Teacher vacancies: 5 states show warning signs of a tough new normal

Teacher vacancies were higher at the beginning of this school year than they were on the first day of 2021-22 in some states.

Snapshots of the declining K12 workforce in several states are painful proof that teacher vacancies have now become deeply entrenched as a way of life in K12 education. While many leaders may have been holding out hope that labor pressures would ease alongside the pandemic, the latest data show record teacher vacancies and worsening burnout across the country.

Over 30% of the teacher, special education, and support staff positions posted were vacant or filled with a less-than-qualified hire in Illinois, according to a state superintendents’ organization. That’s just over 2,700 positions, which is the highest rate of vacancies in six years of tracking by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools.

The leading causes of Illinois’ teacher vacancies included overly demanding workloads, better pay in other professions or neighboring districts, and the local or national political climate, the survey found.

Nearly 80% of the schools that participated in the survey reported vacancies while nearly all of the districts said their shortages were as bad or worse than last year. And “a concerning” number of school leaders found that less than half of the applicants for their districts’ open positions were qualified, said Mark Klaisner, the association’s president.

“But these latest results also show signs of hope that our tireless collective efforts to address the issue are starting to work,” Klaisner added. “School districts credit moves such as increasing the number of days retired teachers can return to the classroom without pension penalty and increasing the number of substitute teaching days to 120 per year as helping schools recruit and retain teachers.”

Tallying teacher vacancies

The numbers are similar in North Carolina, where the rate of teacher vacancies was higher at the beginning of this school year than it was on the first day of 2021-22. And more than a month into the current school year, only a small portion of those vacancies had been filled. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s latest report, there were:

  • 5,540 (5.9%) instructional vacancies on the 1st day of school in 2022-23
  • 3,792 (4.1%) vacancies on the 1st day of school in 2021-22
  • 5,091 (5.4%) vacancies on the 40th day of school in 2022-23.
  • 3,214 (3.4%) vacancies on the 40th day of school in 2022-23.

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North Carolina’s K-5 schools experienced the most severe shortages, according to the report, which also warned of a rocky road ahead caused by steep enrollment declines in four-year teacher preparation programs and in residency or alternative certification programs. However, the agency noted that about 440 fewer teachers left the state’s public schools during the 2021-22 school year than the previous year, representing a slight drop in the overall teacher attrition rate.

Vacancies have also increased in Nebraska, where leaders are grappling with higher shortages in special education and English language arts, according to the latest numbers from the state’s department of education. District leaders said they either had no applicants or no qualified applicants for many of the positions left vacant.

Where teachers stand on shortages

The teachers who’ve remained in their classrooms are feeling the strain. In Colorado, 85% of teachers said shortages are significantly or somewhat worse than in previous school years, according to the Colorado Education Association’s 2023 State of Education Report. More than two-thirds of those educators fear a mass shooting will occur at their school while only about one-third of the educators said they felt respected by state elected officials.

This survey also looked at how educators in the LGBTQ+ community are faring in Colorado’s public schools and found that a staggering 85% are not openly “out” to their school communities.

Finally, in Connecticut, the number of teachers who say they will quit K12 or retire early has been increasing sharply over the last few years. In November, 74% of teachers said they were likely to leave, compared to 55% who said the same in January 2022, and just 38% in September 2021, according to the latest polling by the Connecticut Education Association.

Teachers’ top five concerns in Connecticut are:

  1. Stress and burnout
  2. Staff shortages
  3. Teachers leaving profession
  4. Educators not respected
  5. Student mental health
  6. Student behavior
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick is a life-long journalist. Prior to writing for District Administration he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He's also in a band.

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