Here & Now

Schools Across Wisconsin Seeing Teacher Shortages

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE ARE HAVING A TOUGH TIME FILLING TEACHER POSITIONS, EVEN WITH THE START OF CLASSES CLOSING IN. A CHECK OF A STATEWIDE DATABASE FOR TEACHER JOB OPENINGS SHOWS 2,000 VACANCIES, MOST IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. SOME DISTRICTS STILL IN NEED OF MORE THAN 100 TEACHERS. ONE EDUCATION EXPERT CALLS THIS A, QUOTE, CRISIS IN THE MAKING. BUT WHY IS IT HAPPENING? FOR INSIGHT WE TURN TO THE DEAN OF THE U.W. WHITEWATER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION KATY HEYNING. AND DEAN, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

KATY HEYNING:

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WELL, WOULD YOU BE AMONG THOSE TO DESCRIBE THESE TEACHER SHORTAGES IN WISCONSIN AS A CRISIS IN THE MAKING?

KATY HEYNING:

WELL, I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO SUPERINTENDENTS AND DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS FROM AROUND THE STATE. AND THEY ARE DEFINITELY CONCERNED. BUT IT’S NOT IN ALL OF THE AREAS. IT’S PRIMARILY IN THE HIGH-NEEDS AREAS AND SOME OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE TRYING TO FILL THESE POSITIONS WITH LONG-TERM SUBS, RATHER THAN PERMANENT POSITIONS. AND THAT’S ONE OF THE AREAS THAT THEY’RE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SO THE HIGH-NEED AREAS WOULD BE WHICH?

KATY HEYNING:

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MATH, SPECIAL EDUCATION, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY, PHYSICS, AREAS THAT TYPICALLY REQUIRE A HIGH LEVEL OF EDUCATION AND COMPETENCE IN ORDER TO BE A TEACHER.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SO WHAT HAPPENS? I MEAN, YOU SUGGESTED THAT THEN THEY’RE GOING AHEAD AND TRYING TO GET KIND OF LONG-TERM SUBS. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CAN’T FIND A SCIENCE TEACHER FOR YOUR 10th GRADE, YOU KNOW, CLASS?

KATY HEYNING:

WELL, DISTRICTS ARE TRYING TO BE VERY CREATIVE. THEY’RE USING TECHNOLOGY TO CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER, TO SHARE INSTRUCTION OVER THE INTERNET. A LOT OF DISTRICTS ARE HIRING LONG-TERM SUBS AS I SAY. THEY MAY OR MAY NOT BE HIGHLY QUALIFIED TO TEACH IN THOSE AREAS. THEY’RE DOING WHAT THEY CAN TO GET BY.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

WHAT IS DIFFERENT NOW FROM BEFORE WHEN PERHAPS THERE WASN’T A SHORTAGE OF THESE TEACHERS?

KATY HEYNING:

WELL, I SEE THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE STRUGGLING TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS ARE LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM. THEY’RE NOT HIRING TEACHERS THAT ARE AS QUALIFIED AS THEY USED TO. IT USED TO BE MUCH EASIER TO FIND TEACHERS TO FILL VACANCIES. SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE SEEN A DROP IN APPLICATIONS FOR THEIR POSITIONS, AS MUCH AS 50% FROM JUST THREE YEARS AGO.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SPEAKING OF DROP IN APPLICATIONS, IS YOUR SCHOOL OF EDUCATION SEEING FEWER STUDENTS SEEKING A TEACHING DEGREE?

