Discussion Guide - Konni Atencio

I spend too much of my time wondering how opposite things can be true at the same time. The one bothering me lately is that right now, all over America, schools are preparing to close (a heartbreaking ordeal for staff, students, and parents), experienced teachers are being offered incentives to retire early, and teaching positions are being cut drastically. At the very same time, we are concerned about a very real teacher shortage.

My logical brain argues that cutting means getting rid of excess, which means we don’t have a shortage at all. Except that I know fewer and fewer high school graduates want to become teachers. So, I did some research. This is not comprehensive because I don’t have months to devote to reading all of the conflicting information out there. Here are some statistics I think people should pay attention to.

The contradiction in hard numbers:

About 1 in 8 teaching positions nationally is either unfilled or filled by someone not fully certified — roughly 411,000 positions, a number that has increased every year. Learning Policy Institute
Less than one fifth of teachers leaving the profession are retiring — the rest are leaving for other careers, citing low pay and dissatisfaction. Learning Policy Institute
Interest in teaching among high school and college students is at the lowest level in decades. Harvard ended its undergraduate teacher education program due to dwindling interest. College Transitions
Only 52% of teachers say they would advise a young person starting out today to become a teacher. College Transitions

Meanwhile, the layoffs are real and massive:

Plans are underway nationally for hundreds of school closures and the layoffs of thousands of staff, as COVID relief funds expire and enrollment declines. World Socialist Web Site
San Diego Unified had 965 employees including 478 teachers apply for early retirement incentives. San Francisco Unified cut 535 positions. Santa Ana Unified, after 160 teachers took the early retirement deal, is still laying off at least 100 more. EdSource
One critic of this practice wrote: “In my opinion, all incentive funding for teacher training, recruitment and retention should be barred the moment mass layoffs start. Those incentives are a lie and a distortion.” EdSource

Districts are pushing out their most experienced, highest-paid teachers to replace them with cheaper, less experienced ones — or not replacing them at all. Oakland Unified, for example, is saving money by replacing senior employees at $82,000 average salaries with lower-level employees or simply eliminating positions entirely. The Oaklandside The shortage isn’t a shortage of warm bodies. It’s a shortage of qualified, experienced educators willing to stay.

Source Articles: