Teacher Shortage "May Be Substantially Worse"
Districts around the country struggle to fill teaching vacancies
Yes, another story about a teacher shortage.
This one is out of New Jersey:
“The word is resoundingly that things are no better and may be substantially worse than last year,” she said, citing continuing vacancies in difficult-to-fill subjects like math, science, and world languages, as well as a need for elementary teachers, gym teachers, and those teaching English and social studies, who were traditionally easier to find.
The story includes this note on the national struggle to find and keep teachers in classrooms:
New Jersey is not alone in struggling to staff up, and it may be better off than some states. In mid-August, Florida had 5,000 teacher vacancies, with Miami-Dade County opening with 280 unfilled teacher positions. Research from 2022 showed 36,000 teacher vacancies in the U.S. and more than 163,000 jobs filled by underqualified teachers.
This comes after several years of reporting that a crisis has been brewing when it comes to staffing schools:
And with stories like this, it’s not difficult to imagine at least ONE of the reasons why:
Yes, MONEY does matter!