What strategies can schools use to address teacher shortages?

During a time when there was shortage of full time faculty in the initial learning program in our organisation, we quickly introduced an initiative to have part-time faculty from projects. This worked very well with guidelines for selection, induction, improvements, monitoring and rewarding. Schools could open up "Volunteer teachers program" tiring up with local communities and corporates to have experienced teachers. This must be a strategy with clear documentation of guidelines and contractual obligations. Visiting faculty concept is already available in colleges, so it is time we pick that up at schools as well.

In my experience, the important point we all must take care is that each teacher must feel valued, as they are spending quality time of their career in developing the new generation, today's kids to tomorrow's Leaders, excelling in different fields, in different countries. So are we valuing their time and effort? are we paying them for what they are worth? Are we offering the right support, so that they can effectively concentrate on teaching? Why don't we offer some assistance to support them in book correction, markings etc. so that they can effectively do the teaching part. It's always advisable to have a teacher's cover pool where retired teachers, qualified parents, graduated alumni students can step in and cover a teacher's absence.

Most important is that the salary has to be at par with societal standards.If corporates and non educational organizations are providing higher packages why should those employees with similar or higher qualifications settle for lower paying teaching jobs .And then how do you expect to attract the best of the brains to train the best in brains and bring out the best in students.

Teachers leave the profession because there is an overall lack of RESPECT shown towards them by some pupils and their parents. Teachers are not allowed to discipline students in an attempt to gain respect and as a result …the majority of the class suffer ( because of the minority). Less learning is taking place in our schools. Behavioural problems go mostly unchallenged and teachers are ridiculed. well behaved,conscientious students miss out. Until respect for authority is restored ( as it was in 60,s,70’s and 80’s…) good kids miss out, teachers leave the profession and poorly behaved students continue on a road towards poor adult behaviour ( ie they become non functioning community members).

Shortage of teachers comes due to results whereby teachers are not respected and honoured well. In that I mean ,their wage salary is not appeasing at all. Most of the countries teachers are the most lowly paid despite of them c dedicating their time and life to produce professors,engineers,doctors and other prominent persons in the society. Teachers are not appreciated through promotions,they stagnate in the same job group for more than 10 years and even if you hold a PhD,masters they don't consider them. This has made the teachers to venture or transit into other fields that nurture them in terms of working conditions and renumeration.

Older, experienced teachers are the best resources that a school have. Likewise the new teachers have fresh perspective. It would be a lovely concept where each older teacher be assigned a new one to mentor for the year.

Provide mentoring and coaching also, let go of the typical “got you” culture that is imbedded in poor administration styles. Sadly, the culture of intimidating teachers still exist today! Also, provide a means to progress in the career besides being the one who sucks up to administration the best.

Nothing beats experience and in all my research in education and the promotion of our younger staff, mentorship is vitally important and we need to ensure we use the experience of our experienced to our advantage to ensure we continue to grow and develop educators for the future!

Keeping mentors in classrooms, team teaching and working together with new teachers is critical to their development as teachers. We assume that after University finishes, grads are capable of dealing with classes of disengaged and academically struggling kids, they aren’t. They need the toolkit to be built and the only way to do that is often to “show, don’t tell”.

Flexible and positive teachers who have been in a system or building make all the difference for new teachers. They assist with classroom management as well as knowledge in how to open and maintain communication with parents/guardians.

Belonging, in India we celebrate Teachers day to show the world why and what makes Teaching a special skill to just a job. Teachers are gurus that enlighten mentees by their wisdom..

The nature of today's public education system is that teacher workload is incredibly complex and challenging. When we work together as a team, share best practice and problem solve together, trust, competence and a supportive work environment are created. When we help teachers find solutions, we also build increased competency. When we listen to our teachers' concerns and stresses and work with them to mitigate those concerns, we demonstrate genuine caring and concern as well as support. All of this leads to a more positive work environment.

The biggest flaw happening today in many educational institutions is a harmful toxic culture hatching all the teachers potential and making them feel worthless.A teacher works through lot of unpaid working hours yet he is unable to receive the appreciation he/she deserves.A Management should never make a teacher burnout instead they should understand that teachers are also humans by creating a manageable work schedule and must reduce non-paid working hours.They should also ensure that there is no workplace politics which is the only way of creating positive work environment in the educational organisation.This makes the teacher both physically and mentally happy.

