A growing nationwide teacher shortage is affecting West Michigan schools, as the demand for qualified teachers continues to grow and the interest in the profession is slowing down.
According to the largest teachers union in the country, the National Education Association, schools nationwide are facing a shortage of about 300,000 educators. Those numbers reflect what's happening in West Michigan as well. Hundreds of teacher positions remain open as school begins for many students this week.
The problem, while disheartening, isn't new. But now it's reaching new levels of concern for school leaders and parents. They say COVID-19 exacerbated an already growing problem.
“All across the state school districts are having a really difficult time finding qualified people to apply for these jobs and to stay in these jobs," Michigan Education Association spokesperson Thomas Morgan said.
The fields that are seeing the greatest need are special education, science and math. But no matter the field, all across the board educators and school officials say something needs to happen right now or a real crisis is on the horizon.
“There is both frustration and a great deal of concern that this is a problem, that's not going to get better, and it's only going to get worse," Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Rita Raichoudhuri said.
Dr. Rita Raichoudhuri says they have about 40 open teaching positions heading into the new school year and those vacanices continue to grow year after year.
“The last couple of years going into next year have been some of the toughest," she said.
The problem isn't unique to Kalamazoo. Grand Rapids Public Schools have about 100 open positions heading into the new school year. Over the past five years, the district has seen a decline of about 300 educators from 1,262 in 2017 to 958 in 2022. GRPS Superintendent Dr. Leadriane Roby says it's getting tougher to find new talent.
“Over the last 10 years, there has been a 70 percent decline in those who are even entering the profession," Dr. Roby said.
The Michigan Education Association is a union that represents 120,000 Michigan educators. They say the reason for the teacher shortage in Michigan is a perfect storm of not enough young talent entering the profession, early retirement, low pay, politicizing the classroom and mental health.
“So young people are looking at all these things and saying well, I was interested in becoming a teacher, but I think I'm gonna look at something else," Morgan said.
Central Michigan University's College of Education is one of the highest regarded teaching programs in the state. They're seeing the drop in interested firsthand through their enrollment.
“Over the past decade, the trends have been down in that we've had fewer students interested," Central Michigan University’s College of Education and Human Services Dean Paula Lancaster said. “So it does seem like this year coming up is going to be tough on a lot of districts because they're not able to find the teachers that they need to fill all those classrooms.”
So what can be done to entice young talent to enter the profession?
“There is a lot that needs to happen, a school district alone can't do it," Dr. Raichoudhuri said.
Legislators and state officials have had to get creative with the new education budget that was signed by Governor Whitmer in July to try and tackle this very issue. The budget totals up to $19.6 billion dollars for students, school infrastructure and teacher recruitment.
And while West Michigan school officials say this helps, they also wonder why it took so long for the financial help to come through, when the problem has already reached a breaking point.
“When you've been starving for years, to give me a snack, is that enough," Dr. Roby asked. "And it has to be kind of long term impact. What else are we doing?”
Mental health and pay also have to be addressed. Educators say this is an issue that doesn't have an easy fix, but needs more attention.
“[This] affects our kids, it affects their future, it affects the quality of education they can receive. We really need to get a handle on this and make sure that we're doing things to solve this problem," Morgan said.
Another critical shortage is the amount of substitute teachers in schools.
“That definitely is an area of struggle," Otsego Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Haase said.
With the teacher shortage, some substitutes have been placed into programs to help them become full-time educators, leaving substitute positions vacant.
“This is a very competitive market. Every district in our county is having the same challenges. As I talk to other superintendents, we're all kind of competing for the same folks," Dr. Roby said.
Those educators that do remain in the profession are truly passionate about making a difference in children's lives, and are not backing down from a profession that is currently struggling.
“Of all the professions operating on a day to day basis, no profession is more impactful to society than teaching," Dean Lancaster said.
Otsego Public Schools have actually increased the number of educators they have working in their smaller district. And last week GRPS recently on-boarded 75 new teachers as well. So while these districts still need all the help they can get with talent recruitment and retainment, they're excited for the future of education and for more attention to be brought to this issue as they kick off the first week of school.
“I love the first day of school. I think back to even when I was a first year teacher, I was so excited," Dr. Roby said.
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