Kyra Finner
Staff Writer
The teacher shortage in America has been persistently growing in the last couple of decades. According to studies that were done by the Economic Policy Institute, the teacher shortage in America was around 110,000 vacancies in 2018 and it could be up to 200,000 vacancies by 2025.
Idaho, along with the rest of the country, is feeling the effects of this shortage.
Amy Dressel, ISU College of Education Outreach and Marketing Coordinator, created an email chain with Emma Wood, Assistant Dean of Educator Preparation, Mark Neill, Interim Dean of the College of Education and Esther Ntuli, Department Chair of Teaching and an Educational Studies Associate Professor and compiled their quotes into the same chain.
According to the chain, the cause for the shortage of teachers could be because the cost of a teaching degree and certification is very high while the returns are low.
A recent report from the Idaho State Board of Education indicates that Idaho loses 10% of its teacher population every year, which is 2% above the national average. Not only that, but 15% of first-year teachers don’t return for a second year and a third of the teachers who get certified to teach in Idaho seek out teaching jobs in other states in search of better benefits.
The Idaho State Board of Education has been doing research on the shortage in the state, and according to their research, the demand for teachers has consistently been going up 1.5% annually.
In a study from 2017 at the University of California, only 4.6% of college freshmen said they were going to pursue education which is down from 10% in the 1970s.
Although there are a lot of factors that contribute to the teacher shortage, there are many options that could help better the situation.
Some suggestions in the email chain for the solution to the shortage include providing service scholarships and loan forgiveness, developing teacher pathways to teacher residencies and increasing teacher salaries.
“Teachers are like other working adults as they need to feel valued and have autonomy in the workplace. Legislation often undermines both the value of educators and autonomy to act with professional expertise to meet the needs of the children in the classroom,” the email chain said.
In Idaho, teachers currently start their first year’s salary at $38,500. In 2018 though, Governer Brad Little passed a bill to raise the teacher’s minimum salary to $40,000 a year, which is a great step towards the right direction in the state.
“The College of Education at ISU recognizes the teacher shortage and has created alternative pathways for certification to help address the shortage. We support teachers who are “emergency hired” without certification to qualify for their Idaho Standard Instructional certificate,” the email chain said. “In 2017 we enrolled our first cohort of Masters in Teaching candidates. We have enrolled over 20 students a year since then.”
The email chain said the College of Education is also the state affiliate for Educators Rising, a national membership network of aspiring teachers and mentors. The Educators Rising Idaho State Coordinator is located at ISU.
This program helps ‘grow your own’ teachers where we have high school students feel supported with networks and resources to have a successful career in teaching after they graduate with their degree and certification.
