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 Education, 2023). The current shortage of teacher candidates is reflective of shifting perceptions of teaching as a career. Nationwide, interest in teaching has dwindled to historically low numbers among high school and college students (Bartanen & Kwok, 2023; Kraft and Lyon, 2022). The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated concerns with teacher recruitment, as undergraduate students' have become less inclined to consider a career in education (Bill et al., 2022). Teacher shortage concerns, compounded with declining interest in teaching as a career, place teacher recruitment and preparation in the policy and research spotlight. Traditionally, we look to high school and college students as our pool of future teachers. States across the country have embraced early teacher recruitment efforts, such as "Grow Your Own" (GYO) initiatives, to improve interest in the profession (Edwards & Kraft, 2024). However, additional research is needed to understand how prospective teachers interact with recruitment efforts and progress through pipelines into the profession. Research Questions: This study describes how interest in a career in education has shifted in terms of high school students' aspirations to pursue a career in teaching, as well as recent trends in preparation pathways among newly hired educators. We ask: (1) What percentages of high school juniors and seniors intend to major in education?; (2) What percentages of high school juniors and seniors intend K-12 teaching as their occupation; (3) What does enrollment in "teaching as a profession" courses look like over time?; and (4) How have the certification pathways of newly certified teachers changed from 2017 to 2023? Setting: This study investigates interest in the teaching profession across eight southern states, with in-depth analysis of teacher labor markets in two states. Data & Analysis: This study combines numerous data sources. Analyses are descriptive. The first two research questions focus on analyses exploring student interest in education across eight southern states: Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. We use ACT survey data to examine occupation choice trends and interest in teaching among high school students. ACT data (2013-2022) include responses to student surveys about planned college major and occupation, as well as student demographic information. Analyses primarily focus on the 525,600 Kentucky and Tennessee students who took the ACT test in 11th or 12th grade between 2013-2022, enrolled in a 2-or 4-year postsecondary institution, and provided data on their college major and occupational plans. The third and fourth research questions examine trends in the educator workforce across Kentucky and Tennessee. We draw on administrative data for Kentucky (provided via KYSTATS) and for Tennessee (provided via the Tennessee Education Research Alliance) that cover the 2016-17 to 2022-23 school years. Data include information on staffing assignments, preparation programs, and licensure. We also examine participation in "Teaching as a Profession" courses among Tennessee high school students, tracking their participation in these courses from high school into educator preparation programs (EPPs) and entry into the teacher workforce. Tennessee administrative data includes high school course-taking and student demographic data. Preliminary Findings: Across eight southern states, interest in pursuing a career in education has declined over the past decade (Figure 1). The downward trend is similarly steep among high school students regarding interest education majors in college. Over a 10-year period, interest in education occupations in Kentucky declined from 8% to 5% and in Tennessee interest dropped from 7% to 4%. Given that interest was small to start, declining interest in teaching among high school students is concerning. Although high school students' interest in education careers has declined, the racial and gender backgrounds of students indicating interest in the profession have remained unchanged. Between 2013 and 2022, students who plan to major in education and express interest in an education career in both Tennessee and Kentucky have remained predominantly white. Eighty percent of intended education majors in Tennessee and 86% in Kentucky identify as white. In 2022, students intending to major in education were 83% female in Tennessee and 77% female in Kentucky. Students interested in pursuing careers in education mirror the current racial and ethnic composition of teachers across both states (which are both majority white and female), but students signaling interest in teaching careers are not racially representative of the current student populations in Tennessee and Kentucky. Both states have increasingly diverse student populations. In Kentucky and Tennessee, students of color represent 25% and 40% respectively. Declining interest in teaching is not promising for ongoing calls and efforts to diversify the teaching workforce. However, state efforts to recruit teachers through "Grow Your Own" initiatives tell a different story. Figure 2 shows trends for high school student enrollment in Tennessee's TAP courses. Enrollment has increased as course offerings have expanded across the state, particularly among high school students of color and male students. Conclusions: While interest among high school students in education careers has declined steadily across numerous southern states, localized recruitment strategies, such as Tennessee's "Teaching as a Profession" courses, show promising results for expanding the supply of prospective teachers. It is possible that interest in becoming teachers among high school students may have declined even more over this period had these courses not been available. It is also possible that by taking an introductory teaching course, some high school students may decide that the positive aspects of becoming a teacher, such as a desire to work with young people, may outweigh the negatives, such as low salaries or student disciplinary challenges. These courses targeting high school students could be a potential avenue for revitalizing the teacher pipeline and fostering diversity within the profession. Overall, this research contributes to empirical insights into the complex landscape of teacher recruitment, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to reverse declining interest in the profession.