Beginning in 2022, deans and faculty from Miami-Dade institutions of higher education (Schools and Colleges of Education), along with school district leaders, formed the South Florida Education Consortium. Since then, the Consortium has been meeting periodically to discuss current issues and concerns in K-12 education, and specifically the current pre-K-12 teacher shortage. While the country, our community, and our campuses have been embroiled in political issues, natural disasters, and significant protests, a significant crisis that should be relevant to everyone seems to be escaping broader attention. There is currently a dire shortage of teachers, and it is reaching catastrophic proportions.
Nationally, the U.S. has experienced multiple teacher shortage cycles since at least the 1970s, with district-specific salary increases and funding from government programs providing master's degrees or loan forgiveness programs having provided temporary solutions. Since 2016, researchers from the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) have reported that at least 40 states experienced a shortage of teachers for science, math, special education, and other areas, with a 30% drop in the number of students entering teacher preparation programs and alternative certification pathways. LPI's 2016 prediction that the U.S. would be short over 100,000 teachers by 2017-18 if education policies did not change has become a reality. Today, more than 1/3 of teachers hired across the contiguous 47 states have temporary or emergency credentials according to the LPI, and significantly, 9 out of 10 teachers hired each year are replacing colleagues who are leaving the profession, two-thirds of these before retirement. While the teacher shortage was exacerbated by Covid-19, the problem is not new and there are many issues that need to be addressed to provide a more permanent solution for the profession.
Though not a new problem, it is a dire one. Teacher shortages negatively affect students, teachers, public, charter, and private schools, the educational system, and society. Education is the foundation for an engaged citizenry to participate in a democratic society, a point emphasized by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and others – who saw a clear link between robust public education and a healthy democracy. Further, equitable opportunities for a world-class education remain the best route for social mobility in this country and most others, according to economists and demographers. In this post-Covid era, whereby pandemic-related gaps in academic achievement have been well-documented, it is shocking that this national crisis has not received the attention it requires.
Here in South Florida, we are incredibly fortunate to have wonderful, dedicated, and committed educational leaders, administrators, teachers, and parents – who care about children and share the goal that every child deserves a high-quality education. But we must help! We must lean into the effects of the national crisis on our local community. We must start by raising awareness and discussing solutions that could work on the local level.
The University of Miami School of Education and Human Development hosted an Educational Summit focused the Teacher Shortage Crisis on January 25th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the University of Miami. Presented by the S. Florida Education Consortium, the Summit was co-sponsored by the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Miami, the College of Education at Florida International University and the School of Education at Miami-Dade College. We discussed several issues from both national and local perspectives, raising the alarm while also advancing the conversation about what we could do to address the teacher shortage in our community. After opening remarks made by Dean Kohn Wood, Ms. Mari Tere Rojas (M-DCPS School Board Chair), and Dr. Dawn Baglos (M-DCPS Chief Human Capital Officer), Dean Carole Basile from Arizona State University’s (ASU) Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, gave a keynote presentation on the Next Education Workforce Design Initiative that started in partnership with Phoenix public schools. A panel made up of people with varying roles in education provided their perspectives on top solutions to the teacher shortage. Panelists included:
- Dr. Dawn Baglos, Chief Human Capital Officer, M-DCPS
- Dr. Steve Gallon, M-DCPS School Board Member
- Mr. Wallace Aristide, Florida State Representative, District 107
- Mr. Roniel Osario, Principal, W. Miami Middle School
- Dr. Jennifer Krawec, UM Teaching and Learning Department Chair
- Dr. Pablo Ortiz, Provost, Barry University
- Ms. Melissa Dotel, 2024 M-DCPS Teacher of the Year
- Ms. Leslie Miller, Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP)
Attendees then selected a table topic to continue discussing ways to address the teacher shortage. The small group discussions were facilitated by S. Florida Education Consortium faculty and education partners. A second S. Florida Education Consortium Summit on the Teacher Shortage is being planned for June 2025, and will be hosted by Miami Dade College.
