Districts must be ‘picky’ to ensure they are hiring the best candidate for a position. The shortage isn’t a shortage of ‘warm bodies’, it’s a shortage of the kinds of candidates districts feel will succeed in the high demand, high stakes educational climate.
Actually all areas. For example, there was a later resignation for social studies. It was difficult to hire that position. I would say that elementary stills gets more applicants than any other position but applicants have been dwindling every year.
Ahhh. The days of Terra-Nova....I wistfully recall....then replaced by NJ-ASK which we now recall fondly compared to PARCC coupled with Changes in teacher evaluations. Can you clarify which policies you find are detrimental to teacher recruitment?
You would think social studies would be easier to fill. And that’s an affirmative on the dwindling number of applicants. In CA, we have had over a 10-consecutive-year decline in terms of teaching credential program enrollment. It’s very concerning because Baby Boomers are retiring in the 1000’s every day and pretty soon or later there are not going to be enough teachers to educate our youth. I wonder how that’s all going to play out when the crisis finally comes to a head.
Haha, good times! We don’t really have high-stakes testing like in public schools. Well, we do and we don’t. With clarification, our continued employment is coupled with how well our students perform on state tests. We are expected to at least beat the state average to be renewed — that is the minimum criteria. But teachers don’t really feel the pressure because we don’t teach to the test and have very rigorous programs already, so our curricula has embedded test-taking strategies and the like throughout. For example, in the first few months, all of my tests have the exact same formatting as the PSAT, so students are already acclimated to that test when they take it in October. That is just one example of the many ways I “prepare” my students for these types of tests.
The i HATE the ‘teach to the test’ statement. If teachers are teaching the standards deeply and for good understanding, they are getting ready for the test ALL YEAR. Teaching test taking skills is a school skill that will serve students through high school, college and beyond.
You’re kidding. ELA is glutted in the NY/NJ metro area. Are you seriously waiting three years for openings? Your job search approach is expensive and seems not to be serving you well.
Yeah, I think you're spending way too much on all these extra certs!! I recall you said reading specialist, elementary, Spanish, ..... and now 7-12 English? Why don't you get social studies while you're at it If you really think more certs is the answer, MATH, SPECIAL ED, or SCIENCE. Those are your 3 golden tickets. As I recall from reading some of your previous posts, you seem to be a bit too selective about the type of school in which you want to work. That's good if you have people beating down the doors to hire you, but not otherwise.
I think part of what contributes to there being a "shortage" of teachers is the high turn over rate. Not sure if that's how it is everywhere, but I know in our district our turn over rate is awful. My school hired 13 new teachers this year, and I'll bet that 6/7 of them don't survive to next year. What's funny is my friend works out in the western part of the state - somewhere near Orange I think. She said that they're struggling to find applicants. But comparing my district to hers is almost like comparing Massachusetts to Texas they're so different.
That JD poster did, in fact, find a teaching job, and, if memory serves, he also coaches baseball. He worked very hard to find that job, to be sure, but with perseverance and tenacity, he was successful.
I do not think it's the fact the parent do not want to participate its just that they have other issues to take care of. Issues such as surviving
I think any discussion like this should consider things from 10 years ago. The idea of this thread is always on my mind, as someone who lived through that previous landscape. Part of me wants to think that, because of those recession forces that forced older teachers to stick around longer (which meant those people put off their retirement for another 5-10 years, to where we may have a greater number of retirees in these recent years)... and that coupled with a drop in teacher candidates due to the recession, creates a "good" time to be a newer teacher now. The other part of me fears the worst. The other part of me remembers that time period, where teachers even up to a decade ago were getting pink slips. From what I know/read, this upcoming recession (this has been the longest period in US history between recessions) will be bigger than the last recession. That, to me, means bigger cuts to education, which might mean bigger cuts when it comes to employment. That means someone like me (i.e. 5 years) is in jeopardy.
I'm pretty sure that I stated they had no say, primarily because they are here today, gone tomorrow, expressly because they are busy with simply surviving. They are not permanently based in the districts where their children attend school, they lack residency for the entire year, which makes them ineligible to vote in school ballots. My grandparents were farmers, and it would never have occurred to them to be vocal in the district, feeling inadequately prepared to tell anyone else how to teach. Yes, they also struggled to make a living and raise five children. At least they owned a permanent home in one county, and both they and their children spoke English. The children of migrating crop workers are entitled to go to school, but when the parents move to a new job, so do the children. No matter how bad their lot in life seems, it is better than those who have no job at all.
Yup. Experience. Schools start the year with their budgeted and planned for number of teachers. Unexpected changes in student population and retirements might lead to a few openings, but the pickings are slimmer compared to what was available during the ‘prime hiring season’. Good luck to you- I do hope all your work and expense yields something that’s a good fit for you.
I don’t think it will become the norm. Bottom line, there are people who are certified but just shouldn’t be teachers/can’t handle the job. AND there are toxic schools- many of them seem to be charters or low performing public schools. Those schools need to change their mindset, principles (and principals!), teacher recruitment...or be closed/taken over. The posts you are seeing are those who failed or landed in a bad place (I had a mismatched position once, I knew by October I would only stay the year...but I sucked it up, did my job well and landed in my awesome district the next year...) Those who are succeeding, excited, loving this career aren’t going on REDDIT to wax poetically. They are too busy teaching and making a difference for students.
A nearby district currently has over 100 openings. That means they currently have subs or uncertified teachers in those positions. Even the good schools in that district can struggle to find certified teachers.
The final question I ask at every teacher interview is, "Why would we choose YOU? We've had (insert # of applicants) who've all given similar answers, so what makes you different from the rest?"
We're on Week 3 of the school year and still have 61 certified positions that are vacant. Some are filled by long term subs, some are filled by rotating daily subs. And that doesn't include all the noncertified positions that are open too (aides, cafeteria, bus drivers, clerical, etc). If anyone is desperate for a job and is willing to move..
61 open positions at a *single* school?! Is that normal? What’s going on there, besides the lack of employment?
Around here, if you get hired mid-year, you're only offered a one-year contract. You finish out the year and then have to re-apply and re-interview. You may or may not get hired back.
Oh, no, in the district. It's a low performing district with some tough kids, so a lot of teachers leave for the private schools or change careers.. so that's normal here
Oh, that’s sad that they cannot retain talented employees. The district should incentivize teachers to stay.
Our district tried this. Even with the financial incentives, our teachers still mostly prefer to work at schools that are better funded, have better parental and administrative support, and have higher-performing students. Even with the extra work that comes with working at those schools, they still prefer it.
