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Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
As teacher burnout deepens, states scramble to fill school job vacancies
As another school year ends, superintendents across the United States are staring down an autumn staffing crisis, with 1 in 8 teaching positions either vacant or filled by an underqualified educator. States that are struggling with post-pandemic teacher shortages have spent millions to lure replacements and retain veterans with hiring bonuses and bumps in salaries. But hiring gaps remain, so some states also are trying another tactic: changing their standards. The changes in teacher training and licensing come amid widespread turmoil in public schools: Tax revenue is being siphoned toward private school vouchers in many states; some classrooms are being scrutinized for banned books, displays or teaching lessons that trip into diversity, equity and inclusion territory; and students who went through pandemic-era shutdowns are struggling both with sitting still and with learning the material. Some surveys show that fewer than a fifth of teachers are happy in their jobs. "Teaching is not seen as an attractive profession right now," said Drew Gitomer, an expert on teaching assessment at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. "COVID exacerbated things, and teachers are caught in the middle of political battles - over curriculum, book bans, even personal attacks," he said. "It's not a healthy work environment, and that drives people away." Last year, Illinois enactedalaw allowing teacher candidates to begin student teaching before passing content-area exams. It was an effort to reduce barriers for underrepresented groups, the measure's sponsor said. A bill under consideration this year would give more districts discretion over whether to factor pupils' test scores into teacher evaluations, a break from a 15-year-old mandate. In New Jersey, a new law formally removes the Praxis Core exam - traditionally used as an entry-level screening tool for aspiring teachers - from certification requirements. And in Nevada - one of the states hit hardest by teacher shortages - a bill would streamline licensure for incoming educators. The bill would allow teachers credentialed in other states to begin working in Nevada classrooms while awaiting formal approval. It also would remove extra steps for teachers switching grade levels and would waive application fees for recent substitute teachers. Linda Darling-Hammond, founding president and chief knowledge officer of the Learning Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, said teacher shortages hit hardest in schools serving low-income students and students of color, where instability often leads to larger class sizes, canceled courses or a revolving door of substitute teachers. "When you walk into a school facing shortages, you see instability," she said. "Students may be taught by people who don't know what to do, who leave quickly, and who often rely more on discipline than engagement." The root cause? Teacher attrition. "Nine out of 10 vacancies every year are because of attrition - and two-thirds of that is not retirement," Darling-Hammond said. "Support in the beginning matters. Teachers who come in and get a mentor stay longer. If you're just thrown in to sink or swim, the odds of leaving are much greater." States have long struggled to attract teachers, and credentialing changes aren't unusual. But some education advocates fear long-term repercussions. Melissa Tooley, director of K-12 educator quality at the left-leaning think tank New America, said most states now offer alternative and fast-track teacher certification pathways, many of which allow candidates to start teaching with little or no pedagogical training in how to teach. "We're churning through people who might have potential, but we're not setting them up for success," she said. "A lot of what states are doing is short term. It's about filling seats, not necessarily building a sustainable or high-quality workforce." More than 40 states require aspiring teachers to take the costly Praxis Subject test for the subject they want to teach, which some experts argue excludes strong candidates and duplicates other assessments. "You were excluding people who might be good teachers but didn't do well on that specific test," said Rutgers' Gitomer, who has researched the test's effects on recruitment. However, he added, dropping tests doesn't necessarily help. Several states - Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Washington and Wisconsin- have dropped a licensure requirement known as edTPA since 2022, but there's little evidence the move has helped ease teacher shortages, Gitomer said. (The acronym stands for Educative Teacher Performance Assessment and involves a portfolio that includes testing and videos of classroom performance.) "The state eliminated edTPA but didn't replace it with a specific alternative," he said. "Instead, it gave full discretion back to individual institutions to develop or adopt their own performance assessments," he said. "When we talked to institutions, it became pretty clear they didn't think removing edTPA would be a major driver in addressing the shortage - and they haven't seen