‘An absolute emergency.’ How KY is working to address the teacher shortage ‘crisis’

Following many other Kentucky educators, Heather Kirchdorfer Mattingly left her teaching job at an Oldham County middle school in March 2022.

Workload, low pay and what she felt was a lack of respect for the profession on many levels played into her decision, she said.

“Things got to be so incredibly stressful that I resigned right before spring break. I miss my students. I think any teacher who has left will tell you they miss the students,” said Mattingly, who also formerly worked in Fayette County Public Schools. “We’re all very deeply worried about what the future’s going to look like” for a lot of children.

Kentucky Association of School Administrators Executive Director Rhonda Caldwell at a Monday news conference outlined an educator workforce “crisis” with large shortages in state public schools and dramatic declines in people entering the profession. She warned of “cascading effects” on Kentucky and its students.

Citing 11,000 teacher vacancies across the state this school year, Gov. Andy Beshear has said that the shortage is the result of not just the coronavirus pandemic, but years of cutbacks that have left schools underfunded.

Across the state, new programs aimed at increasing the workforce and preparing educators for classroom realities are helping teachers like Brie Stalker. By the time she graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2021, she had been working at Lexington’s Picadome Elementary School for two years. She’s now a teacher certified by the state.

“The University of Kentucky education program gave me the experience to be hands on in the classroom, working with students, and making lessons that are engaging and challenging,” Stalker told the Herald-Leader in a text message. “Having my own class, I am able to apply those strategies I learned through my experiences with UK and my embedded program at Picadome Elementary.”

As Mattingly and other Kentucky teachers leave the profession, school districts and colleges, including the University of Kentucky and Fayette County schools, are making joint efforts to curb the teaching shortage and strengthen the workforce.

Teacher Brie Stalker Photographer Jackie Thompson/Kentucky Teacher
Teacher Brie Stalker Photographer Jackie Thompson/Kentucky Teacher

Teacher shortage is ‘real’

Kentucky schools canceled in-person classes for months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beshear noted at the Monday news conference that the measure saved lives, but resulted in learning losses.

Those losses can’t be made up for without teachers, Beshear said.

Scottie Ellis, a spokesperson for Beshear’s office, said Feb. 3 that 10,816 teacher positions were posted in the Kentucky Educator Placement System for the 2021-2022 school year.

“The teacher shortage in Kentucky is real. It was recognized long before the pandemic, and it is getting worse,” a new report from the Kentucky Coalition to Sustain the Education Profession report states. The group was organized under the direction of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators.

Data around the number of people studying to become teachers coupled with current shortages creates “an absolute emergency,” Caldwell said, speaking about the report.

“The time is now to figure out what we can do to entice, retain and empower citizens to become amazing teachers in our schools. Failure to do so will have dire results,” she said.

In 1991, the Teacher Shortage Area Report for Kentucky listed three areas where the state was experiencing a shortage: secondary foreign language, learning disability and trainable mentally handicapped, according to the coalition.

In 2022, the same report for Kentucky lists shortage areas in almost every subject area with slight variations by region.

“Whether one considers teacher turnover rates of 16.2 percent, the 83.7 percent average of jobs filled versus jobs posted, or the dramatic increase in the use of emergency certified positions, all of the data indicate a poor and worsening picture of the attractiveness of the teaching profession,” the coalition report said.

In Kentucky, there has been a multi-year decline in enrollment in teacher education programs, from 10,802 in 2017-18 to 9,616 in 2021-22, the report said.

The Kentucky Office of Education Accountability has suggested that the number of graduates from teacher education programs in science in the past four years, for example, was able to replace only about 100 of the 1,000 vacancies created by retirement.

Why aren’t people becoming teachers?

Enrollment data from the fall showed the number of incoming education majors in the UK College of Education increased 83%, going from 118 incoming education majors in fall 2019 to 216 in fall 2022. During that same time period, the number of freshman students of color increased 275% in teacher education programs, rising from 12 to 45, UK officials recently said.

However, overall enrollment in the College of Education has decreased in the last 10 years, while enrollment at UK is at a record-high.

One reason that college students have increasingly chosen routes other than teaching is the pay differential between teaching and other professional careers, often called the teacher wage penalty.

In Kentucky, the teacher wage penalty in 2019 was 22.2%.

Beshear said Monday that Kentucky was 44th nationwide in teacher starting pay and when adjusting for inflation, most Kentucky teachers had seen a drop in pay. He is recommending a 5% increase in pay for all public school employees above what school districts have already given.

Teachers around the state reported concerns about the teaching environment in a 2022 survey, including issues around safety and well-being.

In a 2022 Impact Kentucky survey about school climate, teachers said:

  • 67% responded negatively to a survey question asking about student disruption of the learning environment

  • 19% of teachers felt less than “quite safe” at school (2% of principals responded the same)

  • 75% of teachers were concerned about the emotional well-being of their colleagues

  • 66% were concerned about their own emotional well-being

  • Almost 30% expressed feelings of not belonging at their school

  • 43% said they feel their work environment is a quite positive one.

