National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse
By Bastien Petrov · · 3 min read
**How to Find a Job:**Teacher Shortage Areas
Job Search Strategies
Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
This piece touches on severe teacher shortages, with context drawn from prior reporting on the topic.
Teacher Shortage Areas
Introduction
Demand for teachers varies widely from region to region and across curriculum disciplines, but there are several geographic and subject areas that consistently report a high need for qualified teachers.
The scarcity of qualified teachers, especially in central city public schools and small towns, has led to a situation in which the nation’s most challenging classrooms get the least qualified teachers.
**Bilingual Education/ English as a Second Language
**
As the number of non-English-speaking students has grown, so has the demand for teachers who specialize in teaching students with limited English proficiency (known as LEP students).
These teachers are either able to speak and teach in languages in addition to English or are trained to teach those students who are just learning to speak, read, and write English.
According to the Urban Teacher Challenge: Teacher Demand and Supply in the Great City Schools, a recent report by Recruiting New Teachers, the Council of the Great City Schools and the Council of Great City Colleges of Education, 73% of the urban districts surveyed have an immediate need for bilingual teachers.
For more information on bilingual education, visit the National Clearinghouse on Bilingual Education. You also can find other resources on the Department of Education’s Spanish Resources page and on the Teachers of English as a Second Language Web site.[top]
Special Education
Special educators teach students with mental, behavioral, sensory, physical, or learning disabilities. These teachers often work as consultants, co-teaching in the classroom alongside another teacher, or as “itinerant” teachers who travel to more than one school. For more information on careers in special education, visit the Clearinghouse for Special Education.
RNT’s Urban Teacher Challenge report revealed that nearly all the urban districts surveyed (97%) have an immediate demand for special educators.
Mathematics and Science
Fewer than half of all teachers in the U.S. who teach math have a major or minor in math, and 28% of math teachers (and 18% of science teachers) lack state certification in their field. This shortage comes at a time when the expectations for what students should know in math and science are rising.
According to the Urban Teacher Challenge, nearly all the urban districts surveyed see an immediate demand for teachers in mathematics (95%) and science (98%).
Urban/Rural Schools
Teacher shortages are particularly acute in urban and rural areas, where there is an immediate need to fill teaching positions in all areas, from elementary grades to high school classes.
Teaching in these under-resourced schools can sometimes be more challenging because many schools lack basic resources, like up-to-date textbooks and modern facilities.
Given their high need, many programs offer special incentives to teachers who choose to teach in these schools. To get an idea of the kinds of incentives districts are using to attract new teachers, visit the How to Find and Keep Teachers area of this site.[top]
Teachers of Color
While America’s school-age population is becoming more multicultural and multi-ethnic in makeup, its teaching workforce reflects a trend in the opposite direction.
Teachers of color make up around 14% of all current K-12 teachers. However, children of African American, Hispanic and Latino, Asian, and Native American descent make up 36% of the student population — and that percentage is increasing with each passing year.
For more information about teacher diversity, read about the importance of teacher diversity on the How to Find and Keep Teachers area of this site.[top]
Male Teachers
Over eighty percent of districts responding to RNT’s Urban Teacher Challenge survey reported an immediate demand for male teachers at the elementary level.
Resources
For a more complete description of shortage areas by subject and region, visit RNT’s Web site to read The Urban Teacher Challenge, Demand and Supply in the Great City Schools, or visit the American Association for Employment in Education.