evidence that it has been." How best to credential Tooley said state credentialing systems must navigate a delicate balance: ensuring there are enough teachers, maintaining instructional quality and increasing workforce diversity. "There's this triangle - three pieces that need to be in place - and I think there are real tensions when it comes to how states are designing their certification policies," she said. And Gitomer described a fragmented national landscape, where some states are tightening teacher entry standards while others are dramatically loosening them - even allowing non-degreed individuals to teach. "Some states are trying to raise standards; others are relaxing them to the point where you may not even need a college degree," he said. Indiana now requires all pre-K through grade 6 and special education teachers to complete 80 hours of training on the "science of reading," a method that includes phonics, and pass an exam by 2027. State Sen. Jean Leising, a Republican, has proposed cutting the requirement in half, calling it "an excessive burden with little actual benefit" in a news release. In Texas, a bill aims to reduce the use of uncertified teachers by the 2029-30 school year. The legislation would set a gradual cap on the percentage of uncertified teachers districts can employ in core curriculum classes - starting at 20% in 2026-27 and decreasing to 5% in 2029-30. According to the Texas Education Agency, 31% of new hires in 2024-25 lacked a state teaching certificate or permit. Yet some states stand out for how they're changing their requirements, Tooley said. She pointed to Washington, which has designed a recruitment strategy encouraging paraprofessionals, often known as teacher's aides, to become classroom teachers. Also known as paraeducators, they're a group with classroom experience, community ties and higher retention likelihood. There, school districts are required to offer foundational training - ranging from 14 to 28 hours - directly to paraeducators. In West Virginia, a new law now allows districts to count full-time behaviorinterventionists working in one or two classrooms toward meeting the required number of aides or paraprofessionals in K-3 classrooms. Tooley noted that Pennsylvania and Alabama are experimenting with "menu-style" licensing flexibility - allowing candidates to demonstrate qualification through various combinations of GPA and test scores, rather than rigid cutoffs. "These are people already in schools, often from the same cultural or linguistic backgrounds as students," Tooley said. "They're more likely to succeed and to stay." Low pay A 2024 national survey by the EdWeek Research Center found that public school teachers are increasingly reporting declines in mental health, job satisfaction and classroom stability. Seventy percent of teachers recommended student mental health interventions, and nearly half said schools lack enough counselors, psychologists and social workers. As mental well-being has worsened, the share of public school teachers who are very satisfied with their jobs has also declined by 2 percentage points from the previous year, to 18%, according to the survey, which was conducted by the EdWeek Research Center on behalf of Merrimack College. While teacher wellness supports remain limited, educators say improvements in pay and student discipline are the most needed changes. To entice passionate but burned out educators from leaving the workforce, several states have raised minimum teacher pay. Arkansas boosted salaries to $50,000 statewide, and South Carolina raised starting pay to $47,000. South Dakota enacted a $45,000 minimum with yearly increases, and penalties for districts that fail to comply by 2026. Connecticut advanced a bill setting a $63,450 salary floor, while Indiana and others are eyeing further increases. At the federal level, the proposed American Teacher Act seeks to establish a national $60,000 minimum salary for teachers at a qualifying school to boost recruitment and retention across the country. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat, remains in committee. ____ Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached atrsequeira@ ____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As Teacher Burnout Deepens, States Scramble to Fill Job Vacancies
This article was originally published in Stateline. As another school year ends, superintendents across the United States are staring down an autumn staffing crisis, with 1 in 8 teaching positions either vacant or filled by an underqualified educator. States that are struggling with post-pandemic teacher shortages have spent millions to lure replacements and retain veterans with hiring bonuses and bumps in salaries. But hiring gaps remain, so some states also are trying another tactic: changing their standards. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The changes in teacher training and licensing come amid widespread turmoil in public schools: Tax revenue is being siphoned toward private school vouchers in many states; some classrooms are being scrutinized for banned books, displays or teaching lessons that trip into diversity, equity and inclusion territory; and students who went through pandemic-era shutdowns are struggling both with sitting still and with learning the material. Some surveys show that fewer than a fifth of teachers are happy in their jobs. 