With a new school year approaching, districts around the country are issuing urgent pleas for teachers to come work for them.
The words on many people鈥檚 lips are 鈥渢eacher shortage,鈥� and in some places, they have the ring of crisis to them.
鈥淭here are 467 current job openings, and we鈥檙e all trying to pull from the same applicant pool,鈥� said Beverly Mortimer, superintendent of the Concordia, Kan., school district. 鈥淥ut in the rural areas it becomes harder and harder to pull those applicants.鈥�
Regionally, stories of teacher shortages have been prevalent this summer, perhaps best exemplified by the Clark County, Nev., school district鈥檚 launch of a nationwide campaign to entice both new and retired teachers with hiring bonuses of up to $5,000.
For more background on the issues that lead to teacher shortages, read 鈥淚s There a Teacher Shortage? A Primer.鈥�
Districts in California, Arizona, and Indiana, among many other states, are also facing high-profile recruitment challenges.
Yet available data from the National Center for Education Statistics paint a complicated picture of the current supply of teachers: Yes, there are fewer teachers compared to previous years, but nationally, the The problem appears to be that available teachers aren鈥檛 always located where they鈥檙e needed most.
Regional Differences
The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education have in fact shown significant drops in teacher-education enrollment in many states, including in large states like Texas, New York, and California. Many experts chalk up such declines, as well as regional teacher shortages, to the Great Recession and ensuing cutbacks in public spending. Others have charged that poor teacher working conditions, such as low salaries and test-driven school cultures, are nudging existing and potential educators toward other professions, especially with the economy improving.
鈥淢orale is low because not only salaries are low, but there鈥檚 a feeling [among educators] that 鈥榳e have to hold all the teachers accountable because they don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e doing,鈥欌�� said Cecilia Johnson, an associate superintendent for the Arizona department of education. 鈥淭hey want to be valued more.鈥�
Drops in education-school enrollments don鈥檛 necessarily equal shortages, though. According to data from its state education department, for instance, New York has a major surplus of certified teachers.
In shortage areas, demographic trends and school-enrollment changes tend to combine with other factors to spur greater demand for teachers.
But while the national teacher supply is often described as a 鈥減ipeline,鈥� that belies the fact that it鈥檚 not always easy for teachers to move to a new state to teach.
鈥淎 lot of teachers want to teach where they go to school or where they live,鈥� said Karen Gallagher, the dean of the University of Southern California鈥檚 Rossier School of Education. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 go to the very best places to be a teacher in the country; they want to work in their community.鈥�
Another problem: Teaching licenses are not always easily portable, due to differing state requirements and procedures.
Better coordination of data would likely help districts become more strategic in their recruiting efforts, observers say. While the federal government collects many kinds of information on new teachers, data tracking teachers鈥� job statuses or transitions once they are in the profession remain elusive.
Taking Chances
Public relations campaigns have helped some districts land new hires. The San Francisco school district, for instance, has managed to fill many of its gaps, although it is still looking for bilingual and high school math teachers, according to a district spokesperson. Those fields, along with special education, are across the country.
The Clark County district, meanwhile, has managed to recruit well over half of the more than 2,000 additional teachers it wants to have in place by fall.
Some districts have experimented with changing their licensure rules. In Kansas, the state board of education passed a measure in July allowing unlicensed teachers to work in six 鈥渋nnovative coalition鈥� districts. That move followed earlier rules easing licensure requirements for teachers in STEM subject areas.
The changes infuriated many educators over what was perceived as a slight on the need for formal teacher training.
鈥淚n light of the political climate in Kansas, I think teachers feel like it鈥檚 鈥榦ne more thing they鈥檙e going to come after us with,鈥� 鈥� Ms. Mortimer, the Concordia, Kan., superintendent, said.
But Ms. Mortimer, whose district is in the innovation coalition, defended the new rules, saying school systems like hers face difficult odds in recruiting teachers with degrees in subjects like science and math.
鈥淲ith the cost of going to college today, to then be paid a very low salary and take a long time to pay off your college debt 鈥� kids are smart,鈥� she said.
And so districts have to provide channels for the candidates who are available.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 rule anybody out that might help make your kids successful,鈥� Ms. Mortimer said.
