Is there a shortage of special education teachers in America's public schools? If so, why? And how can policymakers fix it? The first question sounds like an easy one. Yes, there is a shortage of special education teachers. In 2023-24, more than half of districts and 80 percent of states reported such a shortage. If you doubt the self-reported…

Thirty years ago, "Problems, process, and promise: Reflections on a collaborative approach to the solution of the minority teacher shortage" (Goodwin, 1991) offered a perspective on an approach to the "minority" teacher shortage. That piece represented the start of the author's life-long work on teacher preparation, with a…

Research has shown that while the number of school-age children has steadily increased over time, the number of qualified teachers available to educate them has not matched this need. This topical brief shows the percentage of public schools across the nation with teaching vacancies and summarizes strategies implemented in Region 5 Comprehensive…

Across the United States, vacancies in the educator workforce have drastically increased, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading up to the 2021-22 school year, Colorado schools sought to fill 5,729 teaching positions, representing 10.33% of all teaching positions in the state. A high-leverage need to attract, prepare, and retain teachers in…

Across the United States, school leaders and administrators are confronted with widespread shortages of special educators--a challenge that may feel insurmountable at times. Shortages of special educators mean open teaching positions go unfilled or are filled by personnel who may lack the preparation and certification known to lead to positive…

Highly effective principals are critical to their school systems, contributing to both student outcomes and teacher retention. But despite some stabilization during the pandemic, teacher and principal turnover rates are rising again at the district and school levels, especially at high-need schools. And our recent original research underscores an…

Missouri is struggling with teacher shortages. In its public schools, which serve nearly 900,000 students, shortages have typically been concentrated in urban and rural areas, and in content areas of special education, math, and science. Recently, however, shortages have begun broadly impacting more schools in more parts of the state and more…

This topical brief describes the teacher shortage challenge and summarizes how states supported by the Region 5 and Region 14 Comprehensive Centers are addressing the challenge. It also describes the federal government response to the teacher shortage challenge and provides examples of Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Programs being implemented…

Community partnerships are essential for vitality in neighborhoods. A growing demand exists for training programs to attract and prepare a highly qualified workforce to serve young children and their families. Personnel across different stages of their career can help address our teacher shortages. Service learning is a useful strategy in…

The EdResearch for Action Overview Series summarizes the research on key topics to provide K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students. Authors - leading experts from across the field of education research - are charged with highlighting key findings from research that…

Teacher shortages have reentered the national consciousness in a major way, as quarantines and the intense stresses created by the COVID-19 pandemic drained teaching staffs, causing some schools to close temporarily for lack of staff. According to the U.S. Department of Education, all 50 states reported shortages in more than one area for the…

States have taken different approaches in addressing the need for increased compensation among teachers by spreading pay increases across multiple years, linking increases to performance, and connecting them to sweeping K-12 policy changes, such as school vouchers. The earn-as-you-learn Registered Apprenticeship model is an increasingly popular…

The delivery of education and the outcome it produces largely depend on how students are taught, the resources they are exposed to along with the kind of facilities they are provided with. We have to acknowledge that teaching and learning do not occur in the same way across the world due to critical factors. These factors cause hindrances in the…

Workforce development in the K-12 educational setting, including the preparation of new teachers, faces multiple challenges today. These challenges include an ongoing teacher shortage and the lack of a coordinated educational preparation pipeline. Also problematic are the numerous obstacles on the path to teacher credentialing in states like…

In 2021, TNTP published "Missing Out: Arkansas' Teacher Shortage and How to Fix It," describing teacher shortages in Arkansas, programs the state had in place to address shortages, and the extent to which teachers and potential teachers were aware of and interested in these programs. Since that report was published, Arkansas has…