Miguel Solis: Texas faces a teacher shortage driven by high turnover, weak recruitment, misperceptions, and housing costs. Solving it requires better...
Students raised their hands in a third grade class in Garland ISD in 2022. Contributing columnist Miguel Solis writes about two ways to improve the teacher workforce pipeline.For many, the answer to that question comes quickly.
A reading teacher who unlocked confidence. A history teacher who made the world feel larger. A coach who demanded more. Long after we forget formulas and quizzes, we remember the adults who saw something in us before we saw it in ourselves. Now ask a harder question: Will today’s students have enough of those teachers? That is no longer a sentimental question. It is a policy question, an economic question and, increasingly, a Texas question., an organization I help lead, examines the state of Texas’ teacher workforce and the barriers keeping too many strong educators from entering and staying in the profession. Its findings are sobering: Nearly 1 in 5 Texas teachers left the classroom last year, and 12% lack certification, meaning more than 42,000 classrooms are led by educators less likely to keep students on grade level than properly prepared peers.These are warning signs in one of the most important professions in our state. And since staffing is connected to student performance, college and career readiness, funding and even mental health, they form something closer to a Gordian Knot – a complex challenge rooted in perception, preparation, affordability and retention that no single policy can solve. What makes this moment striking is that these challenges persist even as lawmakers and local leaders have made meaningful investments. In places like Dallas County, top teachers now have aSo why, even with that progress, are we still struggling to attract and keep teachers? It is a complex picture, but two factors deserve far more attention.For years, teaching has been framed as noble sacrifice rather than skilled, upwardly mobile work. That framing was never fully fair, and it is now outdated. Yet fewer than 4% of graduating seniors in Dallas County say they want to become teachers. Have we told young people the truth about what teaching can offer? Have we shown families that it is not just a respected profession, but one with real financial and leadership pathways? Too often, the answer is no. And that matters because perception is the front door to the pipeline. If students never see teaching as a viable choice, no downstream reform will be enough.A teacher may love the work and earn a competitive salary, yet still feel forced out. If you are commuting hours each day because you cannot afford to live near your campus, the burden compounds on your time, your family and your future in the profession. In Dallas County, roughly 40% of teachers live outside the county, and another 40% live on its outer edges, the Commit report found. Only 2 in 5 Dallas ISD teachers live within district boundaries. Those commuting more than 20 miles are significantly more likely to leave. This is why attainable housing is not a side issue. It is workforce policy. If we want strong schools, we must make it possible for strong teachers to build stable lives in the communities they serve., with hundreds of units completed and more on the way through public-private partnerships and the use of district-owned land. And here in Texas,These efforts point to a broader truth: The solutions we need are not theoretical; they are already within reach. Salaries matter. But they are not sufficient on their own. Retention will require coordination across school systems, local governments and the private sector to address the broader conditions shaping teachers’ lives. And it will require something more basic: a renewed commitment to how we talk about the profession itself. Because the future of teaching will not be decided only in legislative chambers or budget meetings. It will be shaped in living rooms, classrooms and conversations, in how we present the profession to the next generation. So start there. Talk about teaching as the high-skill, life-shaping profession that it is. Show young people what is possible. And treat the educators in your life not just with gratitude, but with the respect and urgency this moment demands. Because the question before us is not whether great teachers matter. We all know they do. The question is whether we are willing to do what it takes to ensure every child still has one.Miguel Solis is president of The Commit Partnership, and formerly president of the Dallas ISD board of trustees. He serves on local, state and national nonprofit boards and is the proud parent of Olivia Solis, a pediatric heart transplant survivor. He is a Dallas Morning News contributing columnist.
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