As the latest wave of COVID-19 recedes in schools, it leaves in its wake a crisis that predates the pandemic: a growing teacher shortage that is likely to impact students and threaten our nation’s educational system over the next several years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 567,000 fewer educators in America’s public schools today than there were before the pandemic. In a January media conference, Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, cited stressful working conditions, low pay and lack of support as some of the factors contributing to an exodus from the profession.

But while the last two years have been particularly challenging for educators, the teacher shortage was already a problem long before 2020.

“There’s a major reduction in people going into the profession of education, not just in Toledo or Ohio, but across the country,” said Dr. Lori Reffert, senior director of talent acquisition for Toledo Public Schools. “It’s actually pretty scary when you think about it, because if we don’t start growing that profession, I don’t know where we’re going to be in three to five years.”

Educators are calling for new strategies to cultivate a new generation of teachers.

Impact felt by teachers and families

If you are a parent of school-aged kids, the odds are good that your child has already been affected in some way by staffing shortages this academic year, especially at the peak of the Omicron surge when unprecedented numbers of teachers and staff had to call off sick.

“We saw schools across the state that sometimes would have to shut down or transition to remote learning because there weren’t enough people to cover the needs of students in classrooms,” said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association.

Even in districts that have been able to remain open for in-person instruction, staffing shortages have an impact. For teachers, there is often a feeling of pressure not to take sick days or mental health days because there are not enough substitutes available. When someone does call off, colleagues may be asked to double up classes or skip planning periods to cover for them.

According to a national survey conducted by the NEA in January, three fourths of members said they have had to fill in for colleagues or take on extra duties due to staff shortages.

Substitutes can provide supervision and reinforce concepts, “but it’s hard to move forward in terms of new learning if you don’t have a permanent teacher in the classroom,” added DiMauro. “That has a direct impact on kids.”

Substitute teacher shortages

Schools have also struggled to find qualified substitute teachers over the past two years. Dr. Reffert pointed out that at TPS many substitutes are older retirees who had concerns about risking exposure to the virus, especially before vaccines were widely available.

She added that substitute teacher hiring has improved this year at TPS. She credits that in part to a recent policy change in Ohio that introduced a temporary substitute teaching license for people who do not have a bachelor’s degree. Dr. Reffert said it has helped the district immensely because it allows for student teachers and volunteers who have an existing relationship with the schools to fill in as subs.

There has been a push for Ohio to make these temporary measures to lower qualifications permanent; however, that strategy is not one advocated by the OEA. “We are concerned that the way to solve the educator shortage crisis in the state is not by reducing standards,” DiMauro cautioned. “That’s not good for students. We’ve got to be sure we are addressing those long-term needs in terms of compensation, related to working conditions and related to support systems.”

Why the teacher shortage?

Stressful conditions over the past two years have led to teacher burnout and an uptick in resignations and retirements, some coming even in the middle of the school year. At the other end of the spectrum, significantly fewer college students are majoring in education. Between 2005 and 2020, DiMauro said, the number of education majors enrolled in state teacher preparation programs decreased by about 50 percent.

“It goes back to, how do we get more people into education?” said Dr. Reffert.

As the fourth largest district in the state, Dr. Reffert said TPS employs around 2,200 teachers. The district currently has around 70 open teaching positions. While some vacancies are a result of adding classrooms because of enrollment growth, Dr. Reffert said that number is still higher than she would like to see.

Some of the most challenging positions to fill are high school math and science, special education and bilingual education.

In her 27 years with TPS, Dr. Reffert has worked as an administrator, principal and teacher for every grade level from pre-kindergarten through high school. While she loves her profession, she said she does not believe it is held in as high of regard as it once was.

Along with pandemic-related challenges, DiMauro said “political attacks” on education at schools board meetings and in the legislature have taken their toll. “At a time when we have a serious shortage, or at least potential shortage, what we need to be doing is making the teaching profession more welcoming, not a place where people are stepping in and feeling like they’re going to be constantly under attack.”

Seeking long-term solutions

DiMauro says OEA members from across the state are participating in Educator Voice Academies to look at comprehensive strategies related to teacher recruitment and retention. Fair compensation, good working conditions, support and quality mentoring for new teachers are essential for attracting and keeping people in the profession, according to DiMauro.

Efforts also need to be made to ensure that teaching ranks reflect the diversity of the population in terms of both race and gender, he added.

Dr. Reffert said TPS works closely with the education departments at Bowling Green State University, The University of Toledo and Lourdes University, providing students with opportunities from early field experiences through student teaching positions. Cultivating those relationships makes it easier to recruit those individuals as permanent teachers once they graduate.

In addition, TPS has partnered with other local school districts through a grant-based program at BGSU to develop future teachers called Project Impact. Dr. Reffert said it has been helpful to collaborate with representatives from other school districts through this initiative. “They might interview somebody that they might not have a spot for and reach out to us, and vice versa,” she said.

Dr. Reffert said the district also works to “grow our own” teachers by encouraging young people to consider the profession and offering continuing education opportunities for teacher’s aides, also known as paraprofessionals. TPS has seen success with a program for paraprofessionals and substitutes to train to become licensed intervention specialists for the district, which is now in its third cohort.

Despite the challenges, Dr. Reffert said teaching remains a solid profession where people have the unique opportunity to prepare the leaders of tomorrow. “People teach because they want to make a difference and because they love kids,” she said. “We encourage people to continue to look at the profession.”