FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky lawmakers will make an attempt at fixing the state's teacher shortage during the 2023 legislative session.
How bad is the shortage? According to House Education Chairman, Rep. James Tipton, as of January 10th, there are around 1,500 vacancies across Kentucky. However, he points out that number likely includes positions like principals and others as well.
That number is lower than the previous number that was floating around - nearly 11,000 - but Tipton says it's still concerning.
"Even 1,500 at the beginning of the second semester, that's a lot of job openings across the state. And you have to recognize that in some of those rural counties, some of those positions have been open the entire year," said Tipton. "They haven't been able to fill them yet."
Are the remaining teachers feeling the impacts of the shortage? Yes, according to Amanda Sewell, a teacher at Tates Creek High School.
"We're definitely feeling those shortages every day," said Sewell.
"Teachers feel like we're doing one and a half or two jobs because of the teacher shortage," she added. "Whether it's certified vacancies or the sub shortage, we're just expected to do more."
Dr. Jason Glass, Kentucky's education commissioner, told the House Education Committee on Tuesday that while Kentucky has been "holding steady in terms of the candidates entering the profession," the state's teacher turnover rate is high.
"Kentucky’s teacher turnover rate – which is the percentage of teachers that do not return to teaching or new teachers that leave before the end of the school year – has been growing on an almost yearly basis," said Glass. "A good national benchmark for this number is around 15%-16%. Kentucky regularly hovers above this number and last year we saw a new high, passing 20% in teacher turnover."
Glass told lawmakers, by his estimation, Kentucky's teacher shortage comes down to three main things: pay, support, and respect.
"If we work on increasing total compensation, support for our educators and respect for our educators, I believe we can begin turning the tide on this difficult issue," said Glass.
Sewell echoed that sentiment.
"When teachers ask to be paid - they're not just asking for a pay raise. They want to be compensated for the work they do. I have a master's degree and I came out of college with about $80,000 in student loans. So, compensation for the time that we spend, "she said. "Our workday isn't just 8 to 3 o'clock."
Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA) created the Coalition to Sustain the Education Profession. The group has since studied the "educator workforce crisis" and provided "data-driven recommendations for public, private, and government entities to implement."
“This work is centered around the urgent need for every single partner to come to the table to address this impending workforce crisis. While we are already experiencing deep shortages among education staff, the need for teachers, and the data showing us who is coming down the pipeline to become a teacher, is an absolute emergency. The time is now to figure out what we can do to entice, retain, and empower citizens to become amazing teachers in our schools. Failure to do so will have dire results,” Dr. Rhonda Caldwell, executive director of KASA.
The study led the coalition to suggest nine recommendations, which fall into six distinct strategies:
1. Conduct a comprehensive study of the state of Kentucky education.
2. Address teacher certification and qualification issues that impede teacher recruitment.
3. Analyze financial incentives to aid in statewide recruiting and retention efforts.
4. Create a legislative mandate to bring together data, programs, and processes across disparate agencies and organizations to create a single “Be a Kentucky Teacher” portal for teacher preparation, recruitment, and application.
5. Mandate that every school district implement a teacher recruitment and induction system and provide non-competitive grant funding to support the effort.
6. Develop a marketing plan to communicate to all Kentucky audiences the impact and importance of Kentucky educators and public education.