'Teaching is not seen as an attractive profession right now,' said Drew Gitomer, an expert on teaching assessment at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. 'COVID exacerbated things, and teachers are caught in the middle of political battles — over curriculum, book bans, even personal attacks,' he said. 'It's not a healthy work environment, and that drives people away.' Last year, Illinois enacted a law allowing teacher candidates to begin student teaching before passing content-area exams. It was an effort to reduce barriers for underrepresented groups, the measure's sponsor said. A bill under consideration this year would give more districts discretion over whether to factor pupils' test scores into teacher evaluations, a break from a 15-year-old mandate. In New Jersey, a new law formally removes the Praxis Core exam — traditionally used as an entry-level screening tool for aspiring teachers — from certification requirements. And in Nevada — one of the states hit hardest by teacher shortages — a bill would streamline licensure for incoming educators. The bill would allow teachers credentialed in other states to begin working in Nevada classrooms while awaiting formal approval. It also would remove extra steps for teachers switching grade levels and would waive application fees for recent substitute teachers. Linda Darling-Hammond, founding president and chief knowledge officer of the Learning Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, said teacher shortages hit hardest in schools serving low-income students and students of color, where instability often leads to larger class sizes, canceled courses or a revolving door of substitute teachers. 'When you walk into a school facing shortages, you see instability,' she said. 'Students may be taught by people who don't know what to do, who leave quickly, and who often rely more on discipline than engagement.' The root cause? Teacher attrition. 'Nine out of 10 vacancies every year are because of attrition — and two-thirds of that is not retirement,' Darling-Hammond said. 'Support in the beginning matters. Teachers who come in and get a mentor stay longer. If you're just thrown in to sink or swim, the odds of leaving are much greater.' States have long struggled to attract teachers, and credentialing changes aren't unusual. But some education advocates fear long-term repercussions. Melissa Tooley, director of K-12 educator quality at the left-leaning think tank New America, said most states now offer alternative and fast-track teacher certification pathways, many of which allow candidates to start teaching with little or no pedagogical training in how to teach. 'We're churning through people who might have potential, but we're not setting them up for success,' she said. 'A lot of what states are doing is short term. It's about filling seats, not necessarily building a sustainable or high-quality workforce.' More than 40 states require aspiring teachers to take the costly Praxis Subject test for the subject they want to teach, which some experts argue excludes strong candidates and duplicates other assessments. 'You were excluding people who might be good teachers but didn't do well on that specific test,' said Rutgers' Gitomer, who has researched the test's effects on recruitment. However, he added, dropping tests doesn't necessarily help. Several states — Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Washington and Wisconsin — have dropped a licensure requirement known as edTPA since 2022, but there's little evidence the move has helped ease teacher shortages, Gitomer said. (The acronym stands for Educative Teacher Performance Assessment and involves a portfolio that includes testing and videos of classroom performance.) 'The state eliminated edTPA but didn't replace it with a specific alternative,' he said. 'Instead, it gave full discretion back to individual institutions to develop or adopt their own performance assessments,' he said. 'When we talked to institutions, it became pretty clear they didn't think removing edTPA would be a major driver in addressing the shortage — and they haven't seen evidence that it has been.' Tooley said state credentialing systems must navigate a delicate balance: ensuring there are enough teachers, maintaining instructional quality and increasing workforce diversity. 'There's this triangle — three pieces that need to be in place — and I think there are real tensions when it comes to how states are designing their certification policies,' she said. And Gitomer described a fragmented national landscape, where some states are tightening teacher entry standards while others are dramatically loosening them — even allowing non-degreed individuals to teach. 