AIR has released a report on the teacher shortage going in depth into the issues of finding talent for America’s schools. It provides the depth needed for discussion of this very serious issue. Click here to view the AIR report
They highlight the fact that some say there is no teacher shortages while others claim it is crippling. Part of the reason is that there are teachers who have left the profession and are not coming back – so you could make the statement that there isn’t a teacher shortage but a shortage of qualified applicants while teachers chose other professions.
I would argue that people change careers all the time now and to think that a teacher is going to teach for 35 years is just not realistic.
They also point out that there is no one root cause or solution. The problem has been recurring in American schools since the colonial era apparently. It is a cycle that comes and goes based on current economic and social climates.
A sample of recent teacher supply and demand reports for your reading pleasure:
- Minnesota: (http://archive.leg.state.mn.us/docs/2015/mandated/150084.pdf)
- Alaska (http://www.alaskateacher.org/supply_and_demand.php)
- California (http://www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/agendas/2015-04/2015-04-4D.pdf)
- Illinois (http://www.isbe.net/research/htmls/supply_and_demand.htm)
- Ohio (http://oerc.osu.edu/research/teacher-supply-and-demand-study)
- Oklahoma (http://www.okhighered.org/studies-reports/teach-supply)
- Massachusetts (http://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/Massachusetts-
Study-of-Teacher-Supply-and-Demand-December-2015.pdf)
So basically – you need many solutions to ensure you have the talent for your schools. You can call it a teacher shortage or not – but if you are the HR hiring manager for a school district, you need help.
