Schools
CA Has A Teacher Shortage; Current Teachers Unprepared: Study
One Oakland student told the Learning Policy Institute that she attended a class without an assigned teacher.
CALIFORNIA -- California schools are facing a severe teacher shortage, and many of the current teachers are unprepared in their classes, according to a study released this month. The California-based Learning Policy Institute conducted a study examining the "staffing difficulties in fall 2017."
The study examined 25 urban, rural and suburban school districts throughout the state and found 80 percent had a shortage of qualified teachers last school year. Another 82 percent of teachers who were hired were also unprepared in their lessons, the researchers said.
"Although districts reported hiring slightly fewer teachers overall, a greater share of new hires hold substandard credentials, suggesting that shortages are persisting," the study said.
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A student at Oakland Unified School District told researchers she once attended a class that didn't have a teacher.
"At the start of this school year, my classmates and I arrived in sociology class to find that a teacher hadn’t been assigned to the course," Jiawen Wang said. "Every day during that first week, students would arrive in class ready to learn, only to find out that we still didn’t have a teacher. I ended that week feeling distraught. It felt like my education was being limited by something I didn’t have any control over."
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A teacher in Millbrae also commented on the teacher shortage.
"My first year as principal, I opened the school year without a teacher for a special education class," Daina Lujan said. "It had a whole host of negative repercussions for staff and students. Running that special education class without a permanent teacher was a day-to-day crisis management situation."
The results of the study come as California recovers from years of budget cuts and layoffs, researchers said. Despite more funding for schools, qualified people are not applying to be teachers.
"The supply of new teaching candidates declined by more than 70% over the decade when jobs were not available," the study said. "As a result, since 2014–15, California districts have experienced acute shortages of teachers, especially in mathematics, science, and special education."
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