'Some states are trying to raise standards; others are relaxing them to the point where you may not even need a college degree,' he said. Indiana now requires all pre-K through grade 6 and special education teachers to complete 80 hours of training on the 'science of reading,' a method that includes phonics, and pass an exam by 2027. State Sen. Jean Leising, a Republican, has proposed cutting the requirement in half, calling it 'an excessive burden with little actual benefit' in a news release. In Texas, a bill aims to reduce the use of uncertified teachers by the 2029-30 school year. The legislation would set a gradual cap on the percentage of uncertified teachers districts can employ in core curriculum classes — starting at 20% in 2026-27 and decreasing to 5% in 2029-30. According to the Texas Education Agency, 31% of new hires in 2024-25 lacked a state teaching certificate or permit. Yet some states stand out for how they're changing their requirements, Tooley said. She pointed to Washington, which has designed a recruitment strategy encouraging paraprofessionals, often known as teacher's aides, to become classroom teachers. Also known as paraeducators, they're a group with classroom experience, community ties and higher retention likelihood. There, school districts are required to offer foundational training — ranging from 14 to 28 hours — directly to paraeducators. In West Virginia, a new law now allows districts to count full-time behavior interventionists working in one or two classrooms toward meeting the required number of aides or paraprofessionals in K-3 classrooms. Tooley noted that Pennsylvania and Alabama are experimenting with 'menu-style' licensing flexibility — allowing candidates to demonstrate qualification through various combinations of GPA and test scores, rather than rigid cutoffs. 'These are people already in schools, often from the same cultural or linguistic backgrounds as students,' Tooley said. 'They're more likely to succeed and to stay.' A 2024 national survey by the EdWeek Research Center found that public school teachers are increasingly reporting declines in mental health, job satisfaction and classroom stability. Seventy percent of teachers recommended student mental health interventions, and nearly half said schools lack enough counselors, psychologists and social workers. As mental well-being has worsened, the share of public school teachers who are very satisfied with their jobs has also declined by 2 percentage points from the previous year, to 18%, according to the survey, which was conducted by the EdWeek Research Center on behalf of Merrimack College. While teacher wellness supports remain limited, educators say improvements in pay and student discipline are the most needed changes. To entice passionate but burned out educators from leaving the workforce, several states have raised minimum teacher pay. Arkansas boosted salaries to $50,000 statewide, and South Carolina raised starting pay to $47,000 this year, giving it a boost to $48,500 next school year. South Dakota enacted a $45,000 minimum with yearly increases, and penalties for districts that fail to comply by 2026. Connecticut advanced a bill setting a $63,450 salary floor, while Indiana and others are eyeing further increases. At the federal level, the proposed American Teacher Act seeks to establish a national $60,000 minimum salary for teachers at a qualifying school to boost recruitment and retention across the country. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat, remains in committee. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
As teacher burnout deepens, states scramble to fill school job vacancies
A public school teacher talks with students as the school year winds down in New York City. States are struggling with post-pandemic teacher shortages and are trying several tactics to woo educators, including changing teacher training and licensing requirements. (Photo by) As another school year ends, superintendents across the United States are staring down an autumn staffing crisis, with 1 in 8 teaching positions either vacant or filled by an underqualified educator. States that are struggling with post-pandemic teacher shortages have spent millions to lure replacements and retain veterans with hiring bonuses and bumps in salaries. But hiring gaps remain, so some states also are trying another tactic: changing their standards. The changes in teacher training and licensing come amid widespread turmoil in public schools: Tax revenue is being siphoned toward private school vouchers in many states; some classrooms are being scrutinized for banned books, displays or teaching lessons that trip into diversity, equity and inclusion territory; and students who went through pandemic-era shutdowns are struggling both with sitting still and with learning the material. Some surveys show that fewer than a fifth of teachers are happy in their jobs. 'Teaching is not seen as an attractive profession right now,' said Drew Gitomer, an expert on teaching assessment at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. 'COVID exacerbated things, and teachers are caught in the middle of political battles — over curriculum, book bans, even personal attacks,' he said. 