Negative school culture, strain on school resources to support new or substitute teachers, or hesitance to dismiss low-quality teachers for fear of not being able to replace them contribute to those feelings. Kids in a class with an unqualified teacher, or no regular teacher at all, can struggle to learn the required standards, the coalition report said.

It’s tough right now in the classroom, said Mattingly, the former teacher. Unless drastic improvements are made, she doesn’t see that changing.

“Tasks and expectations that were unnecessary pulled us away from what we were supposed to do,” said Mattingly. “The stress of trying to do a good job in the classroom got to be too much, I would drag so much work home. I wasn’t able to spend time with my own children, my own family.”

Mattingly spent weekends writing plans, grading and inputting data, but thought those tasks should be done during her planning time in the classroom. Her planning time, though, was often consumed by multiple meetings, having to cover other classes or having to assist younger teachers.

Last year alone at her former middle school, she said, “50 years of experience walked out of that building. And that’s really hard to replace.“

Heather Kirchdorfer Mattingly Photo provided
Heather Kirchdorfer Mattingly Photo provided

UK places students in local schools for early prep

The UK College of Education integrates education students into schools as early as sophomore year, helping prepare them for teaching in a classroom before starting their semester of student teaching.

UK education students are embedded in local schools during pre-practicum and practicum classes, with the guidance of a certified teacher. Students attend a lecture on Monday, and then are embedded in a classroom on Wednesday to apply what they’ve learned, said Joni Meade, a clinical instructor in the elementary education program.

Students work at different schools throughout the semester, seeing different student populations and needs.

Meade and Cindy Jong, associate professor of mathematics education, helped establish the elementary embedded courses program. UK also has an embedded program for students wanting to become middle school teachers, which operates similarly.

Jong said the embed program helps students build up their confidence in the classroom before they begin student teaching. It also builds connections with schools and teachers in the area, allowing them to see what a classroom is like before they start the job.

Jong and Meade said the program also allows them to stay connected to the needs of current teachers, and bring those lessons back to their students. The two professors said they also talk with their students about the demands of the teaching profession and are realistic about work-life balance.

Justine Enright, who is now a student teacher, said she took part in the embed program last fall to experience more hands-on learning of what goes on in an elementary classroom.

”(Being) in the classroom at UK can only prepare you so much, and then you get out in the field and obviously kids are unpredictable,” Enright said. “You don’t know exactly what they’re going to do. So just having that practice of being able to roll with the punches and learn from your students was really valuable.”

The lessons and projects throughout the embed program directly applied to student teaching, said Emily Lane, who also participated in the embed program.

“The assignments got us ready for each thing we would do this semester, so (there) was nothing that we hadn’t seen before,” Lane said.

Jayda Robertson is also a student teacher who took part in the program. It helped her get ready for student teaching over the course of a semester, she said, meaning she was more prepared when she started teaching.

As she prepares to graduate, Robertson said the teacher shortage is something she’s thought about, but it hasn’t caused her any major worries. She’s considered how the teacher shortage may create more responsibilities for her once she is a full-time teacher, she said.

“Once we get into teaching, we may have a lot of responsibilities to do, because there may not be a lot of people to help with certain things,” Robertson said. “You may have to take on those things. (We’re preparing) to be very flexible, being ready to say, ‘OK, I can take that on, on top of everything else I’m doing,’ and being able to handle all those things.”

Enright said the teacher shortage is something she keeps “front of mind.” She’s heard some people talk about how easy it will be to get a job after graduation, but she’s also thinking about extra duties that may come with that job.

“Once I do get a job, when I’m in a school, it is kind of concerning that some of the schools might be shorter-staffed, or there might be less support,” Enright said.

Still, Enright said the embed program helped her prepare for that situation by placing her in many different types of schools while she was still a student.

“We get to see the types of schools that are maybe understaffed, and then schools that aren’t, so we can get practice with different types of schools,” Enright said. “Wherever we do end up, we are well-prepared to handle whatever your working environment is.”

Meade said she often brings first-year teachers as panelists to her students, so they can learn what the job is really like. Jong said she encourages students to talk about self-care, and has “realistic conversations about what to expect.”

University of Kentucky elementary education students gather for a workshop at Stonewall Elementary in Lexington, Ky., Wednesday, January 18, 2023.
University of Kentucky elementary education students gather for a workshop at Stonewall Elementary in Lexington, Ky., Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

‘Great way to make a difference’

Eastern Kentucky University and Bluegrass Community and Technical College launched a 2+2 program last year, allowing students who earn their associates degree to transfer to EKU and finish an elementary education degree.

Gill Hunter, interim dean of the College of Education and Applied Human Sciences at EKU, said there are 21 students from BCTC who enrolled in the College of Education in the fall, and six who enrolled this semester. The partnership with BCTC was launched under the former dean, with the goal of reaching more non-traditional and students from diverse backgrounds interested in becoming a teacher.

While the program is still in its first year, Hunter said he hopes it will create a strong pipeline of new teachers in Kentucky.

“We want to expand access to education as a profession, and we know that a lot of non-traditional students choose a community and technical college like BCTC,” Hunter said. “We want to be available to them, and we wanted to formalize that partnership. The other piece of that, and it goes hand-in-hand with that focus, is that we also want to diversify the education profession.”

