HARRISBURG — A new report from the National Education Association (NEA) offers Pennsylvania a roadmap for addressing educator and other staffing shortages that have risen to crisis levels in many public schools.
NEA researchers interviewed educators and other school professionals across the nation to hear, in their own words, how staffing shortages are affecting their students, their colleagues, their schools, and their communities.
Based on that input, the report makes a variety of recommendations to reduce shortages, including:
“This report takes the long view, clearly laying out a multiyear strategy to recruit and retain highly qualified educators and support professionals, and should serve as a roadmap for school districts and lawmakers at the local, state, and federal levels as we navigate our way through this crisis,” said Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), who praised the NEA report.
Frances C. Cortez Funk, also a PSEA member, and interviewed for the NEA report, emphasized the importance of mental health supports for college students and the need for qualified staff in colleges and universities to provide those services. She said, “These past few years have been challenging in all levels of education.
Cortez Funk, who serves as the director of health promotion and alcohol and other drug services at Kutztown University, added “Today’s college students are brilliant and resilient, but they have more complicated financial and mental health needs,” she said. “To meet their needs, we must have a full staff of experts in well-being, including physical and mental health, equity, and inclusion topics. When campuses can’t find or retain those professionals, our students are less likely to succeed and realize their dreams through higher education.”
NEA President Becky Pringle called the educator shortage “a five-alarm crisis,” noting that earlier this year, a nationwide NEA survey revealed that 55% of educators are considering leaving the profession earlier than planned.
“Every student, no matter their race, ZIP code, or background, deserves caring, qualified, committed educators,” Pringle said. “And every educator needs our fierce support.
“Too often people want a silver bullet solution or will implement a Band-Aid approach. These shortages are severe. They are chronic. And the educator shortages that are gripping our public schools, colleges and universities will only be fixed with systematic, sustained solutions.”
Read more about the NEA report at www.nea.org/solutions.
