Schools Running Out of Educators and It Will Get Worse!

An article in the New York Times, (1/19/2021) “Pandemic Teacher Shortages Imperil In-Person Schooling” by Natasha Singer, indicate that the Coronavirus has forced thousands of teachers not to seek reemployment as schools reopen. The article reaffirms the premise of my latest, best-selling book, “Who Will Teach The Children? Recruiting, Retaining and Refreshing Highly Effective Educators”. Teacher shortages have existed for many years, but the virus has exacerbated the problem. In addition, states and local areas have reduced educational funding. One study taken before the pandemic, reported that schools nationwide needed more than 100,000 additional full-time instructors particularly in science, math, foreign language and special education.

Schools are trying a variety of ways of filling their classrooms with “warm bodies”. Some have exhausted their regular supply of substitute instructors and have used principals, librarians and other staff members to teach classes, monitor lunch, study halls and recess. Using a rotating list of substitutes means that children will have a new teacher in front of them every day.
Some school districts are advertising on local billboards. The governor of Nevada has issued an emergency pandemic regulation allowing large school districts to hire those with only a high school diploma to work as substitute teachers.
In the two weeks before the December holiday break, 6.3 million survey respondents said children in their households have not had any live contact with their teacher in the previous week.
Compounding the problem, most teachers have not had any or limited training on delivering virtual instruction.
In Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia, there has been a decrease of more than 1,000 substitutes -a drop of 30 percent. The Gwinnett School Board raised the pay rate by $5 a day. When that failed to recruit enough substitutes, they lowered the requirement from needing 60 college credits to merely having a high school diploma. Substitutes teachers have taken on the duties of a regular teacher but frequently without benefits such as health insurance, paid sick leave or pension.
K-12 schools cannot count on Schools of Education to produce more teachers because enrollment in Schools of Education is down over 36 percent. The Census Bureau has indicated that the decreased availability of teachers has disproportionately affected low-income, minority students. Lowering the credentialing criteria could diminish instructional quality.

Education provides the backbone of a nation’s economy. It is important to remember that schools create all jobs. Without a well-educated and well-trained workforce, a nation cannot thrive in the 21^st century.