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Teacher shortage 'remains critical'

I see from another headline that Governor Huntsman wants to raise teacher salaries by 6-8% over the next few years. What he ought to do is figure out a way to do it EACH YEAR for the next few years. No, I am not a teacher but my kids have benefitted from excellent, underpaid teachers.

Teaching is a noble profession, except in Utah. Utah consistantly has the lowest paid teachers and the largest class room size in America. No wonder there is a shortage of teachers in Utah. It is amazing that the state legislature rejected raising the minimum wage in the summer of '06, but had no problem in raising their salaries in '07. Too bad these legislatures can not look past their own wallets and pass this money on to where there is the greatest need.

Utah is facing a serious teacher deficit, and the best the governor can do is offer a 6-8% raise over the next several years? How about a 6-8% raise each of the next several years? No wonder teachers leave the state.

I had a family member who was hired to teach history at a middle school in Jordan School District last year- fresh out of college- he was hired at $27,000 a year! A math teacher that I know teaches high school math- one of the best math teachers I have ever met. Kids "get" math when they are in his class. He went back to school last yearto go into a different field because he can't support his family on what he makes as a teacher. I am in the classroom occasionally as a substitute teacher, sometimes on a day to day basis and sometimes longer- filling in for maternity leaves ets. I know what the chaleenges are in the classroom- I know what the compensation is. Frankly I am surprised that there is as many teachers in the classroom as there are. Until we value the good teachers and make it possible for them to stay n the classroom while being able to support their families as college educated professionals , we're going to continue to have this problem.

Again, let me reiterate the same comment as earlier this week. If Utah, and all other states with teacher shortages want to decrease the amount of teachers who leave, those in charge need to quit ignoring the HORRIBLE treatment from administrators that teachers get. Spying, threatening, over-working, back-stabbing, complaining and berating, and any other abusive behavior needs to stop being ignored--and changes need to be made, forced, and reinforced by policy makers--to make it so teachers aren't victims of such behavior. And, this behavior needs to stop being reinforced by over-demanding state leaders, legislature, parents, and so forth. After slaving my life away for years in Utah, I will never return, because I did not deserve to be treated the way I was. These changes need to occur nationwide! Look it up--NAPTA. If policy makers are really serious about keeping teachers, than they should act like it--and stop the abuse!

This seems like sensational journalism at it's best. According to the Utah Department of Education Finger Facts 2007, there are 22964 licensed classroom teachers in 2007. This is a shortage of 0.75%. This is one missing teacher from every 6th school in the state.

What this means in real world terms is our schools are fully staffed, and there are probably unemployed teachers ready to fill positions. This seems confirmed by my observations of teachers I know who are not employed. (No, I am not one of them. My father is.) I am told that there are multiple applicants for each available position.

Lets save labels like 'critical' for times when we are short a couple of teachers per school (2000 unfilled positions) or the rate rises above 2% (574 unfilled positions).

Everyone knows that teaching is a low-paying job in Utah. And yet, people go into teaching every year. Is a doctor or a lawyer more important than a teacher? Certainly not. However, those who go into teaching obviously feel that their job satisfaction is worth the difference in salary between what they could earn in other jobs, or they wouldn't take the job in the first place.

Now - if the state is not attracting enough teachers or enough qualified teachers, then something must be done to curb this trend. It sounds like th

We all make choices.

Thank the teachers union for a teacher shortage. It is one thing to be idealistic and do a good job and another to survive the tactics of the teachers union. You can get more teachers but they won't stay because they cant survive on low salary and because they have to take so much UEA, NEA BS. The voucher vote was a chance to start fixing this problem, the teachers union is unable to move in a positive manner to do anything. Like trying to move a mountain with a stick of wood.

