WEBVTT - Teacher Shortage Is Adding to the Problems Schools Are Having During the Pandemic

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<v Speaker 1>It's Monday, December one. I'm oscar A Mirrors from the

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<v Speaker 1>Daily Dive podcast in Los Angeles, and this is a

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<v Speaker 1>reopening America. The disruption that the pandemic has caused to

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<v Speaker 1>the education system has ranged from kids having to transition

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<v Speaker 1>to remote learning, parents experiencing burnout trying to help their

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<v Speaker 1>kids learn and balance work life, but it has also

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<v Speaker 1>caused a teacher shortage. Early retirements and quarantines are forcing

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<v Speaker 1>some school administrators to recruit parents as substitute teachers, increase

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<v Speaker 1>class sizes, and even use bus drivers to babysit classrooms.

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<v Speaker 1>Arizona in particular has been hit hard by a shortage

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<v Speaker 1>of teachers, and many say that educational achievement has suffered

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<v Speaker 1>because of it. Valerie Boreline, national reporter at The Wall

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<v Speaker 1>Street Journal, joins us for more. Thanks for joining us, Valorie,

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<v Speaker 1>glad to be here. We've been checking in periodically, obviously

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<v Speaker 1>with our teachers as the pandemic continues to go on.

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<v Speaker 1>We know how big of a disruptor the pandemic has

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<v Speaker 1>already been to the school system. Students learning in class,

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<v Speaker 1>students learning at home remotely. It's been quite a mass

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<v Speaker 1>stopping classes because of rising cases. It's all over the place.

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<v Speaker 1>But we're also seeing that there's a big teacher shortage

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<v Speaker 1>out there, and school districts are having to get really creative,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess you would say, in how to fill some

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<v Speaker 1>of those seats, recruiting parents, bus drivers, the babysit classrooms.

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<v Speaker 1>There's really this all hands on deck type of mode

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<v Speaker 1>for a lot of school systems out there right now. So, Valerie,

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<v Speaker 1>you wrote a pretty comprehensive article about what's going on.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell us what we're seeing with this teacher shortage. You

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<v Speaker 1>really can't overstate the disruption that's happening in Khel and

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<v Speaker 1>all education in this country, particularly in the public schools.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it was one thing in the spring to

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<v Speaker 1>have the brush of adrenaline, and we're gonna make virtual

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<v Speaker 1>learning work and get through the spring. And now if

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic drags on into its ninth month, you're seeing

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<v Speaker 1>parents frustrated, kids not learning as much as they should

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<v Speaker 1>have by now, and teachers really starting to burnout. And

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<v Speaker 1>all the disruption that you're talking about is adding up

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<v Speaker 1>to a real um difficult working environment for teachers, and

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<v Speaker 1>you're seeing people leave the profession. You're also seeing commonly

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<v Speaker 1>in many school districts that they're not enough teachers in

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<v Speaker 1>the building to whole class, whether because they're quarantining or

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<v Speaker 1>what have you. So it really the staffing crunch in

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<v Speaker 1>American schools is something you can't underestimate. Back to the teachers,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the staffing crunch. Really the teachers that stay behind,

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<v Speaker 1>then those are the ones that get really fatigued by

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<v Speaker 1>the whole thing. They're the ones that get the burnout

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<v Speaker 1>of the whole thing. And a lot of the teachers

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<v Speaker 1>and administrators I spoke with say exactly that, like, it's tough. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>it's tough for teachers to have to sub out for

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<v Speaker 1>another teacher during their planning time, for example, But what's

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<v Speaker 1>really tough is the burnout factor and whether that teachers

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<v Speaker 1>will stay in the field or potentially retire early. And

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<v Speaker 1>also one thing to think about is whether what's happening

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<v Speaker 1>in the school system entices young people to go into teaching.

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<v Speaker 1>They see what's happening firsthand, and will they decide to

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<v Speaker 1>go that route seeing how tough it is for their

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<v Speaker 1>own teachers that they admire and in some cases really

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<v Speaker 1>see being overwhelmed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

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<v Speaker 1>Public school employment in November was down eight point from February.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the lowest level since two thousand and you

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<v Speaker 1>guys have a nice little graph of showing the progression

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<v Speaker 1>of employment, and you just see that sharp drop earlier

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<v Speaker 1>this year and throughout the pandemic. Arizona has shown a

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<v Speaker 1>real stark contrast in all of this, heavily impacted by this.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought that the statistics from the Bureau of Labor

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<v Speaker 1>Statistics was really eye opening. If you think about it,

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<v Speaker 1>schools have on this fewer people in the building, but

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<v Speaker 1>the building is the same size, their responsibilities are the same,

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<v Speaker 1>if not more, And because of physical social distance, teachers

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<v Speaker 1>can have you with kids in the classroom, so in

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<v Speaker 1>some ways they're stretched dinner. So what really struck me

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<v Speaker 1>visiting some schools was how being having fewer people in

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<v Speaker 1>the building taxes the others that are there. And to

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<v Speaker 1>your point about Arizona, yes, I think this is happening

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<v Speaker 1>in pockets all across the country. In Arizona certainly is

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<v Speaker 1>one educators I've talked to, including this head of superintendent,

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<v Speaker 1>just said, yeah, it's a crisis for us. Let's get

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<v Speaker 1>a little deeper in their Arizona, they weren't able to

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<v Speaker 1>hire traditionally certified teachers for seventy eight percent of some

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<v Speaker 1>open positions that they had, so they had to get creative.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of them were filled by emergency substitutes. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>obviously you get people from other counties. Student teachers were

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<v Speaker 1>a big source of plugging that hole there. And then

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<v Speaker 1>beyond that, they're urging parents people with you know, they

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<v Speaker 1>reduced some of the requirements, so they're people with high

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<v Speaker 1>school diplomas can take an online course and then be

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<v Speaker 1>certified for emergency substitutes. So they're getting very creative with

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<v Speaker 1>how to feel a lot of these positions, if you

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<v Speaker 1>think about it, they're required to have, you know, not

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<v Speaker 1>just legally, but you know, morally. They're educators and want

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<v Speaker 1>to educate. They need to have teacher in the rooms

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<v Speaker 1>virtually or physically, so, but they're having to get really

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<v Speaker 1>creative to make that happen. So the relaxing around standards

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<v Speaker 1>is a theme you hear all over the country. Iowa

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<v Speaker 1>and Missouri, for example, lowered the requirements to be an

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<v Speaker 1>emergency substitute. In Atlanta, you could be twenty years old.

