NEW YORK — Some American public school districts are facing teacher shortages so severe that educators in Minneapolis and Sacramento, California, went on strike recently, demanding officials address the crisis.
Researchers and unions agree that teacher shortages predated COVID-19, but they said the pandemic exacerbated the problem.
Teacher's salaries have been degrading since the 1990s, with teachers now making about 20% less than other college-educated professionals, even when you take into account the shorter school year, Desiree Carver-Thomas, a researcher at the Learning Policy Institute, told ABC News. Teachers are overworked and overwhelmed, and are often called to do things they are not qualified for to fulfill students' social and emotional needs. Students are suffering now in schools with not enough educators or mental health professionals to fulfill their needs, Pringle said.Research released by the Economic Policy Institute in February found that the number of people employed in public K-12 elementary and secondary schools fell by 4.
This crisis could still get worse, Pringle warned. In an NEA survey published in February, nearly 55% of its members said they plan on leaving the profession earlier than planned. The Economic Policy Institute wrote in its report that raising pay and using federal relief funds to invest in the education workforce is"critical to solving staffing shortages."
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