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The country’s crushing student loan debt—which has tripled since 2006—is causing shortages of well-prepared professionals in key public sectors, including teaching. The rising cost of education coupled with the fact that teachers earn, on average, 30% less than their peers is causing crippling teacher shortages. Policymakers can play a critical role in addressing college affordability in order to clear a path for well-prepared teachers to enter the profession.
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The Journal of Professional Capital and Community article, published in 2019, expands on the initial LPI report by situating the study within broader theories of human capital in the economic literature and discussing the implications of the findings for teachers’ professional development, school leadership, policy, and research.
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Education Policy Analysis Archives by Linda Darling-Hammond, Anne Podolsky, Leib Sutcher, Desiree Carver-Thomas, Tara Kini, Joseph Bishop, et. al. | The articles in this special issue examine the wave of teacher shortages in the United States. The authors describe the current state of the supply, demand, and distribution of America’s public school teachers and highlight the kinds of evidence-based policies that can break the cycle of teacher shortages.
Linda Darling-HammondLeib SutcherDesiree Carver-Thomas
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Teacher shortages have been worsening in California since 2015. In response, the state has invested nearly $200 million in programs aimed at recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers, but those programs will take time to yield the desired results. California needs to make additional investments to rapidly build the supply of qualified teachers where they are most needed and create incentives for experienced, effective teachers to re-enter and remain in the classroom.
Daniel EspinozaRyan SaundersTara KiniLinda Darling-Hammond
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Most states have been struggling to address teacher shortages for several years, often filling the vacuum with underprepared teachers. Governors and legislators in many of these states are now working to turn the tide. A new report from the Learning Policy Institute focuses on six evidence-based policies that states are pursuing to address their teacher shortages that can help states build long-term sustainable systems to attract, develop, and retain a strong and stable teacher workforce.
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Most states have been struggling to address teacher shortages for several years now, often filling the vacuum with underprepared teachers who aren’t able to give children the high-quality learning they need and who leave at two to three times the rate of well-prepared teachers. Most often, these teachers are hired in schools serving students of color and those from low-income families. Governors and legislators in many of these states are now working to turn the tide, according to a new report from the Learning Policy Institute (LPI).
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How states experience the teacher shortage depends on their unique mix of policies, conditions, and even cost of living. This interactive map provides a state-by-state look at key indicators of teacher supply and demand and the equitable distribution of teachers. States and the District of Columbia receive a teaching attractiveness rating, based on compensation, teacher turnover, working conditions, and qualifications, and a teacher equity rating, based on the distribution of uncertified and inexperienced teachers.
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More and more states and districts are recognizing that recruiting and retaining teachers of color can help meet their students' needs while also helping to curb critical teacher shortages. But prospective teachers of color encounter unique barriers to entering and staying in the profession. High-retention pathways—combining high-quality clinically rich preparation with financial support—can be especially effective at reversing those trends.
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More and more states and districts are recognizing that recruiting and retaining teachers of color can help meet their students' needs while also helping to curb critical teacher shortages. But prospective teachers of color encounter unique barriers to entering and staying in the profession. High-retention pathways—combining high-quality clinically rich preparation with financial support—can be especially effective at reversing those trends.
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Research shows that teachers of color help close achievement gaps for students of color and are highly rated by students of all races—a fact that is all the more relevant in light of the release this month of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress which show persistent achievement gaps between students of color and from low income families and their White and affluent peers. Unfortunately, although more teachers of color are being recruited across the nation, the pace of increase is slow and attrition rates are high, leaving growing gaps between the demand for such teachers and the supply.