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<v Speaker 1>And we talked to some kids that were twenty years

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<v Speaker 1>old and not teachers, but physically in the in the classroom.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think it's one of those things Arizona has

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<v Speaker 1>had is an example of a state that's had a

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<v Speaker 1>teacher shortage building for a number of years. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>as you might remember the Red Fred Protest of two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand and eighteen really started in Phoenix and kind of

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<v Speaker 1>blossomed out in other places around the country. So the

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<v Speaker 1>teacher shortage, comparatively low teacher pay there, the really high

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<v Speaker 1>ratio of students to teachers. There's like twenty three and

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<v Speaker 1>a half students per teacher in Arizona compared to sixteen

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<v Speaker 1>kids for teacher nationally. So there's just a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>pressure points they're building up. And then the combination of that,

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<v Speaker 1>that wave of teacher shortage building crashing up against the

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<v Speaker 1>wave of the pandemic. It's really created a tough situation

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<v Speaker 1>in many many Arizona school You have a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>examples in the article. They're all very good, but I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to focus a little bit, if you can, on

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<v Speaker 1>Principal Christine Hollandsworth. This is in Phoenix and they're having

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<v Speaker 1>severe staff shortages there. She was up until you know,

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<v Speaker 1>early in the morning, trying to find a substitute teacher.

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<v Speaker 1>In many cases, she's begin to help teach classes. Other

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<v Speaker 1>teachers are combining classes. Tell us a little bit about

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<v Speaker 1>how they're approaching this. One of the things that was

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<v Speaker 1>really amazing being around Principal Holly's Worth was just how

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<v Speaker 1>she was one of the ones who kept saying, it's

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<v Speaker 1>all hands on deck. We're figuring it out as we

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<v Speaker 1>go because we have to. But I should know that

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<v Speaker 1>just how cheerful, how positive she was, and how much

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<v Speaker 1>she loved seeing even the small cohort of students that

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<v Speaker 1>was able to be in the building. She was so

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<v Speaker 1>happy to see them and put through their masks and say, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>I can see I could see her smile under there,

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<v Speaker 1>So you know, I would say that teachers are really

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<v Speaker 1>in administrators are trying to make the best of of

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<v Speaker 1>a really tough situation. But the day that I spent

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<v Speaker 1>some time with her, she was having a hard time

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<v Speaker 1>finding a substitute. There's nationwide pressure on substitute teachers and

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<v Speaker 1>they're just not enough of them, and she couldn't find

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<v Speaker 1>a substitute for her our teacher, even though she'd been trying.

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<v Speaker 1>She was up at four that morning trying to find

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<v Speaker 1>someone figure out how she was going to handle it.

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<v Speaker 1>And I was like, well, gods, you were up at

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<v Speaker 1>four and it's it's eight schools starting and she's like,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm up at four every day this year. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's part of the reality is that that we

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<v Speaker 1>were talking about earlier. It's just as this stretches on

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<v Speaker 1>kind of where we had it. The new normal for

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<v Speaker 1>schools is constant change every day. It has been for

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<v Speaker 1>nine months. Yeah, I mean it's tough. Miss Hollingsworth went

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<v Speaker 1>on to this elementary school database to see if she

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<v Speaker 1>can fill a bunch of these open seats, and I

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<v Speaker 1>guess they only got five applicants for dozens of teaching jobs.

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<v Speaker 1>This is across thirty two different elementary school so, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that's just really kind of illustrates how short this thing is.

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<v Speaker 1>And we're talking about other creative options. Enough, sometimes a

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<v Speaker 1>teacher will come on and say, man, this is just

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<v Speaker 1>not for me anymore, and then they quit within the

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<v Speaker 1>first couple of weeks or so. And that was kind

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<v Speaker 1>of another recurring theme that a lot of people were experiencing.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's just a tough time overall, and obviously we

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<v Speaker 1>need more funding for these programs for the teachers. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just tough all around, really well academic, it's a difficult

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<v Speaker 1>situation for online learning and hybrid learning all around. Like

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<v Speaker 1>you said, I will point out that the pressure in

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<v Speaker 1>schools is more intense in some places than others. Right

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<v Speaker 1>So in rural areas, for example, it's really hard right

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<v Speaker 1>now to get teachers to build jobs. But in cit

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<v Speaker 1>these where there's good quality of living and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you know, support for teachers in schools, you might

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<v Speaker 1>have far more applicants for jobs. So it's uneven, but

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<v Speaker 1>I think there's definitely pressure on the teacher's supply in many,

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<v Speaker 1>many places nationwide. Valerie Borderline, national reporter at the Wall

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<v Speaker 1>Street Journal, thank you very much for joining us. Oh sure,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks so much for having me. I'm oscar A Mirrors

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<v Speaker 1>and this has been opening America. Don't forget the effort

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<v Speaker 1>today's big news stories. You can check me out on

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<v Speaker 1>the Daily Dive podcast every money through Friday, So follow

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