Teacher shortage tied to education programs’ enrollment decline

A nationwide teacher shortage has left K-12 schools scrambling to fill open positions as a new school year begins.

The number of people choosing education as a career has declined significantly during the past several years, said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association.

OEA is a union representing more than 121,000 teachers, faculty members and professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education.

“Between 2003 and 2021, in the state of Ohio, there are 30 percent fewer people completing education degrees in teacher preparation programs across the state,” DiMauro said.

Many declines were in degree programs in areas with the greatest need for instructors, such as bilingual education, science, math and special education, he said.

“I’ve also heard that districts are having a hard time finding family and consumer science teachers,” DiMauro said.

A key factor playing a significant role in the decline is the pay gap among education careers, he said.

On average, students completing an education degree and going into a teaching job make 24 percent less than someone with the same level of education, DiMauro said.

“In Ohio, the gap is a little bit less, he said. “It’s 14.4 percent.”

DiMauro said working conditions in higher poverty communities and urban areas are another challenge impacting the retention of teachers.

“Urban and rural districts have a hard time competing with suburban districts,” he said. “Suburban districts tend to pay more because they have more wealth.”

DiMauro said that even if school districts have equal financial resources, it’s not always equitable in terms of what each district can offer to its educators.

“In order to get people in, you’ve got to pay people more,” he said.

School districts like Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools are working to fill the hiring gap by creating partnerships with local universities to offer current students and recent graduates a chance to gain exposure working in the field.

“We really are trying to get a lot of the graduates that are working on their educational licensure to [apply] and get them experience in our district,” said Michael Kostyack, director of human resources at Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools.

Colleges and universities like Kent State are recognizing the impact of fewer students enrolling in education programs and working on ways to improve their curriculum.

“We have to try to do teacher education differently,” said Jennifer Walton-Fisette, the director of teacher education at Kent State University. “We’re looking at different ways that we can diversify the teacher pathway.”

Kent State is working to create grow-your-own programs where high school students can attend college on an accelerated track to get their professional degrees, Walton-Fisette said.

“We’re working very hard to try to have an apprenticeship type of model here in Ohio,” she said. “Our programs cannot operate without our school partners, and we are trying to have rich and deep relationships with [them].”

Through a grow-your-own program, students who graduate from partner K-12 school districts are offered a chance to attend a university to obtain their licensure degree and return to their alma mater to work, Walton-Fisette said.

“We can certainly increase people that have graduated from an approved program, and accredited program and lead [them] to licensure,” she said.

State policymakers are also exploring ways to reduce requirements for students looking to become educators and qualify for a license after graduating.

In 2021, Ohio passed House Bill 49, which allows individuals without a bachelor’s degree to become substitute teachers if they meet certain qualifications.

“Our Board of Education did offer a resolution [to the passing of HB 49],” Kostyack said, “Individuals must have three references from people within our school district, one being an administrator.”

DiMauro said that although the bill only reduced requirements for substitute teachers, educators are calling on state legislators to act on the issue.

“I think it’s just incumbent on policymakers to work with us and other people in the education field, to do more and to encourage more people to come in education,” DiMauro said.