Hunter said there are conversations every day at EKU about the teaching shortage, including looking at ways to focus in on areas that are in need of additional teachers. In particular, EKU has focused on building up its options for special education, math and science teachers, which are in need around the state, he said.

They also offer a master’s program for students who have an undergraduate degree not in education but want to get a teaching degree, which allows students to work towards that degree while they are currently teaching.

The teacher shortage hasn’t raised many concerns for students, Hunter said. Students are often able to pick where they want to work, and end up getting jobs in their first-choice district after they graduate. The department Hunter oversees has a 100% job placement rate, he said.

Some students have raised concerns about being underpaid or the political tension surrounding teaching and schools, but overall students are passionate about becoming teachers, he said.

“There’s a lot working against why you might want to become a teacher,” Hunter said. “The antidote to that is to focus on your passion. You want to do this for the best of reasons ... we have students who want to make a difference. They’re choosing to enter into the education profession because they believe that it is a great way to make a difference, and I agree with that.”

What one Kentucky school district is trying

Fayette County Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said the teacher shortage is impacting school districts throughout Kentucky and the nation.

Fayette County Public Schools is fortunate to be a place where many teachers want to work, he said, and the district has developed strategies to keep it that way — leaders have established pathways to develop and attract future candidates, while staying focused on teachers already in classrooms.

As of the end of January, there were three open teacher positions listed on the Fayette County district website: one elementary, one middle and one high school.

“Being an educator is hard work — whether you are working with students in the classroom or on a bus, leading a campus or a cafeteria,” Liggins said. “Committing your life to serving the next generation is one of the highest callings anyone can choose, and as superintendent, it is critical for me to ensure our employees feel valued and celebrated for making a difference in the lives of children.”

In the “New Way Forward” strategic plan, district officials have placed a renewed emphasis on culture, which includes staff recognition and celebration as well as creating work environments where everyone is valued, included and empowered to succeed.

“This year our school board created and funded an employee social-emotional wellness support specialist, and in just one semester, she has made a tremendous difference,” said Liggins.

She provided direct support to hundreds of employees, and, under her leadership, every school is establishing a staff wellness team to identify specific needs in their building and enhance the workplace culture, Liggins said.

Another area of focus that will help retain and attract teachers is competitive pay, he said. The Fayette County Board of Education commissioned a study of salaried employee compensation earlier this year and board members have repeatedly expressed a commitment to boosting teacher salaries.

Fayette County’s average teacher salaries are among the best in the state, ranking fourth highest for the 2022-23 school year, Liggins said.

The district is also looking at ways to more quickly move people interested in becoming educators through the certification process. The Grow Your Own initiative, which is being funded through ESSER, or federal COVID funds, enables current classroom teachers to attain additional certifications in shortage areas like special education, gifted education and support for English language education.

It is also opening doors for non-teaching employees who already have bachelor’s degrees to go through the necessary training to earn teaching certifications.

One of them was James Woodhead. He was an instructional assistant in a special education classroom at Harrison Elementary for 11 years and recently obtained a certificate that allows him to teach at the school while obtaining a master’s degree. The opportunity popped up fast and because of his longevity with the school, Woodhead was asked to fill a teacher vacancy.

“We’ve had a fair amount of turnover with teachers and staff ... I’ve been consistent with being here,” Woodhead said.

There are also opportunities for some support staff, who may have limited credit hours but are interested in teaching, to go to school to become teacher assistants or teachers.

Within the Grow Your Own program, announced in November, there are also pathways for teachers who want to get an advanced degree in school leadership, for high school students exploring careers in education, and for community members and professionals in other fields to enter the teaching ranks.

Fixing the shortage

Kentucky Department of Education officials said they can’t provide an exact number of how many teachers they are short since that number is very fluid and is driven at the local level.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason E. Glass said in an email statement that next steps must include labor market compensation issues, such as efforts aimed at offering an attractive starting pay, a path toward a stable middle class standard of living and retirement with dignity.

The state must address how to recruit new teachers into the profession and how to support talented people in the state who are interested in becoming trained educators, Glass said. The state also must provide the necessary supports on the job to make the work manageable and desirable.

He said Kentucky must avoid quick-fix answers to address these complex and difficult challenges.

“We did not get into this problem overnight and we will not solve it quickly either,” Glass said.

He said he was pleased to see the legislature taking interest in supporting educators and is hopeful for some positive changes in this upcoming legislative session and beyond.

The Coalition report recommends six strategies to begin addressing the shortage of educators:

  1. Conduct a comprehensive study of the state of Kentucky education.

  2. Address teacher certification and qualification issues that impede teacher recruitment.

  3. Analyze financial incentives to aid in statewide recruiting and retention efforts.

  4. Create a legislative mandate to bring together data, programs and processes across disparate agencies and organizations to create a single “Be a Kentucky Teacher” portal for teacher preparation, recruitment and application.

  5. Mandate that every school district implement a teacher recruitment and induction system and provide non-competitive grant funding to support the effort.

  6. Develop a marketing plan to communicate to all Kentucky audiences the impact and importance of Kentucky educators and public education.

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