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Teachers in Demand Across the U.S.
Depsite a looming recession, careers in teaching are still available.
TheApple
Even though the economy may be struggling to stay out of a recession, teacher shortages are still common in many locations throughout the U.S. TheApple recently researched the most recent teacher shortages to make the news. If you’re looking for a teaching job, try one of these markets to find a home for your teaching career.
1. Wichita, Kansas
Classrooms are Calling Want to be a teacher? If you’re qualified and intend to teach in a high-need subject area or school, the Wichita school district wants you. And chances are, there’s a program that will finance some or all of your training. Struggling with a nationwide teacher shortage and bracing for even leaner times, school districts, colleges and some local high schools are doing more to encourage young people to consider teaching careers. Read more: the latest teaching shortage in Wichita.
2. Georgia
Statewide Need It’s projected Georgia will need more than 132,000 teachers by 2012. Right now, Georgia is about 17,000 teachers short of that goal. Statewide, there’s a need to find highly qualified teachers who are certified. 11.4 percent of teachers in the state aren’t fully certified according to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. The gap could get wider as more teachers retire or leave the profession early. Read more: the latest teaching shortage in Georgia.
3. St. Louis, Missouri
New Bill Proposed. People without teaching degrees could become public school teachers under a bill which would require those without teaching degrees to be certified by the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence before they could be hired as teachers.The Washington-based group requires prospective teachers to hold at least a bachelor’s degree, complete a teaching methods course and spend 60 hours in a classroom before they are certified. Read more: the latest teaching shortage in St. Louis.
4. Fall River District, Massachusetts
Spring Shortage Facing a shortage of substitute teachers in the district, the School Committee is being asked to approve a contract with a temporary staffing company to fill the void. “We don’t have a pool of people, nor the mechanism to train people,” Superintendent Nicholas A. Fischer said. The problem typically becomes worse during the spring, he added. Read more: the latest teaching shortage in Fall River, Mass.
5. Blane County School District, Idaho
Forgivable Loans Facing the prospect of a not-to-distant shortage of teachers, the Blaine County School District and the county’s nonprofit education foundation are taking innovative measures to lure educators to the Wood River Valley. The Blaine County Education Foundation announced earlier this month that it has awarded its first “forgivable loans” to help two Wood River High School teachers meet the stiff local price for down payments on homes. Read more: the latest teaching shortages in BCSD.
6. Maryland
Statewide Search All of the state’s 24 school districts are scouting for teachers. It’s the perfect hunting ground for teachers looking to land a job. Every year, Maryland needs anywhere between 6,000 and 8,000 instructors, but state universities and colleges only graduate about 2,400 teachers. The competition to capture and keep strong teachers is fierce. School districts around the state are offering signing bonuses, tuition reimbursement and, in some cases, free laptops. Read more: the latest teaching shortages in Maryland.
7. Mississippi
Emergency Certificates Offered Statewide School districts across the state are stepping up recruitment efforts for teachers. The districts are issuing thousands of emergency certificates to fill positions. Those certificates allow teachers to work in hard to fill positions like, special education and mathematics; rural parts of the state are having the hardest time filling positions. Read more: the latest teaching shortages in Mississippi.
8. Yuma, Arizona
Certified Teachers Have Choices With the district’s enrollment up 4 1/2 % this year and the Yuma area growing, schools are adding classrooms and are having a hard time finding teachers for those classrooms. A statewide teacher shortage makes it easier for licensed teachers to find the jobs they want, but it also means fewer licensed teachers in the substitute pool looking for permanent jobs. Read more: the latest teaching shortages in Yuma.
9. Dallas, Texas
Dallas Independent School Distrcit (DISD) has 1,200 open teaching positions for the next school year, two hundred more than the usual openings provided each year. Read more: the latest teaching shortages in Dallas.
10. Salt Lake City, Utah
State leaders are shaking up the way they pay educators now and in the future in hopes of improving instruction and easing the state’s teacher shortage. The Utah State Board of Education approved rules Friday that will set into motion the Legislature’s plans to give $1,000 bonuses to new teachers next school year, $200 a day for up to three days of additional work to special educators. Read more: the latest teaching shortages in Salt Lake City.
