A shortage of teachers has left schools in many parts of the country scrambling to fill positions and meet student needs however they can, and schools in Monroe County are no different.

The Institute of Education Sciences, a research component of the U.S. Department of Education, found that 45 percent of all public schools in the country had at least one vacant teaching position as of October 2022.

That figure comes from the IES School Pulse Panel, a study collecting data to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public schools.

The most recent report with data from August also found that 53 percent of public schools in the country considered themselves to be understaffed entering the 2022-23 school year.

That figure varies slightly depending on region, with the Northeast at 48 percent, the South at 51 percent, the West at 59 percent and the Midwest at 53 percent.

This report also noted the expected and reported difficulty of national public schools when it comes to filling certain positions.

Special education and foreign language positions were most often described as “very difficult” to fill while social studies and physical education or health positions were the most prevalent in the “very easy” category – though schools appeared to rank all positions mostly “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” to fill.

A Dec. 21 article in USA Today titled “How politics, the pandemic and pay are contributing to teacher shortages nationwide” points to this report and offers some explanation as to why the shortage is happening.

The article notes that the shortage, per the report, isn’t happening everywhere. It also points to “low pay and morale, mounting political and academic pressures, health and safety concerns” as some reasons for teachers fleeing the profession.

Locally, Monroe County superintendents said their schools are among many impacted by the shortage.

Monroe-Randolph County Regional Superintendent of Schools Kelton Davis said the ongoing, more extreme teacher shortage has served to intensify shortages for certain positions that already existed in education.

Davis added that he and his colleagues with the Association of Regional Superintendents started to anticipate a rather significant shortage back in 2015.

“There was forewarning that we were gonna hit this thing, and we’ve hit it hard,” Davis said. “We’ve always struggled in some of our smaller roles for, especially, areas like Spanish. When you have a person that needs to teach Spanish and driver’s ed, it’s a tough mix to find when we have those openings, but right now every one of our districts is struggling finding staff.”

Davis remarked that a little over a decade ago, a school could post an opening for an elementary school position and get 100 applicants. Schools are now lucky to get three applicants for such a position, he said.

When asked if he could point to a particular cause for the lack of teachers, Davis summed it up in one word: respect.

Davis explained that he feels teaching is no longer considered a respected profession, with extensive guidelines indicating a lack of respect from the state coupled with heightened criticisms from the public.

That lack of respect, he said, contributes to a climate where people simply don’t want to become teachers.

“When you ask teachers if their children want to go into teaching, they do not recommend people going into teaching anymore,” Davis said. “Even teachers are saying ‘get out.’ That’s sad, and it’s respect. It doesn’t seem to have the esteem it used to have.”

Waterloo Superintendent of Schools Brian Charron said his district has been dealing with a number of vacancies since the start of this school year.

While the district has been able to bring in substitutes as needed, the lack of certification for their exact position isn’t a point of pride.

“It’s been manageable,” Charron said. “We’ve found a couple substitutes. The sad thing is, the subs are not certified in the area that they’re teaching, but they’re doing a good job, and we’ve arranged schedules so that existing teachers in that content area can assist the substitute teacher with planning and preparation.”

Waterloo will also soon deal with the loss of positions that have been paid for thanks to Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief grants.

Charron pointed to a number of issues that he feels have contributed to the teacher shortage – increased stress on educators being one of them.

“The last few years, there’s been a heightened level of anxiety,” Charron said. “I think that there’s a lot of political pressure that has been put on schools. A lot of people look to their schools to try to fix all of society’s problems, and it’s just not something that we’re… we can’t fix everything.”

Charron also described an issue particularly affecting teachers in Illinois. A 2011 change to retirement plans for state educators has left current teachers working until about 67 for “full retirement” compared to about age 54 in Missouri.

Wages are also a concern, as Charron said teacher pay has not kept pace with other jobs.

He added the Waterloo School Board may have to have a conversation with taxpayers in the future should it determine a significant increase in educator pay is necessary to remain competitive.

Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode said his district has, like others in the area, been feeling the impact of the teacher shortage.

“There’s staffing issues, I think, across the board, and we’re seeing it just like every other place,” Grode said. “We are fortunate that we’ve been able to pull individuals from other school districts. We also were able to fill some hard to fill positions by getting provisional certificates to people that were out in the work force.”

Grode added that the provisional certificates have helped his district fill its welding and business education positions by helping those in the community with experience in the fields start teaching.

Grode also said Columbia has been able to stay attractive to teachers thanks to salaries and location, with several retired Missouri educators coming over to Columbia.

Grode pointed to public perception of teaching as a key reason for the shortage of teachers as political figures and media outlets have lobbied a great deal of criticism at the profession.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful profession,” Grode said. “The media has made it really seem like it is less than what I think it is, and I don’t always like that. I don’t think education has failed the students. I don’t think that we’ve left children behind, but I will say that a lot of politicians and news media take potshots at us. That doesn’t make it where people are dreaming of their future and they’re wanting to become teachers, and I think that’s a shame.”

Grode added he’s ultimately unsure of the precise cause for the shortage, though he also emphasized the importance of teaching, describing it as a “monumental job.”