KATY HEYNING:

WE ARE SEEING SOME. A LITTLE BIT OF A DROP. WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN FAIRLY STEADY ENROLLMENT ON THE INPUT. BUT WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING IS TRYING TO CHECK IN WITH STUDENTS WHO CHANGED THEIR MAJOR FROM EDUCATION TO ANOTHER AREA AND ASK THEM WHY. AND THAT’S CONCERNING ME AS WELL. WHEN WE ASK STUDENTS, THEY’RE SAYING THAT HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE NOT ENCOURAGING THEM TO BECOME TEACHERS ANY MORE. THEIR MENTORS ARE SAYING DON’T GO INTO EDUCATION. THEIR FRIENDS SAY THEY’D BE CRAZY TO GO INTO EDUCATION. AND ONE THING THAT WE’RE HEARING MORE OFTEN NOW IS STUDENTS ARE SAYING THEIR PARENTS WON’T CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THEM IN EDUCATION OR IN THEIR COLLEGE DEGREE IF THEY GO INTO EDUCATION SO THAT’S DEFINITELY CONCERNING.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

THE LANDSCAPE CLEARLY FOR TEACHERS, PARTICULARLY IN WISCONSIN, HAS CHANGED. I’VE BEEN TOLD THE TEACHERS ARE MOVING FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT AS KIND OF FREE AGENTS TO BUMP UP THEIR PAY. AND SO IT’S NOT AS THOUGH PEOPLE ANY MORE APPARENTLY KIND OF STAY IN ONE DISTRICT FOR A CAREER. HOW DOES THAT CHANGE WHAT THE TEACHING LOOKS LIKE IN A SCHOOL?

KATY HEYNING:

WELL, IT USED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE HIRED AS A TEACHER, YOU WERE ALMOST GUARANTEED TO HAVE EITHER ANNUAL INCREASES OR IF YOU WENT BACK TO SCHOOL AND GOT A MASTERS DEGREE, YOU WOULD GET A SALARY INCREASE. AND SINCE ACT TEN AND THE DISSOLUTION OF THE UNION, MOST SCHOOL DISTRICTS DON’T HAVE ANY GUARANTEE OF SALARY INCREASES OR THEY MAY GET A 1% INCREASE. BUT THEIR STARTING SALARY IS VERY LOW. YOU START A JOB AT $32,000 A YEAR. AND YOU WANT TO START A FAMILY AND YOU LOOK AHEAD FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS, YOU MAY BE GETTING A 1% INCREASE FROM TIME TO TIME. SO YOU START LOOKING WHERE CAN I GO TO MAKE MORE MONEY IF I WANT TO BE A PARENT. AND, YEAH, SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE ENTICING SOME OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT HAVE MORE MONEY HAVE SIGNING BONUSES. THEY ARE RECRUITING STUDENTS — EXCUSE ME, RECRUITING TEACHERS AWAY FROM SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS INTO OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

HAVE YOU SEEN TEACHERS ACTUALLY KIND OF JUMP STATE BORDERS AS WELL? I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME TEACHERS ARE GETTING THEIR TEACHING DEGREES IN WISCONSIN AND THEN MOVING OUT-OF-STATE WITH THEM.

KATY HEYNING:

IT’S A LITTLE HARD TO TRACK. WE LOOK AT OUR GRADUATES AND WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THEY GO. A LOT OF OUR GRADUATES STAY IN WISCONSIN, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A GREAT NUMBER OF THEM GOING TO ILLINOIS. I HAVEN’T CHECKED THE NUMBERS. BUT I KNOW THAT WE ARE GETTING PARTICULARLY IN SOME OF THE HIGH-NEEDS AREAS, THEY ARE LEAVING THE STATE INSTEAD OF STAYING IN WISCONSIN.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SO VERY, VERY BRIEFLY WITH ABOUT A HALF A MINUTE LEFT, AND SORRY FOR THAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK NEEDS TO BE DONE?

KATY HEYNING:

I THINK SCHOOL DISTRICTS NEED MORE SUPPORT TO HIRE HIGH-QUALITY TEACHERS. I THINK HIGHER EDUCATION NEEDS TO HAVE MORE MONEY TO BE ABLE TO ENTICE STUDENTS THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS AND SUPPORT FOR THEM TO CONTINUE ON TO BECOME TEACHERS. IT’S A VERY GOOD PROFESSION.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

ALL RIGHT. DEAN KATY HEYNING, THANKS VERY MUCH.

KATY HEYNING:

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.