There is a new report out by the Economic Policy Institute that clearly demonstrates that U. S. schools are struggling to hire teachers. The data is stark –
“The share of schools that were trying to fill a vacancy but couldn’t tripled from the 2011–2012 to 2015–2016 school years (increasing from 3.1 to 9.4 percent), and in the same period the share of schools that found it very difficult to fill a vacancy nearly doubled (from 19.7 to 36.2 percent).”
We see it every day with our school district partners across the United States – there are just too many teaching vacancies. And why are there so many teacher openings – well 13.8% leave the classroom every year and we don’t have the supply to replace those teachers.
“These difficulties are also shaped by a dwindling pool of applicants to fill vacancies. From the 2008–2009 to 2015–2016 school years, there was a 15.4 percent drop in the number of education degrees awarded and a 27.4 percent drop in the number of people who completed a teacher preparation program.”
We need teachers. And we need great teachers and we need them for this fall. I hope that you read this and see it for what it is – an opportunity for a great person like you to inspire the next generation of learners.
We need you now!
