These challenges have been made worse by the increased professional and personal demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last two school years, teachers have faced increased workloads, rapidly and regularly changing work conditions, and a divisive political environment where their health and well-being have been sidelined or ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This blog presents a summary of research about some trends around teacher recruitment and retention nationwide and in the state of Michigan. Some initial recommendations are provided to encourage thinking about how to recruit new teachers and retain existing ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This blog is part of a larger initiative by the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute<\/em> (MVLRI) exploring topics of educator social and emotional well-being, support, and retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There have been worries about teacher shortages for many years. Although the 2019 National School Boards Association report<\/a> indicated that while the number of teachers nationwide had increased steadily since 1989, retention has long been an issue. Approximately 10% of teachers leave within their first year, and 44% leave within five years. This high level of attrition leads to an increasing shortage of experienced<\/em> teachers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The high cost to replace teachers places a strain on already limited resources. For rural districts, the average cost to find a new teacher is about $10,000<\/a>; the cost is roughly double in urban districts. In the end, a shortage of teachers can threaten the stability of providing a quality education, as noted by an educator in the 2020 Michigan Department of Education Annual Report<\/a>: \u201cThe teacher shortage is the biggest threat to public education. Too many students are beginning and ending a school year with long-term substitutes in their classrooms because no one is applying for the opening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a Frontline Research & Learning Institute analysis of teacher preparation programs<\/a>, Michigan saw nearly a 52% drop in teachers (2,671) graduating from teacher preparation programs between 2010 and 2018. During this timeframe, there was almost a 68% decrease in enrollments in teacher prep programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To put these numbers into perspective, the Michigan K-12 student population decreased by about 5% during the same time (Frontline Research & Learning Institute<\/a>). This growing gap between the number of teachers and the number of students is concerning, especially given that a 2016 study of teacher shortages by the Learning Policy Institute<\/a> shows this gap continues to grow significantly nationwide in the future (see Figure 1 graph provided by the Economic Policy Institute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A Learning Policy Institute study reveals severe long-term teacher shortages nationwide (graph courtesy of the Economic Policy Institute<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nLong-term trends and impacts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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