Erica
8 months ago
2 comments
I earned my teaching degree nine years ago and taught in a public school in Montana for six years. I loved being a teacher, but hated the politics. During my tenure, I perservered through school board members who deemed their own personal agendas were more important than the students and community members they were suppose to represent. I reassured seniors who were upset they would not get into college because their high school faced loss of accreditation due to three school board members decision to push an "intelligent design" policy. Next, an inept superientendent was hired who apparently believed school athletics and the cosmetic appearance of the high school was more important than the retention of good teachers and textbooks. I made the foolish mistake of missing a teaching contract deadline by two days because I had thrown myself in my work to overcome the death of my mother. The superintendent decided to hire a beginning teacher to save the district some money and convinced three board members to meet with him in private and go along with his plan. I want more than anything to put my education to good use and inspire students. I'm just afraid I will face more of the same anywhere I go. Am I wrong about this or are there places in the U.S. where teachers can just do what they do best and be supported by their administration/school board.
Del
8 months ago
2 comments
im just wandering why some states in America are lacking of teachers...are the Americans know the hardships of becoming a teacher?? Well, in that case some nations may think that this is agood opportunity to teach in America....but are they accepting teachers from other country??? especially from nonspeaking english country??
mbenshalom
8 months ago
24 comments
All well and good, but what are the salaries in _some_ of these places? Not to mention dealing with very conservative people. . .One might well ask WHY these places need teachers. What's the reason? If it takes having to be other than what I am, I would not go there! Ok, I know I sound like a grouch, but I have heard stories about candidates being asked their religious preferences, etc. Illegal, yes. asked, yes. I don't want to teach in a state where many people think dinosaurs lived right along with people. . .Or harrass me because I'm Jewish, a female. Oh, yes, and Gay.
nycpublicschoolteach
8 months ago
2 comments
With over a million students in it's system, can't imagine how the country's largest school district didn't make this list! That's right, good old NYC. The need for inner-city public school teachers' has become an increasingly difficult demand to fill. Like much of the country, there's a severe shortage of individual willing/qualified to teach the high need areas, such as Special Education. However, Special Education is not the only high need subject in a crises. Others include: Science, Math, English / Langage Arts & English as a second language! That's nearly EVERY subject (except Social Studies, History & the Arts) After reading your "top 10", I'd say the New York City Teaching Fellows (NYCTF) program is, by far, amongst the most progressive immersion program for non-education experienced individuals to earn their teaching qualifications ---> in the country. The program receives 20, 000 applicants from around the world (candidate round-ups happen twice, yearly), yet remain highly competitive, as only 2000 initiates are chosen. Second career candidates with no prior experience teaching are preferred. Each must also hold a BA in one of the high needed subject areas (and have had an accumulative GPA of a 3.0). Once accepted, the fellows enter an intensive six-week immersion program. They receive training (paired with experienced NYC teachers, they act as teacher's aides to teachers teaching summer school) and are assigned to a high need borough. After earning their teaching certificate - and, as part of the program - they must find positions in the high need subject for which they're qualified, within one of the high need boroughs. After the summer program, they begin teaching in the fall, earning the same salary/benefits as all NYC first year teachers. In addition, they earn a subsidized Master's Degree. The NYCTF commitment requires they teach for a minimum of two years. After, their salaries jump incredibly. For more information, visit: http://www.nycteachingfellows.org/
22ctrycreations
8 months ago
122 comments
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anon100
8 months ago
6 comments
"People without teaching degrees could become public school teachers under a bill which would require those without teaching degrees to be certified by the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence before they could be hired as teachers.The Washington-based group requires prospective teachers to hold at least a bachelor’s degree, complete a teaching methods course and spend 60 hours in a classroom before they are certified."
That's a great program to open up the pool of applicants, although I'd question the 60 hour mandate. Districts also need to look at pay and consider paying older employees who would switch careers more than the minimum scale. But more school districts need to look at ideas such as the one above in order to fill their teaching needs. There is a pool of potential teachers out there who would be willing to teach but are kept out because they don't have ed degrees and/or the salary isn't enough to support them at their stage in life. There is an obvious need for teachers, which could be filled with some progressive ideas such as St. Louis'.