'It's not a healthy work environment, and that drives people away.' Teaching is not seen as an attractive profession right now. – Drew Gitomer, an expert on teaching assessment at Rutgers Graduate School of Education Last year, Illinois enacted a law allowing teacher candidates to begin student teaching before passing content-area exams. It was an effort to reduce barriers for underrepresented groups, the measure's sponsor said. A bill under consideration this year would give more districts discretion over whether to factor pupils' test scores into teacher evaluations, a break from a 15-year-old mandate. In New Jersey, a new law formally removes the Praxis Core exam — traditionally used as an entry-level screening tool for aspiring teachers — from certification requirements. And in Nevada — one of the states hit hardest by teacher shortages — a bill would streamline licensure for incoming educators. The bill would allow teachers credentialed in other states to begin working in Nevada classrooms while awaiting formal approval. It also would remove extra steps for teachers switching grade levels and would waive application fees for recent substitute teachers. Linda Darling-Hammond, founding president and chief knowledge officer of the Learning Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, said teacher shortages hit hardest in schools serving low-income students and students of color, where instability often leads to larger class sizes, canceled courses or a revolving door of substitute teachers. 'When you walk into a school facing shortages, you see instability,' she said. 'Students may be taught by people who don't know what to do, who leave quickly, and who often rely more on discipline than engagement.' The root cause? Teacher attrition. Rapidly expanding school voucher programs pinch state budgets 'Nine out of 10 vacancies every year are because of attrition — and two-thirds of that is not retirement,' Darling-Hammond said. 'Support in the beginning matters. Teachers who come in and get a mentor stay longer. If you're just thrown in to sink or swim, the odds of leaving are much greater.' States have long struggled to attract teachers, and credentialing changes aren't unusual. But some education advocates fear long-term repercussions. Melissa Tooley, director of K-12 educator quality at the left-leaning think tank New America, said most states now offer alternative and fast-track teacher certification pathways, many of which allow candidates to start teaching with little or no pedagogical training in how to teach. 'We're churning through people who might have potential, but we're not setting them up for success,' she said. 'A lot of what states are doing is short term. It's about filling seats, not necessarily building a sustainable or high-quality workforce.' More than 40 states require aspiring teachers to take the costly Praxis Subject test for the subject they want to teach, which some experts argue excludes strong candidates and duplicates other assessments. 'You were excluding people who might be good teachers but didn't do well on that specific test,' said Rutgers' Gitomer, who has researched the test's effects on recruitment. However, he added, dropping tests doesn't necessarily help. Several states — Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Washington and Wisconsin — have dropped a licensure requirement known as edTPA since 2022, but there's little evidence the move has helped ease teacher shortages, Gitomer said. (The acronym stands for Educative Teacher Performance Assessment and involves a portfolio that includes testing and videos of classroom performance.) Some states reexamine school discipline as Trump order paves go-ahead 'The state eliminated edTPA but didn't replace it with a specific alternative,' he said. 'Instead, it gave full discretion back to individual institutions to develop or adopt their own performance assessments,' he said. 'When we talked to institutions, it became pretty clear they didn't think removing edTPA would be a major driver in addressing the shortage — and they haven't seen evidence that it has been.' Tooley said state credentialing systems must navigate a delicate balance: ensuring there are enough teachers, maintaining instructional quality and increasing workforce diversity. 'There's this triangle — three pieces that need to be in place — and I think there are real tensions when it comes to how states are designing their certification policies,' she said. And Gitomer described a fragmented national landscape, where some states are tightening teacher entry standards while others are dramatically loosening them — even allowing non-degreed individuals to teach. 'Some states are trying to raise standards; others are relaxing them to the point where you may not even need a college degree,' he said. Indiana now requires all pre-K through grade 6 and special education teachers to complete 80 hours of training on the 'science of reading,' a method that includes phonics, and pass an exam by 2027. State Sen. Jean Leising, a Republican, has proposed cutting the requirement in half, calling it 'an excessive burden with little actual benefit' in a news release. In Texas, a bill aims to reduce the use of uncertified teachers by the 2029-30 school year. The legislation would set a gradual cap on the percentage of uncertified teachers districts can employ in core curriculum classes — starting at 20% in 2026-27 and decreasing to 5% in 2029-30. According to the Texas Education Agency, 31% of new hires in 2024-25 lacked a state teaching certificate or permit. Yet some states stand out for how they're changing their requirements, Tooley said. She pointed to Washington, which has designed a recruitment strategy encouraging paraprofessionals, often known as