Is It a Crisis Yet?
More news of teacher and staff shortages
While the value proposition for teachers has historically not been great, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have accelerated some trends, including that a large number of teachers are leaving the field and that as teachers retire, there is a serious lack of people willing to step into teaching jobs.
A recent story out of Kentucky further illuminates the urgency of the problem of finding people to staff schools:
Henderson County Schools are hosting an information session Nov. 17 for teachers who might be interested in working as custodians after the school day ends.
Schools across Kentucky are struggling to fill positions ranging from substitute teachers to bus drivers to custodians.
The Courier and Press reports schools in Henderson County are making an effort to fill custodian vacancies by recruiting teachers. The pay is $11 an hour.
Asking teachers to do even more is becoming a recurring theme - from covering classes during the school day to being recruited for custodial jobs after school. In fact, teacher and blogger Jena Benton noted recently:
Now there is a shortage of workers in schools (NOT just teachers) in every position from janitors, to TAs, to school nurses, etc. Everyone at every level wanted out because they were tired of it all. My hubby (who is also a teacher) and myself helped to interview over the summer for teaching jobs that couldn’t get filled. We saw vacancies across the district and we feared what this school year would entail. We knew there’d be a staff shortage, that we would have to work with skeleton crews, but we had no idea what we were in for.
We are short staffed, even with substitute teachers. There are no subs. So they pull the specialists to cover classrooms and cancel gym or library or whatever. Kids get no break and teachers lose planning time. Again. Preschool and SPED TAs are also pulled to teach. What does that say about all the training and education I had to do to get this job? Basically this: anyone can cover a classroom because the system is desperate to keep it going.
The question remains - when will school systems and the states that fund them take action to address these challenges? When will states work to address the teacher pay gap - the 20-30% less teachers earn compared to similarly-educated professionals? What about living wages for support staff?
The answer to every problem facing schools seems to be to ask teachers to do more. It’s not - pay teachers more or make classes smaller or find ways to boost support - instead, it’s what else can we urge teachers to do. We often hear that teaching is a “calling” and that teachers “owe it” to the students. But, teachers don’t have to be subject to low pay and lack of respect and support. And, as it turns out, they're choosing to leave the profession. At the same time, many college students are deciding they don’t want to go into teaching.
Until the value proposition changes, these stories will continue. Unfortunately, in states like North Carolina and Tennessee, there is significant money in reserves that policymakers are choosing NOT to spend investing in schools.