Many schools utilize a corporate structure of leadership. While that works for transactional gain, in a school culture, it can be deadly if the principal "CEO" " treats all humans as corporate assets rather than partners. Teachers and staff need to be part of the decision-making process relevant to their experiences and expertise. Supporting clear and consistent communication helps the environment to be transparent and reduce stress and anxiety. The successful schools I have served in I attribute to fostering community and belonging to having a robust and fair approach to conflict resolution. Recognition is important to adults and children. Above all, show trust and autonomy to avoid micromanagement. Trust teachers to teach.

Our schools and their leadership have a genuine possibility to create a truly life-changing educational experience for teachers and students. As beacons of best practice, international school leaders in particular can aid retention by setting the highest possible global aspirations when it comes to our world, its environmental and economic transition. Leading with purpose and genuine integrity and using that purpose literally to shape the future and not react to it, as we seem to be fixated on the 'jobs that don't yet exist' myth'. To do this we need a 'values-laden' curriculum that intentionally sets out to make the world a better place and not merely observe and comment on it. Teachers who are part of a global society for opportunity.

The pandemic opened doors for working at home; a LOT of people like that - maybe not all the time, but definitely some of the time. Schools have students who are physically present; so that's a challenge. But be creative! Provide options for teachers to have flexibility. Early starters and late starters? And do you need to teach every subject every day? What if one day of the week leaned more toward the arts and some content area teachers planned at home? And vice versa. Teaching pairs? Maybe one day a week each of the teachers work from home but engage in videoconference one-on-one sessions to support students in need? PD days? Virtual (try gather.town) I'm just tossing out ideas ... keep thinking! Creativity will set you apart!

What if we apply the same sharing system to education as we have to our homes and cars? We can reimagine how schools address teacher shortages, and students still can attend classes. The Acadeum course-sharing network connects schools to access empty online asynchronous seats at 500 high schools, colleges, and universities. Students gain access to courses and teachers not at their school. Education institutions fill empty seats, translating to new sources of revenue and more extensive course catalogs. Imagine the world’s largest education provider may not teach courses itself but connects students with teachers and courses from institutions worldwide to address the teacher shortage sustainably through sharing education resources.

I strongly hold the belief that, in order to tackle the education challenges associated with expanding student populations, widening learning and achievement disparities, and persistent inequities, hybrid learning stands as the most efficacious solution. It enables flexible scheduling, expands class options, and provides teachers with additional time for preparation, collaboration, and the enhancement of their instructional methods.

We hire part time, we hire online teachers, we hire retired teachers. We also hire professors, professional people, former soldiers, and new college graduates (who've gone through similar experiences to what our students will in the future.) Go everywhere. Don't feel obligated to hire who you're supposed to. The students are who matter.

An increasing number of paraprofessionals do not aspire to become teachers. They view teaching as temporary until discover a more "serious" career. This is an alarming truth that necessitates attention. Teachers play a pivotal role in shaping future educators. To establish educational institutions that foster intellectual, emotional, and communal growth, we must prioritize the support we give staff with professional development. Each school has a particular culture and requires a distinct strategy to reach the community's needs. By investing in our current staff, their experiences and perceptions of teaching, and listening to their suggestions, we can take measured strides toward attracting others to the field for the long haul.

I had a client who had a great relationship with a local college and their MAT program. Given the pre-service teachers already had bachelor's degrees, they were appointed as subs and paired with teachers. They spent several days onsite in an internship with classes concentrated on other days. That meant teachers could leave the classroom, collaborate with others, work with us (consultants), etc. without students missing out because their other teacher was there.

Are you a teacher preparation program in the US or UK? We'd like to partner with you. There is extraordinary potential here. I'm glad to have the chance to reach out.

All new teachers should have a mentor. There is no substitution for experience. A good teacher will also continue to learn from others and take the good and bad. Also, to keep the interest of their students, they need make the subject geared to help them with their future.

Partnering with teacher preparation programs can bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, ensuring that new teachers are well-equipped to meet the demands of modern classrooms. By collaborating closely with universities and alternative certification programs, schools can tailor the training to their specific needs, enhancing teacher retention and effectiveness. Additionally, providing real-time feedback and data to these programs creates a dynamic loop of continuous improvement, aligning educational outcomes with industry standards and evolving teaching methodologies.

I agree, and to build upon this idea, I’d add opportunities in high school for students who may want to teach partnering with elementary schools and after school programs for tutoring. Allowing students to shadow teachers for a day in the life. At the collegiate level, I clocked 100 hours of observations before I did my student teaching. 60 hours were built into my coursework and 40 I had to secure on my own. At the college level I created units of study that I never got a chance to test out in a real classroom. Theory and Praxis work in tandem. The science of teaching involves intangible elements we need to consider The residency model has some value in this respect because it is a year long immersion program for future teachers.

