There is no shortage of people who are called to teach and inspire the next generation.
There is, however, a decades-long effort by certain politicians to undermine public education by offering paltry wages, diminishing the respect for educators, and denying educators autonomy to make teaching decisions.
So, we are coming together to ensure every student learns from a great educator and that educators:
- have a seat at the table to advocate for their students’ futures,
- get the respect they’re due, and
- earn the pay and benefits that enable them to sustain long-lasting careers.
Here’s How to Fix Educator Shortages
Make Pay & Benefits Competitive
Improve Working Conditions
Increase Educator Voice, Respect, and Professional Autonomy
Student Debt Relief and Forgiveness
Recruitment Strategies
Retention Strategies
Causes of Educator Shortages
For decades, public school educators have worked hard to meet their students’ needs with far too few resources and too little planning time.
The educator shortage crisis is real, and it is the result of numerous factors not controlled by educators. It requires immediate and sustained attention to identify and implement long-term solutions to improve educator recruitment and retention.
At the same time, educators have been grossly under-compensated as a profession compared to other professions with comparable education and training requirements; similarly, the wages and benefits for many education support professionals (ESPs) can no longer compete with jobs outside of education.
Elected officials who make funding and policy decisions have too often negated their responsibility to ensure fair and adequate access to public education resources. The result—low pay, lack of professional respect, and a failure to fund the resources that students need to thrive—has caused an unprecedented school staffing crisis across nearly every job category.
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