teacher's aides, to become classroom teachers. Also known as paraeducators, they're a group with classroom experience, community ties and higher retention likelihood. There, school districts are required to offer foundational training — ranging from 14 to 28 hours — directly to paraeducators. Plagued by teacher shortages, some states turn to fast-track credentialing In West Virginia, a new law now allows districts to count full-time behavior interventionists working in one or two classrooms toward meeting the required number of aides or paraprofessionals in K-3 classrooms. Tooley noted that Pennsylvania and Alabama are experimenting with 'menu-style' licensing flexibility — allowing candidates to demonstrate qualification through various combinations of GPA and test scores, rather than rigid cutoffs. 'These are people already in schools, often from the same cultural or linguistic backgrounds as students,' Tooley said. 'They're more likely to succeed and to stay.' A 2024 national survey by the EdWeek Research Center found that public school teachers are increasingly reporting declines in mental health, job satisfaction and classroom stability. Seventy percent of teachers recommended student mental health interventions, and nearly half said schools lack enough counselors, psychologists and social workers. As mental well-being has worsened, the share of public school teachers who are very satisfied with their jobs has also declined by 2 percentage points from the previous year, to 18%, according to the survey, which was conducted by the EdWeek Research Center on behalf of Merrimack College. While teacher wellness supports remain limited, educators say improvements in pay and student discipline are the most needed changes. To entice passionate but burned out educators from leaving the workforce, several states have raised minimum teacher pay. Arkansas boosted salaries to $50,000 statewide, and South Carolina raised starting pay to $47,000. South Dakota enacted a $45,000 minimum with yearly increases, and penalties for districts that fail to comply by 2026. Connecticut advanced a bill setting a $63,450 salary floor, while Indiana and others are eyeing further increases. At the federal level, the proposed American Teacher Act seeks to establish a national $60,000 minimum salary for teachers at a qualifying school to boost recruitment and retention across the country. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat, remains in committee. Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Board of Education approves legislative agenda to boost teacher pay, address school needs
Image: Adobe Stock The North Carolina State Board of Education on Thursday voted to approve a 2025 legislative agenda that calls for increased teacher salaries, repairs for aging school facilities, and expanded student support services across the state. The proposal, presented to the board on Wednesday by Department of Public Instruction staff, is also seeking $100 million to help schools in western North Carolina recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene. 'We're already beginning to hear from districts that the $50 million appropriated last fall is not going to be sufficient to meet the repair needs,' Geoff Coltrane, Senior Director of Government Affairs at DPI, said. Coltrane said this list of priorities is based on the board's brainstorming session last month and priorities identified by DPI staff and leadership. A full plan will be developed over the next six months to guide legislative efforts, he added. The priorities also include raising teacher salaries to the highest in the Southeast, restoring master's pay for all educators (not just classroom teachers), reforming the principal pay plan, and raising principal pay. North Carolina ranked 5th in Southeast for average teacher pay in the 2022-23 school year, behind Georgia by $8,000, according to data from National Education Association. The state also ranked 10th in starting salary, just above Kentucky and Arkansas in the Southeast. The request also includes $65 million for school health personnel, a 20% increase that would allow districts to hire 660 additional nurses, social workers, psychologists and counselors. The board is also seeking nearly $230 million to implement a weighted student funding formula for exceptional children, which would tier funding based on students' needs. Currently, the state funds exceptional children at a flat dollar amount, regardless of whether their needs require services for one day per week or 24/7 care. Other requests include funding to improve the student transportation information management system, support for three new cooperative innovative high schools, and $377 million to provide free school breakfast and lunch for all students. On the policy front, the proposal seeks changes like allowing more school calendar flexibility, eliminating the Praxis Core exam requirement for teacher prep programs, and DPI flexibility for placement of early literacy specialists. All members of the board except North Carolina Treasurer Brad Briner voted for the proposal. The agenda figures to face an uphill battle in the Republican controlled General Assembly, which has regularly rejected past requests for sizable funding boosts in recent years.
