Getting More and Better Teachers

Every year for the next decade, at least 220,000 additional teachers will be needed nationwide to replace those who retire or quit and to accommodate growth in the student population. Traditional teacher preparation programs aren’t graduating nearly enough people to fill the vacancies; so what’s the solution? One path is to increase the number of college students who choose teaching as a career. But these days, finding enough teachers also means attracting more midcareer professionals and stay-at-home parents, as well as finding ways to keep effective teachers in the classroom longer.

Nearly one in five teachers leaves the profession within his or her first three years, according to the trade publication Education Week. Add to those numbers the wave of early retirements as baby boomers reach 55 and can quit with full benefits.

The exodus puts pressure on many school districts, but it also presents an opportunity to upgrade teacher quality, says the American Federation of Teachers. On Friday the union recommended raising standards, improving teacher education programs and requiring teachers to know their subject matter, be it calculus or reading, and how to teach it. That message should be embraced by local affiliates, including United Teachers-Los Angeles.

Nationally, the teacher shortage is most acute in the upper grades, particularly in math and science. Business professionals who are expert in these subjects should be recruited, given incentives and taught how to teach. Similarly, incentives should be provided to teachers in remote rural school districts and high-poverty urban school districts.

In California, the crisis starts in the primary grades. The state’s class-size reduction incentive program--which calls for no more than 20 students per teacher--has nearly doubled the number of teachers required. Overall, the Los Angeles Unified School District needs at least 4,000 more teachers this year. In Orange County, schools will need about 3,000 new teachers per year over the next decade. Satisfying those needs while upholding standards will require money, effort and inventiveness.