As the new school year approaches, the post-COVID teacher shortage is showing signs of improvement, but significant gaps still remain in the field. According to experts, while some recovery has been seen in the profession, schools, especially those in low-income areas, are struggling to fill teaching positions.
Hilary Wething, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, stated, “We would definitely still think that there’s a teacher shortage. It is improved in some ways, and in other ways, it’s stayed the same.” Despite state and local education employment reaching pre-COVID levels, the industry has not fully recovered from the impact of the pandemic and previous austerity measures.
In June 2020, teaching jobs were down by over 15 percent, but by this June, the numbers had increased by 0.7 percent annually, reaching pre-pandemic levels. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 290,000 job openings in state and local education jobs but only 152,000 hires, indicating a continued struggle to fill positions.
The decline in enrollments and completions in teacher preparation programs over the last decade has exacerbated the teacher shortage issue. Tuan Nguyen, an associate professor at Kansas State University, noted, “We have less teachers who are coming into the profession and we have now more teachers who are leaving the profession over the last several years.”
With emergency pandemic funding set to end in September, some districts may face layoffs as the relief money disappears. This could worsen the teacher shortage in states like Kansas and Missouri, where the issue is already prevalent.
While data from the National Center of Education Statistics shows a slight improvement in schools feeling understaffed, concerns remain high in high-poverty areas. Dan Goldhaber, vice president of American Institutes for Research, emphasized the ongoing challenges in hiring teachers for special education and STEM classrooms, as well as in high-poverty schools.
In conclusion, the post-COVID teacher shortage is slowly improving, but significant gaps persist in the education field. The issue of teacher shortages is complex and varies by state and school type, with ongoing challenges in hiring teachers for specific subjects and in high-poverty areas. As the new school year begins, addressing these issues will be crucial to ensure quality education for all students.