US schools are short of more than 280,000 teachers
Kindergarten teacher Natalie Tran is thrilled to be back in her Oakland, California classroom with her 25 four-year-olds. But she isn't surprised that many other teachers across the country won't be back next school year. "The teaching profession is so difficult that it needs more respect and we really need a manageable class size."
Nationally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of public school teachers is At least 280,000 less than before the pandemic.
Florida rushes to fill her 8,000 vacancy. In Illinois, her 88% of surveyed school districts are battling shortages. Arizona has more than 2,200 teacher vacancies and the new school year is approaching.
Charlotte Mecklenburg, North Carolina Laura Francisco, the assistant superintendent of human resources at her school, is busy hiring her 373 teachers before school starts at the end of the month. I'm here.
"It's a big responsibility," she said.
To achieve that goal, school districts are providing additional cash to teachers.
"Especially in our special needs areas and secondary mathematics and sciences," said Francisco. and an extra monthly salary.”
They're not the only ones making deals. Dallas, Texas offers her $3,500 for teacher recruitment and retention. In California, school districts offer below-market apartments to teachers.
Still, three out of four educators surveyed would not recommend the job to others. are twice as stressed as other workers in the workplace," union president Randy Weingarten told CBS News. ``So yeah, the teachers have burned out.''
But data show that schools have struggled to retain teachers for decades, and areas where resources are scarce. are most affected.
When asked which schools were hit hardest, Dan Goldharber, deputy director of the American Institute, said, and schools that are located in rural areas and are relatively distant from teacher education programs."
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