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Report: Teacher shortages a growing concern
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Annapolis (Map, News) - Maryland continues to grapple with finding enough teachers to fill its classrooms — an issue that has spanned more than decade, according to a newly released Maryland State Department of Education teacher staffing report.
“There is no sign that is going to turn around anytime soon,” Bill Reinhard, spokesman for the state education department, said Thursday.
For the 2006-07 school year, state education officials projected that the state’s 24 school systems would face more than 1,200 vacancies in critical-needs areas such as math and special education. The state report comes on the heels of an exclusive five-part Examiner series, “Making the Grade,” published last month, which reported that low pay, poor working conditions and the teacher certification demands of the No Child Left Behind Act have all contributed to driving many teachers out of the profession.
Maryland’s colleges and universities only produce about 2,500 teacher candidates annually, far less than the state needs; school officials have to search far and wide, even internationally, to find qualified teachers.
Reinhard said many of the vacancies are being filled by long-term substitutes, and the state doesn’t require that they be certified.
Area district officials said they are continuing their recruiting efforts to fill the vacancies.
“We still have two special education vacancies, and a Spanish teacher vacancy due to a retirement,” said Jimmie Saylor, human resources director in the Carroll county schools. “We will continue to go to job fairs, and we have our own, too.”
In Anne Arundel, there are 12 teacher vacancies, and the system has developed partnerships with local colleges as well as teachers from the Philippines are among the system’s recruitment efforts, said Tony Ruffin, schools spokesman.
Before school began there were 6.7 vacancies in the Baltimore County school system, said Kara Calder, schools spokeswoman.
“We’ve introduced some unique recruitment efforts ... When there was a teacher layoff in Cleveland, we sent officials to meet with teachers,” Calder said.
tjohnson@baltimoreexaminer.com
