Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Lots of
Speaker 1: news coverage over the weekend about the teacher shortage in
Speaker 1: the United States. Bloomberg, by the way, reporting that US
Speaker 1: Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona urging states to use federal
Speaker 1: stimulus money to tackle a national teacher shortage that's prompted
Speaker 1: some districts to shortened school weeks in the upcoming year.
Speaker 1: So it's a tough spot for many school systems around
Speaker 1: the country. Dr Liz brook is Chief Learning Officer at
Speaker 1: Lexia Learning. They focus on literacy learning, and she is
Speaker 1: with us once again on the phone from Boston. Dr Brooke,
Speaker 1: nice to have you back on Bloomberg. You know, we
Speaker 1: last talked about a year ago. All this past week
Speaker 1: and I kept hearing or reading about the shortage of
Speaker 1: teachers in the United States. What are you seeing and
Speaker 1: hearing about this specifically? Yes, thanks so much for having
Speaker 1: me back on UM. We recently did a pole Or
Speaker 1: survey with Harris of over a thousand parents across the country,
Speaker 1: and seventy six percent of parents are most concerned about
Speaker 1: the national teacher shortage, So we're absolutely hearing what you're hearing.
Speaker 1: In fact, when we asked about the top concerns, we
Speaker 1: thought it might be unfinished learning, but that really came
Speaker 1: in eighth on the list. So the teacher shortage is
Speaker 1: definitely top of mind for parents out there. And how
Speaker 1: does the shortage get better? I mean, how do you
Speaker 1: attract teachers or is this more about retention? I imagine
Speaker 1: the two go hand in hand. Absolutely. I think the
Speaker 1: first thing that most people turn to, which is pay,
Speaker 1: and absolutely our our teachers deserve UM the pay for
Speaker 1: the jobs that they're doing. But it's also about UM
Speaker 1: making sure that the teachers we have feel supported. And
Speaker 1: when we think about the research out there, we know
Speaker 1: that teachers are one of the most critical aspects of
Speaker 1: a child success. So making sure that one they understand
Speaker 1: that they have the support to get the skills needed,
Speaker 1: so professional learning. For example, there's been a lot in
Speaker 1: the press around teaching reading and the science of reading,
Speaker 1: so making sure they feel equipped with that knowledge as
Speaker 1: well as making sure that they feel like they have
Speaker 1: a void. And what's happening in the schools and I
Speaker 1: feel like we have to address to the elephant in
Speaker 1: the teacher's living room, and that is the starting salary
Speaker 1: for teachers in the US Bloomberg put out earlier this
Speaker 1: year averaged seventy dollars for one school year. That's a
Speaker 1: four percent decrease from the prior year when adjusted for inflation.
Speaker 1: I mean, and I want to get into more specifically
Speaker 1: the work you guys do to help teachers and assist
Speaker 1: them and how important it is when it comes to
Speaker 1: um literacy and reading. But what's the role of compensation
Speaker 1: do you think, especially in a tight labor market where
Speaker 1: teachers could go elsewhere if they want, why don't we
Speaker 1: value to teachers more? Right, that's a great question. I
Speaker 1: know I started my career as the first grade teacher
Speaker 1: as well, and um, it is absolutely um something that
Speaker 1: we need to address. We need to compensate them more.
Speaker 1: But again, most folks don't go into teaching for the money,
Speaker 1: although I will say they definitely that is something that
Speaker 1: we need to think about. But it's about empowering them
Speaker 1: and giving them autonomy and the support they need to
Speaker 1: reach their students in the classroom. But absolutely, compensation is
Speaker 1: something we need to consider as well. It's a one
Speaker 1: to punch really, and you have mentioned that UM, you know,
Speaker 1: you were surprised to see fears about learning loss, for example,
Speaker 1: farther down on the list than compared to prior years.
Speaker 1: What were some of the other surprising findings that stuck
Speaker 1: out to you? Sure? So one of the things that
Speaker 1: was surprising that UM, seventy son of the parents felt
Speaker 1: that their students were going to start this year UM
Speaker 1: on or above grade level. However percent felt that they
Speaker 1: were still experiencing that pandemic related learning laws and forty
Speaker 1: percent of them wanted more one on one time with
Speaker 1: the teachers. So there was a little bit of UM
Speaker 1: teachers or sorry parents feeling optimistic coming into the school year,
Speaker 1: but still feeling like they needed that one on one
Speaker 1: time UM with teachers to try to make up from
Speaker 1: that pandemic related learning law. So what do we then,
Speaker 1: based on kind of your findings, what's on the mind
Speaker 1: of parents, and what you're hearing from the educational community
Speaker 1: about things that we can anticipate for students and trends
Speaker 1: when it comes to school year. So one of the
Speaker 1: biggest things we know is that students are going to
Speaker 1: need personalized learning, and that's why these parents are thinking
Speaker 1: about one on one time, right, It's you can't teach
Speaker 1: to the group. You need to really address personalized skills.
Speaker 1: And so that's where making sure that teachers understand how
Speaker 1: to do that by understanding the why of teaching reading
Speaker 1: through that science of reading professional learning. One of the
Speaker 1: things we offer is letters professional Learning that several states
Speaker 1: have adopted. But then also making sure they have programs
Speaker 1: in the classroom that can help them personalize that instruction.
Speaker 1: And one way to do that is by leveraging technology
Speaker 1: to personalize that instruction when they're not able to be
Speaker 1: with the teacher. Alright, we're gonna leave it on that note. Um,
Speaker 1: certainly something it's very relevant as we get ready and
Speaker 1: already kids are heading back to school around the United States.
Speaker 1: Dr Liz Brooke, Chief Learning Officer Alexia Learning, joining us
Speaker 1: on the phone from Boston.