SALT LAKE CITY — It's Back to School Week across Utah with roughly 674,000 students entering kindergarten through 12th grade, along with about 33,000 teachers to educate and shape the next generation.
But Utah is facing a terrible teacher shortage with a dire outlook.
“We have heard the stories, they can’t find a school counselor or they can’t find a math teacher or they can’t find a special educator, so it’s a tough year,” said Dr. Malia Hite, executive coordinator of education licensing for the Utah State Board of Education.
Hit says despite a hiring frenzy, some Utah schools are at such a deficit of educators that positions remain unfilled as school starts.
Nationwide, the teacher shortage in the U.S is hitting a crisis level. According to data from the bureaus of labor statistics, roughly 300,000 public school educators and staff left the field between February 2020 and May 2022.
Hite says most people will claim it’s a money issue, but, in fact, teachers are leaving their jobs because they feel like they are not being treated fairly.
“It’s that they’re not feeling valued," Hite said. "They are not feeling appreciated by the community, by the politicians and our legislators, and we’re seeing things come into our schools and classes and really attacking the profession of teaching rather than elevating and supporting them “
To address the issue, Hite claims the Board of Education is looking at several options.
“We really need to think outside the box of paychecks as compensation. We need to start looking at maybe flexible schedules; is there a way to teach fewer classes and do other things in order to create a full job instead of being in a classroom and teaching 100% of the day?
"Is there a way to think creatively around school schedules so that educators have more breaks in their day?”
While the board works on its end, Hite truly believes the culture of how teachers are talked about and treated needs to change, promoting respect and elevating them as professionals.
“A lot of really innovative thinks are happening, but it’s just going to take time for us to get there.”
