American Association of School Personnel Administrators

5 Shifts to Address the National Educator Shortage

American Association of School Personnel Administrators

Kelly Coash-Johnson

Executive Director, American Association of School Personnel Administrators

• Email: Kelly@aaspa.org
• Twitter: @CoashJohnson
• https://www.aaspa.org/

​

​

5 Shifts to Address the National Educator Shortage

Today’s Presentation

Outline:

• Updated data and tracking on teacher shortage
• 5 Shifts to Address the Educator Shortage
• Educator Profiles
• AASPA Resources

​

​

Why are we here?

Teacher preparation enrollment…

• Enrollment in non Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) alternative programs has more than doubled

• Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) based comprehensive programs has declined 45%

https://aacte.org/resources/research-reports-and-briefs/

​

Why are we here?

Teacher preparation completion…

• 10 year decline in completions (-32%) has not been as severe as the decline in enrollment (-45%) suggesting improved retention

​

• Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) based alternative programs have a 20% increase in completions

Why are we here?

Declining Interest in the profession

​

• National Opinion Research Center (NORC)
• According to the National Center for Education Statistics; business and health were among the top three most common fields of study in which degrees were conferred

​

​

​

NORC – 2022 Study: https://www.norc.org/research/library/survey--few-americans-would-encourage-a-young-person-to-become-a.html

NCES - https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=37

AACTE – 2022 Report: https://aacte.org/resources/research-reports-and-briefs/colleges-of-education-a-national-portraitv2/

Why are we here?

Declining Interest in the profession

​

• Teacher Attractiveness Rating by the Learning Policy Institute - builds on measures of teacher compensation, working conditions, school resources, qualifications, and teacher turnover to indicate how supportive each state appears to be of teacher recruitment and retention. Ratings are on a 1-5 scale, with 1 (the lightest color) being the least attractive and 5 (the darkest color) being the most attractive.

​

​

​

Learning Policy Institute: https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/state-of-teacher-workforce-interactive

https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/pdfs/Encouraging-More-HS-Students-to-Consider-Teaching.pdf

The impact of a Recession on Teaching Positions

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/impact-covid-19-recession-teaching-positions

Great Recession We lost more than 120,000 teaching positions.

​

Why are we here?

Teacher Retention/Turnover

​

• RAND Survey in early 2021 found that 25% of teachers indicated a desire to leave their jobs compared to an average national turnover rate of 16% pre-pandemic
• About 30% of new teachers leave the occupation within their first five years
• Teacher turnover is highest in the South (16.7%) and lowest in the Northeast (10.3%)
• Teachers of color have higher turnover rates (19% vs 15%)
• 51% of teachers report manageable workloads and 53% cited working conditions as primary reasons
• About 23% of the teaching workforce is between 50 and 59 years old, and 7% are older than 60
• 9 out of 10 vacancies each year are a result of teacher turnover

​

​

Source: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2021/09/08/how-the-pandemic-has-changed-teachers-commitment-to-remaining-in-the-classroom/ https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED579971.pdf and https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2018144

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1108-1.html

​

Why are we here?

Let’s Talk What is Cost’s to Replace…

National Data

• $2.2 Billion per year on teacher attrition
• $4.9 billion per year for replacing teachers who

transfer schools

District Data

• $4,366 per teacher in a small rural district
• $20,000 per teacher in an urban district

Separation Costs:

Removing from payroll and processing

Paying substitutes to cover

​

Recruitment and Hiring Costs:

Advertising

Traveling to job fairs

Responding to inquiries, corresponding to applicants

Conducting Interviews, background checks etc

​

Training Costs:

Coordinating mentoring programs, onboarding workshops and professional development

The Learning Policy Institute as a list of Separation Costs, Recruitment and Hiring Costs and Training Costs associated with Replacement: https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/about-teacher-turnover-calculations

​

Why are we here?

Understanding Teacher Pay

• How does your state compare / How does your school compare?

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/understanding-teacher-compensation-state-by-state-analysis

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/understanding-teacher-shortages-interactive

https://www.nctq.org/blog/Upping-the-ante:-The-current-state-of-teacher-pay-in-the-nations-large-school-districts

​

• The salary for a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree ranges from approximately $32,871 to just above $56,313

​

• Salaries are the quintessential incentive to attract the right teacher to the right position. Therefore, districts need to be strategic about how they pay. https://www.nctq.org/publications/Smart-Money-2.0?gclid=CjwKCAjw7--KBhAMEiwAxfpkWNMWSkQ6wUZ-SYq8-s3dV5zwhEAygfjmcFD--hRL78hQwrtga6RATBoCDkEQAvD_BwE#takeways

​

• The teacher shortage is so bad that governors in half of all states have proposed pay raises: ‘We’ve never seen what we are seeing right now’�https://fortune.com/2023/05/08/teacher-pay-shortage-salary/

