Nationwide Update: School Teachers Needed More than Ever

Despite recruiting and widespread public-service campaigns, the elementary and secondary-school teacher shortage in America continues at near-crisis levels. Each state in the nation has its own shortfall of qualified teachers for its young, although the teaching specializations in high demand vary from state to state. The most acute problem, according to Education World, is filling openings in math, science, and special education.

Incentives Add to Teaching's Rewards

Most would-be-teachers hold bachelor's degrees and can apply in many school districts through emergency-hiring provisions without holding teaching credentials or supplementary degrees. A recent report by the Hoover Institute said that "virtually no school district" in the country is in full compliance with licensing laws. Education World has reported near-astounding recruiting incentives across the nation:

• New York school districts recruited teachers by teleconferencing with hopefuls from as far away as Spain and Australia, offering bonuses and immediate raises for existing teachers who volunteered to work in high-vacancy districts.
• California school districts interviewed Spanish-speaking teachers in Mexico, and relaxed screening requirements so would-be teachers could interview online at their nearby copy shop.
• Maryland school districts offered signing bonuses and low-cost housing; some California and school districts offered housing subsidies to attract teachers to high-rent districts in Silicon Valley.
• Massachusetts tried to lure exceptional, experienced teachers by offering hire-on bonuses of $20,000.
• Connecticut increased teacher wages to match the highest in the nation, even at schools in its poorest communities.

Teacher Shortages Make Teaching Careers a Secure Choice

In a study by the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA), over a million working teachers in the country will be retiring, sparking the need for more than two million new teaching professionals in the next ten years. In poverty-blighted areas alone, the NSEA reports, more than 700,000 teachers will be needed by 2017.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) contends that every year at least 6 percent of working teachers retire or leave the profession, and another 7 percent change the schools where they work. And it's not just teacher retirement or attrition, the NSEA study says. By 2008, public school enrollment nationwide will increase by nearly 2 million children. The demand for teachers will make teaching a secure career choice for the famous "foreseeable future."

Looking at Teaching Needs and Requirements

The American Association for Employment in Education says the greatest needs among all school districts are for bilingual and special education teachers, teachers of computer and physical sciences, mathematics, and English-as-a-Second-Language. While minority students make up to a third or more of all students at American elementary and secondary schools, some 42 percent of all schools have no minority teachers at all. And by the end of the century, the NCES predicts that there will be less than 5 percent minority teachers of all the educators in the land.

All teachers must be licensed, but licensing regulations vary from state to state. It's safe to say most licensing requirements have relaxed today, as far as emergency laws allow. Alternative licensure programs permit would-be teachers holding bachelor's degrees to begin classroom work while pursuing emergency credentials. College graduates changing careers can also qualify for provisional licensure so long as they complete education courses outside of their working hours.

The greatest amount of national growth in teaching jobs will come in the American South and West, according to the NCES. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that elementary and secondary school teachers that hold bachelor's degrees will be among the top five in total national job growth for all occupations through 2014. Elementary teachers hold the number-one position for total national job growth.

Teaching Salaries and Job Security

Teacher's salaries remain a political issue, and they vary widely from state to state. A National Education Association study reports that districts are striving for economic parity between teaching wages and the salaries of other professional careers requiring similar levels of education. Where the national average for entry-level teachers was at $31,408, national entry-level wages for registered nurses was $44,345, public accountants at $45,518, and management trainees at $35,769.

In areas with exceptional needs, the salaries for teachers are higher. In California, where they need math, life science, English, and bilingual teachers, the average teaching salary is $59,345. In Illinois, where there are dramatic shortages in special education, math, and sciences, average salaries are $57,819. And in New York, where there's a shortage of technology, science, foreign language, math, and special education teachers, the average annual salary is $57,354.

Salary alone doesn't tell the whole story of the rewards of a teaching career. True, inducements and job incentives supplement the salary, sweetening the financial rewards. The nationwide shortage means that a teaching career offers geographic mobility. In addition to money and security, however, a teaching career still commands respect. Most teachers genuinely love children and have a passion for learning that they want to share. Teachers appreciate the social influence they have, and they know that their career is important.

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