Recruitment and retention can be increased by asking teachers what they need to stay and what potential teacher need to join: substantially increasing teacher pay, providing more resources and time for lesson planning, and prioritizing teacher tasks. Teaching adds value to society and teachers should be significantly compensated for it. Without time and resources, teachers have to fall back to quick ineffective ways of teaching like only lecturing or assigning busy work like work sheets. Teachers should focus only on teaching instead of duties like administrating state testing, submitting detailed lesson plans weeks in advance, and anything that takes time away from students learning.

My personal belief is that teachers should first be employed to support other teachers, as apprentices. There is no better way for them to see various teaching styles, various learning styles, various needs being simultaneously addressed, resources being prepared, marked, returned, planned (sorry, this should have been first!) re-visited, etc. Teacher retention shouldn't have to be forever. Let good teachers move on to more lucrative professions. But at least let them train in the next generation before they go, so that students will always have a pool of developed teachers. The saddest thing about teaching is how many people have to re-invent the wheel. Pay teachers to be apprentices of other good teachers. Create effective training.

Also in my research I have found that teachers are looking for ways to move up within a school, but not always wanting to become an assistant principal or principal. So schools have to consider how they can leverage teacher-leader pipelines to give teachers the opportunity to be in leadership positions that still keep them working with students and supporting their colleagues.

I love the Myers-Briggs (16personalities.com) -- for insights (not to categorize or favor people!) Consider teaching. Someone gives you your schedule, with texts, curriculum, and pacing guides. You follow along with little room for flexibility. It turns out some personality types are better suited for this. SJs for example (prevalent in the field of teaching.) Enter the pandemic. Change on a dime, creative solutions needed. One day this way, the next day that way. NOT an environment for an SJ; that's more of an NP environment (not a lot of NPs in teaching.) SJs are quitting; NPs are intrigued but if they join a school and have a ton of restrictions, they'll be gone. Time to rethink the profession and up the autonomy & creativity piece.

Having quarterly stay conversation to better know your teachers is crucial. While one teacher may want to grow into school leadership, another may want to be an expert teacher. While growth opportunities and respect are crucial to retention, how this looks will be different based on the teacher.

Look at the type of jobs teachers are leaving to. Don't copy (they are different jobs), but consider why teachers are leaving for these jobs: flexible/hybrid working, clearer (perhaps faster) career progression, rules/routines that apply to adults not to children (and, in turn, teachers) and, yes, better work-life balance. What can be done in your context, your school, to offer/mirror some of these, even if only in part? For example, supervision ratios and practicalities allowing, could teachers be allowed to arrive late/leave early if they have first or last-period non-contacts? A small thing, but potentially very well received by teachers. There are no easy solutions, but hard problems require hard decisions.

I love the idea of tiered positions. Place new hires as assistants or associates(minimum two years). Promote them to full teaching loads with supervision(coaching or mentoring) as they show ability. Then promote the stars to full professional status and give them assistants to train. Manager level pay. The rest stay with more supervision than tenured but less than assistants. This is doable since it implemented by administrators and does not overload the teachers who demonstrate competence. You’re welcome.

1. Provide coaching - teach coaching skills to help teachers to develop their coaching in the classroom and to coach their colleagues, and offer coaching session to support teachers navigate the challenges in their roles. It won’t be long before teachers are coaches and facilitators, helping students to navigate the accessible world to learn and develop.

I believe it's time we move away from the current schooling schedules. One of the best parts about teaching during COVID was having a 4-day week with students and using the fifth day as an administrative or meeting day. Another solution would be to decrease the amount of direct instruction time and increase the amount planning time. Currently, most teachers receive 40-50 minutes of planning time each day, and they are expected to create engaging lessons, make copies of homework, tests, and classwork, grade student work, analyze data, contact parents, and update online systems. The planning time is disproportionate to the number of tasks that are assigned to teachers.

There is a saying about employees not quitting their job but their managers. In many cases, teachers love their job but have to deal with managers unable to focus on supporting them, but caught in the spin of "playing the manager" by ensuring teachers stay on their toes. If school administrators were taught to bring the best out of every teacher, teachers would feel valued and may not leave the profession. A shortage of teachers? Sure. The job is difficult and stressful. If one is not supported, but regularly in fear of being caught doing something wrong or criticized it is no mystery why so many of our colleagues just lose hope. School administrators make teachers quit, but they can be the key for retention, even in difficult situations.