​

​

​

2023’s Best and Worst

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-teachers/7159/#main-findings

Highest Annual Salaries

(Adjusted for Cost of Living)

1. New York

2. Illinois

3. Pennsylvania

4. Michigan

5. Washington

​

Lowest Projected Teacher Turnover

1. Kentucky

2. Montana

3. Missouri

4. New York

5. Alabama

Lowest Annual Salaries �(Adjusted for Cost of Living)

47. South Dakota�48. Florida�49. Maine�50. Colorado�51. Hawaii

​

Highest Projected Teacher Turnover

44. Indiana�45. Virginia�46. Arizona�47. Vermont�48. District of Columbia

Learning Policy Institute highest average salary:

• DC ($56,313)
• New Jersey ($53,177)
• California ($49,303)

​

Data on lowest average salary:

• Montana ($32,871)
• Missouri ($32,970)
• Arkansas ($35,201)

​

North Carolina

($54,863) #36– average

($37,676) #46 – starting

​

https://www.nea.org/resource-library/teacher-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank

​

Learning Policy Institute

Issues to Watch

1. State Reciprocity Rules – Where can you recruit and where can you not
• 8 States have full reciprocity (Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma)
• Most states will accept from All states on a “provisional” basis
• 31 states require some or all out-of-state teacher candidates to take additional course work or training
• 43 states and the District of Columbia require that some or all out-of-state teacher candidates take additional assessments.
• 38 state offer special reciprocity for military spouses

​

https://teachercompact.org/

​

https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-teacher-employment-contract-policies/

https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-teacher-license-reciprocity/

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED606883

​

41% of former teachers cited the ability to seamlessly transfer their license between states as a factor in deciding whether to return to the classroom.

https://www.learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Solving_Teacher_Shortage_Attract_Retain_Educators_REPORT.pdf

National Educator Shortage Summit 22, 23 & 24

Full report: https://www.aaspa.org/national-educator-shortage-

Increased Affordability

• Assist employees with applying for federal, state, or association student loan forgiveness or scholarship programs to pursue �licensure/certification.
• Compensate individuals during preparation experiences (e.g., student teaching, administrator residency, driver-in-training)
• Offer part-time positions for prospective educators who are in school that provide on-the-job learning experiences �(e.g., substitute teaching or education aide positions). 
• Guarantee positions to prospective educators who complete their clinical experiences in the district.

​

​

​

​

Data-Driven Career Counseling

• Provide career counseling to help future educators understand high-demand career opportunities in education �that align to their interests by leveraging resources such as O*NET Online. 

​

Licensure & Certification

• Offer tutoring and study resources for passing licensure exams.
• Assist individuals with understanding and completing licensure requirements. 
• Become an educator preparation provider (state approval required). 
• Sponsor visas for international candidates.

​

Organizational People Strategy

• Develop an HR strategic plan and/or ensure the organization’s overall strategic plan includes a people strategy and goals for talent management and development.  
• Align human capital practices with the organization’s mission, vision, and strategy. 
• Conduct stay interviews or surveys to understand why employees choose to stay with your organization. Use this feedback to help define your competitive advantage.
• Include the top Human Resources Officer on the executive leadership team.

​

Strategic Leadership

Develop and monitor key performance indicators for HR processes. 

People Managers 

• Communicate expectations for managers as leaders of people, and provide training and provide support to help them successfully manage others.
• Ensure education organization leaders are selected, developed, and held accountable as human capital leaders.
• Ensure supervisors are equipped to provide career management support to their staff.

​

​

​

​

​

​

Talent Acquisition

• Analyze the effectiveness of recruitment strategies and talent sources. Adjust tactics as needed. 
• Strengthen partnerships with preparation programs, local businesses, and community groups to develop mutually beneficial opportunities to address talent shortages.
• Examine application and hiring processes to identify factors that unnecessarily narrow the talent pool (e.g., inflated job requirements, unnecessarily burdensome application, bias, process inefficiencies).
• Engage candidates all year.
• Work with other districts to share educators in shortage areas or allow students without access to advanced coursework to take those courses virtually with teachers in another school or district.

​

​

Talent Development

• Develop a comprehensive onboarding program that supports employees throughout their first 6 months-1 year with the organization. 
• Provide growth and development opportunities to all employees that align with the current roles and/or prepare them for career advancement opportunities. 
• Improve employee transfer and exit practices to facilitate transitions. 

​

​

​

Employee-Centered Total Rewards Strategy

• Ask staff about their satisfaction with total rewards options. Track and monitor total rewards utilization and return on investment (ROI).
• Design total rewards programs that match staff needs and requests.  
• Provide a variety of health insurance packages for staff and allow them to select the package that best matches their needs.
• Provide equitable and adequate opportunities for career advancement.

