Research has shown that while the number of school-age children has steadily increased over time, the number of qualified teachers available to educate them has not matched this need. This topical brief shows the percentage of public schools across the nation with teaching vacancies and summarizes strategies implemented in Region 5 Comprehensive…

The shortage of African American faculty employed at higher education institutions is prevalent at two-year community colleges across Tennessee. The problem addressed in this study is the lack of African American faculty employed at Tennessee Board of Regents institutions. This qualitative multiple-case study examined why there is a lack of…

Teachers contribute more to reading and math outcomes than any other factor of schooling. However, teacher shortages are pervasive. How can schools and districts recruit high-quality educators, hold onto to the ones they already have, and reflect the diversity of their students? This infographic highlights innovative models beyond the traditional…

Purpose: For decades, federal and state agencies have identified teacher shortages in high-needs endorsement areas (HNEAs), including science, mathematics, and special education, as a critical problem. Many states have implemented policies and practices to recruit HNEA teachers, but little is known about how their workforce outcomes compare with…

Purpose: For decades, federal and state agencies have identified teacher shortages in high-needs endorsement areas (HNEAs), including science, mathematics, and special education, as a critical problem. Many states have implemented policies and practices to recruit HNEA teachers, but little is known about how their workforce outcomes compare with…

Across the nation, teacher shortages are receiving broad attention. Teacher turnover can lead to negative outcomes for students through the replacement of effective teachers by inexperienced or unqualified teachers, increases in class sizes, or reductions in course offerings. For educators, frequent turnover upsets collaboration, stability,…

Background/Context: School districts across the United States face persistent difficulties recruiting and retaining teachers (García & Weiss, 2019; Schmitt & deCourcy, 2022). Over the last decade, every state in the south has faced a growing teacher shortage, with some facing shortages in all grades and subjects (U.S. Department of…

Districts across the country are facing severe shortages of teachers--especially in certain subjects (math, science, special education, career and technical education, and bilingual education) and in specific schools (urban, rural, high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving). The severity of the teacher shortage problem varies significantly by…

The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) provided states with newfound flexibility on accountability measures and school improvement strategies. Many policy experts have analyzed states' ESSA plans, which explain how states use their federal funds under various provisions of the new law, as well as the approaches states take to identify and rate…

In February 2014, the Tennessee State Board of Education (SBE) requested that the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC) provide assistance to the SBE's Basic Education Program (BEP) Review Committee. The SBE requested additional information on the use and effectiveness of market-based teacher compensation and market-based incentives by…

The school systems of Tennessee are continuing to make efforts to recruit and retain African-American and other minority teachers. As school systems in the state become more and more diverse, these efforts must increase. The number of classroom teachers with 30+ years of experience further emphasizes the accelerated need to establish and implement…

In 1987, the State Board of Education cited a shortage of minority teachers in Tennessee. In 1988, The Tennessee Task Force on the Supply of Minority Teachers issued recommendations to increase the number of minority teachers. In 1989, House Joint Resolution 36 also requested an annual report on the status of minority teachers be submitted to the…

To lure highly qualified teachers to low-performing schools, the Mobile County, Alabama, school board did what a small but growing number of districts are considering: pay teachers more money for working in what are considered less attractive jobs. As school districts are more pressured to raise achievement among all student groups, more are…