Schools are back in session. Eager students clamor as they file into classrooms, some for the first time in two years. Yet far too many students won’t be greeted with smiles and words of encouragement from their teachers because there are just too few teachers to go around.

Nearly half of all school districts in the country are struggling to hire enough full-time teachers and to make matters worse, nearly eight out of ten districts can’t find substitute teachers either. 

Pennsylvania officials see the same trends here, with the Secretary of Education stating that the educator shortage had reached “crisis” levels — with just over 5,000 new teachers certified last year, down from about 20,000 a decade ago.

Finally last month, the Pennsylvania Department of Education released a strategy to address the shortage this summer, but its success will undoubtedly be undermined by the relentless attack on public education and the dangerous political campaign to make teachers public enemy number one.

Tragically, the strategy fails to address the root causes of the shortage, the low status and low pay of teachers. College bound youth can choose nearly any other profession and graduate in four years ready to earn a higher salary in a job where they get more respect than a freshly minted teacher.

The teacher shortage is also being fueled by early retirement of teachers. More than half of all educators, regardless of age or years of teaching, planned to leave the profession earlier than expected due to pandemic-related stress, with 91 percent of respondents saying stress from the pandemic is a “serious problem”, according to recent survey of teachers conducted by the National Education Association.

We need look no further than the Philadelphia School District to see the impact of the teacher shortage and early retirement on the diversity of the teacher corps. The District has 1,200 fewer teachers of color than it did in 2002, a stunning finding released by Research for Action last April. Consider the fact that 96% of teachers in Pennsylvania are white, compared to 82% of teachers nationally and it’s clear that Pennsylvania needs to take more classes in how to solve this crisis.

Given the disappointingly stubborn progress in boosting student achievement for students of color, the shortage of diverse educators is especially alarming. Research is clear that teachers of color serve as role models for students of color, and when students see teachers who share their racial or ethnic backgrounds, they often view schools as more welcoming places. And, of course, diverse teachers can make a substantial contribution to instilling in all students a respect for cultural diversity and a love of learning.

School Districts are doing their best to creatively solve the crisis for this school year. The Upper Darby School District is exploring sending students to community college for some high school classes which may portend a new and welcome trend of many more students earning college credit before graduation. Still other districts are resorting to virtual classes to make up for teacher vacancies which may be a panacea, it’s certainly not a solution given the dismal outcomes of virtual learning witnessed during the pandemic. 

Still more radical and troubling solutions are taking hold including shifting to four days of school per week. Already this approach is being used in 25 states across 550 school districts.

While this move may stem teacher burn-out, the impact on students is unsurprising and downright dismal. Students who attended schools four days a week had lower academic test scores over time compared to their peers who attend school the traditional five days a week, according to a national evaluation conducted by the Rand Corporation.   

Time is running out for our leaders to solve the teacher shortage crisis. As any good teacher would tell them, do your homework and complete the assignment before the bell rings. Our students shouldn’t be held back because leaders failed to pass the test.