Transparent Offerings

• Develop an employee value proposition. 
• Communicate compensation and total rewards offerings on job postings and websites. Share information about the value of total rewards provided to staff.
• Utilize technology to provide information and training on total rewards options, and/or self-service centers for staff to manage their benefits.
• Provide employees with information about career advancement opportunities. 

Flexible Staffing Models

• Investigate flexible or non traditional work arrangements (work from home, virtual classroom, etc.) for positions/jobs the organization has strategically selected.

Pay Equity

• Monitor for pay equity internally and make corrections when pay is not equitable. Review total rewards policies and practices ensuring practices are inclusive and equitable.
• Ensure compensation for educators is market competitive by reviewing market data every three to five years. 

​

Incentives for Education Careers

• Support educators to apply for federal, state, or association student loan forgiveness.
• Work with the community to create a listing of discount or rewards programs for educators.
• Recognize previous relevant work or military experience when determining starting salaries. 

​

Meaningful Work

• Cultivate a collective, shared organizational purpose.
• Encourage managers to learn what their employees find meaningful.
• Reduce bureaucratic workloads and maximize the amount of time employees have to engage in meaningful work. 
• Help educators see their daily impact.

Autonomy

• “Re-recruit" current employees by expressing appreciation for their work and inviting them to participate in leadership opportunities.
• Provide opportunities for employees to exercise greater creativity and ownership over their work.
• Engage staff in identifying innovative solutions to local issues.

Community Building

• Explore team teaching models to look for opportunities to reduce isolation when educating students. 
• Examine educators’ schedules and provide protected time for them to collaborate with peers.
• Create partnerships with community organizations to help educators increase their impact. 
• Establish employee resource groups.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

• Create stakeholder committees to provide a voice to all stakeholders. Include diverse thoughts, ideas, and perspectives in decision making.
• Develop onboarding and mentoring programs to provide support to educators of color early in their careers. 
• Review current employee programs and policies for bias and inequities. Identify processes that may impede diversity and inclusive excellence. 
• Invest in opportunities for educators of color to grow and develop in their abilities and their qualification for leadership roles.
• Invest in programs or processes that improve workplace culture. 

Customer Service

• Increase transparency by making information readily accessible.
• Utilize technology-enabled processes, such as self service, to eliminate wait time and improve data sharing.
• Design processes from the point of view of your employees and the experiences that you want them to have. 

​

Work-Life Integration

• Engage educators to understand how to serve their need for work-life integration.
• Normalize the use of employee assistance programs and other supports for wellbeing by promoting them and embedding them in school systems.
• Offer support for childcare, elder care, or adoption. 
• Offer comprehensive, on-site health clinics for staff that offer low-cost or free physical or mental health care services.
• Create policies and job arrangements that enable employees to work while still meeting their personal responsibilities (e.g., boundary exceptions for students of employees, child ride-along programs for bus drivers, reduce hours for benefits eligibility, combine part-time roles to create full time positions). 

Data-driven Improvements

• Collect data to understand the needs and desires of key talent groups. Create personas that represent specific employee or candidate segments to guide the design of employee programs and processes. 
• Create candidate and employee journey maps to better understand their current experiences and pain points. 
• Conduct stay interviews and exit surveys to understand why employees choose to leave your organization and what keeps them there. 
• Examine trends in transfers within the organization. 
• Identify opportunities to better serve employees by reallocating spending to programs that match employee preferences.

​

Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

• Engage staff to define your employee value proposition.
• Ensure hiring managers and recruiters understand your EVP and communicate it to candidates. 
• Hold leaders and supervisors accountable for fulfilling the promise of your EVP to current employees.

​

Internal Ambassadors for the Profession

• Implement an employee referral program.
• Empower employees with the information and resources to become ambassadors for your organization. 

National Educator Shortage Summit 2024 ��* Pipeline Journey Map�* Retention Journey Map

Who can this person contact for information?

Can you increase efforts to work with high schools to determine what levels of support are needed?

Can you get him working? Where is the information about licensure requirements or transferring from another state?

What are the leadership opportunities? How are they shared in your district?

What do you have in place to support educators who are feeling overwhelmed? Is it just the responsibility ok K-12?

AASPA Member Benefits

• Professional Development
• Employee Surveys
• Employee Evaluation Instruments
• Onboarding/Offboarding Checklists
• Job Descriptions
• Letters of Reprimand
• Federal Updates
• Diversity & Cultural Competency Resources
• Interview Questions
• Magazine/HR Focus
• Bookstore
• Insurance ($1 million of professional liability insurance)

​

https://www.aaspa.org/hcle-certification

https://www.aaspa.org/member-benefits

American Association of School Personnel Administrators

Kelly Coash-Johnson

Executive Director, American Association of School Personnel Administrators

Email: Kelly@aaspa.org

Twitter: @CoashJohnson

Follow us on LinkedIn

Like AASPA on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter