Teacher shortage becomes state crisis

When Minneota Public Schools had teaching positions to fill several years ago, a large number of applicants would emerge and allow administrators to select from a wide range of talents and personalities that they felt would be the best fit for the job.
Fast forward to the present.
"We have an opening for a high school English teaching position for next year," said Superintendent Dan Deitte. "We've advertised for several weeks now in the paper, our website and on social media and we've only had one applicant so far; and that one didn't work out."
Calls were made to both Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall and South Dakota State University in Brookings to see how many of their students were graduating with majors in English.
"There was only one at SMSU and only six at SDSU," Deitte noted. "If you take all the schools that are looking for an English teacher there just aren't enough to go around. Not having a pool of candidates to choose from can be frustrating. It's really kind of sad."
Minneota administrators are also searching for two special education teachers for next year, but are also getting a very limited number of applicants for those positions.
A shortage of teachers isn't just occurring in Minneota. It's a statewide and nationwide problem. And there are a number of reasons why schools are currently finding it difficult to hire teachers. It's becoming a crisis, according to Education Minnesota, the state's largest teachers union.
"There are a lot of reasons for the need for teachers," Deitte echoed. "The overall job has gotten harder.” “There have been a lot of changes to teaching since we went into the digital age. Teachers aren’t staying in teaching as long as they used to."
Another reason Deitte mentioned was the "Rule of 90" is no longer in existence with only a few teachers still grandfathered in. The former "Rule of 90" allowed for longtime teachers to add together their length of service and their age, and were able to retire with benefits when the number equaled 90 or more.
"Anyone who started teaching after 1989 no longer qualifies," Deitte explained. "That was a big reason why teachers used to stay teaching longer than they do now. Teachers now might try it for one to three years and find out it's not for them. If they stay beyond three years, there is a better chance they will continue teaching for a long time."
Paraprofessionals are also becoming more difficult to hire than in the past.
"They find out that they can work somewhere else for the same or more money with benefits," said Deitte. "Paras don't get benefits because they don't work all year, and we only have so much money to pay them. It's a struggle for all schools."
Declining enrollments also call for fewer teachers in some schools, reducing the number of positions available to students, who then look to major in a profession with more stability.
A new report from Education Minnesota revealed that the hardest positions to fill are special education, math and science teachers.
According to data from the Minnesota Department of Education, there were more than 58,000 teachers working in public schools in 2013-2014. But because of the shortage districts hired more than 3,500 teachers who lacked the necessary licenses.
Education Minnesota is proposing several solutions to attract and keep better teachers. The union has a desire to build a pipeline program to get students interested in teaching as early as high school. It also wants to change the licensure process and provide a stronger financial incentive. Once teachers get into their careers the union wants more collaboration between educators and administrators, stronger financial benefits and more professional development.
There may be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Recent studies have shown that schools in the United States are expected to see an increase of approximately three million students by 2030. A higher number of students might entice more individuals to get teaching degrees because they know there will be a need for more teachers.
The pandemic also caused a decline in the number of college students entering the education field because of the uncertainty of in-school or distance learning.
Deitte remains confident that things will work out.
"We'll get through this and make it work," he insisted. "Everyone needs to step up to make this work together; the state, legislation, colleges, teachers, administrators. It can't be just one group. We all have to work collectively."