"Our Math Teacher Is a High School Graduate Former Waiter" US Teacher Shortage

Hiring Temporary Teachers Without Degrees Due to Labor Shortage
Introducing a Four-Day Workweek to Increase Support Rate

As the teacher shortage worsens in the United States, some schools have been hiring waiters working in restaurants as math teachers, resulting in teachers lacking expertise educating students.

[Image source=Pixabay]

On the 24th (local time), according to the Washington Post (WP), a team of education professors led by Tuan Nguyen at Kansas State University reported that 36,500 teachers were lacking across 37 U.S. states and Washington D.C. during the 2021?2022 school year. As the team recently updated their data, the teacher shortage increased by 35% to 49,000 in the 2022?2023 school year compared to the previous year.

In particular, some states took emergency measures to fill teaching positions, but this sparked controversy over teacher qualifications. Due to difficulties in recruiting teachers amid the spread of COVID-19 and other factors, several states relaxed teacher certification requirements as a last resort.

As a result, there were cases where teachers taught subjects outside their expertise or even taught students without holding a college degree. Jackson Green, principal of Charles M. Sumner Education Campus in Maine, also filled about 80% of vacancies with long-term substitute teachers due to the inability to find qualified teachers. Long-term substitutes can be hired without a college degree or teacher training certification. Last year, Principal Green hired a high school graduate woman working as a waitress at a local restaurant because he could not find a math teacher.

As the teacher recruitment crisis continued, some schools introduced a four-day school week to increase teacher application rates. The Independence School District in Missouri saw a fourfold increase in applicants after announcing a four-day week last year.

Meanwhile, some schools are struggling not only to find teachers but also general staff. Several school districts have reported a shortage of bus drivers, causing students to board buses earlier and return home later, leading to inconvenience.

Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, delayed the start of the school year by one week after implementing a new bus system, as buses sometimes dropped students off at different schools or brought them home after dark.