenting options multiple choice-style, we’re switching to short answer:
How would YOU deal with the teacher shortage?
To respond, just reply to this email or click here. Please include your first name, last initial, and city + state with your submission.
See a 360° view of what the media is saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that state and national policymakers (largely Republicans) must recognize that the devaluing of the teaching profession is driving good educators out of the field and deterring people from becoming teachers.
- Others point out that teaching vacancies are more likely to affect schools that serve low-income and minority communities, which tend to struggle to attract and retain talented educators.
- “We teach North Carolina’s teachers. This state is in crisis.” –Robert W. Smith and Kylee Maarschalk, Charlotte Observer
- “As schools open, GOP may see the cost of neglecting them” –Ned Barnett, Raleigh News & Observer
- “Crisis in the classroom” –The Virginian-Pilot Editorial Board
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that the solution to America’s teaching shortage crisis is increased funding for teacher salaries, combined with stopping political witch hunts carried out by some Republicans that make teachers on the whole feel insulted and devalued.
- Others contend that local school districts should take advantage of programs that provide visas for teachers from other countries like the Philippines to enter the US and teach for several years at a time.
- “Solving the teacher retention crisis: Give teachers the respect they deserve” –Zeph Capo, Fox News
- “CCSD not serious about addressing teacher shortage” –Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board
- “Yes, Teacher-Prep Programs Are That Woke” –Daniel Buck, National Review
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