Who’s Going To Teach Our Kids?

For as long as I can remember there has been talk of a teacher shortage. This sparseness is very evident in schools across the country. The reasons for the scarcity of educators vary. What do these vacancies mean for the future of our children?

According to a survey released in December 2023 by the National Center for Education Services, between the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years, 7.9% of teachers left the profession. Among those that left, 16% retired, 13% left to pursue a new field, and 9% left because they wanted a higher salary. While these numbers don’t sound shockingly high, the impact is definitely felt on campuses everywhere.

The National Center for Education Statistics projects that there will be a 5% decrease in teachers between 2019-2030. The number of new hires is projected to be 21% lower in 2030 than in 2019. What are these numbers saying about the future of education?

I have come across a few reasons teachers have shared for leaving the profession; lack of autonomy, lackluster professional development, wanting more planning time, lack of support, student behavior, testing, and overwhelming stress. What can school districts do to address teacher concerns? What can we learn from what has been shared?

I believe that some of the problems could be solved by thinking outside the box. One great thing that came from schools being closed during the height of the pandemic was school districts finding new ways to educate students. District leadership teams could benefit from examining their current practices and trying to adjust to new realities. We will not get new outcomes from continuing business as usual.

Teachers that will be entering the profession need encouragement. They are too often met with people that share more negative than positive feelings about the current state of teaching. We need to provide a true sense of what the work entails and provide exposure to the good things about being a teacher.

What can school leaders do to reverse the current trend of teachers leaving the profession? How do we get to the root of the issue without placing blame? Good teachers are a treasure and we need to do all that we can to show them that their work is valued.