Large class size and low pay are just 2 reasons teachers are leaving Utah. Teaching in Utah has gotten much harder. My wife has been a teacher for more than a decade. When she started, kids from stable family environments were the norm; today, they are the exception. Teachers today must also be disciplinarians, child psychologists, social workers, counselors, and surrogate parents. Many parents view the lower grades of public education as free child care. As a result, for the first time in her career, my wife is saying that this year may be her last year teaching in public schools.

money isnt enough to solve utah's educationl woe's .. it could help ... but it's knowing as a teacher that i have to go into a class room that has over 30 sometimes 40 students in it, please who would really want to be a teacher in this state with classrooms of that size?
then to compound the LARGE classroom sizes, there is the known prospect that every teacher has to be a 'special education' teacher for not one or two but sometimes up to 5 students in each class period .. what teacher wants a utah classroom knowing they have to be a special education teacher because this state demands special education student be mainstreamed ...
and then there is the discipline problem where bad students just get moved from one school to another
then there is this really odd concept in this state , the teacher should be the one HAVING to speak a foreign language instead of the student HAVING to speak english before they can come to school ???
fix the process and you just might get some teachers to stay in the state ?? (besides property tax assessments will force them out anyway)

I am one of the 55% of teacher who quit w/i the first five years. I now make twice as much working in the medical field after going back to school and earning a lesser degree of Assoc. of Applied Science. There is no way a single person can live with what a teacher makes. Most of the studies on teacher salaries are very "paded" to show what one specific group believes. If the want to fix the teacher shortage they will start talking to teachers and find out what they need.

LOL Look at our great wonderful Public school system. Looks like the teachers union is doing a great job! Too bad there are no other choices for these teachers to look at because public schools dominate the education industry with the Teachers Union at the healm.

Offer them a DECENT SALARY and the shortage goes away...

I did not know Utah teachers made so very little. This is terrible. I had assumed they made in the 50-60K range. At least that is where they should be at right out of University. Well, if I was a teacher. It would not be in Utah. And I love Utah. Come on give these people the pay they deserve. To bad i am stuck in California to the time being.

There are many problems in education, but the primary problem in Utah is teacher pay. Utah's children will continue to suffer because of a greedy legislature and a Governor who is doing the bare minimum to head off this problem. In fact, the Governor cares more about siphoning what little money there is in the public school system away from pubic schools and subsidizing the rich in Utah who want to send their kids to private schools. The governor is practically admitting that the public schools are not in good condition, but siphoning away more money certainly doesn't help. Why doesn't he attempt to fix the problem? There is currently a 400 million dollar surplus in Utah. What rationale is there for not taking immediate action and paying teachers a competitive salary and then increasing it each year? Nobody seems to care about the children of this state, including the Governor. Something is seriously wrong here. Shame on the Governor and the legislature for doing practically nothing to salvage Utah's Public School system and then hording all of states revenue.

I am still looking for a full-time 1-6 position for this year. Why is Jordan not hiring if it is so short teachers? Because they are lacking a high number of special ed. teachers, not classroom ones. This is where the problem lies, and I saw nothing about the specifics in the article.

I want future teachers to know just how hard it is to get a job in this state. If you want to teach and to be hired on, become a special ed. person, where likely 80 percent of the shortage exists.

I had an interview in Jordan when Daybreak opened up three years ago and they had five-hundred candidates apply for the school. I too am tired of hearing about massive teacher shortages when last year was really the first that it was extensive (because of Jordan's retirement benefits cuts).

When I was laid off beginning of October at Liberty, I was told there would be no problem finding another job. It is the middle of November and I am about to accept a full time sub job at a Charter school because each job I interview for has a plethora of quality candidates--even the half time ones. What it seems is that the shortages are all in special education in the elementary schools, and I don't have that background. This may be my last year in education because my experience indicates that there are too many teachers that are hired before I am.

I am blessed to be old enough to retire from public school employment. I watched the teaching profession decline from a respected profession with many rewards to one which is forced to take on childrearing in an unsafe environment with children who think they rule the world. Teachers are accountable for the performance of their students on comprehensive exams - regardless of whether the child attends school regularly, completes required homework, habitually uses drugs, or disrupts the lessons. Teachers are responsible for student safety during gang fights (with weapons), prison break-outs, and weather disasters. Add on committee assignments, mentoring, open houses, literacy nights, math contests, school festivals, parent conferences, faculty meetings, and university courses required to maintain a license and discover teachers seldom spend an evening at home. Administrators no longer support their teachers, bowing to parents instead. Fearing a lawsuit, principals allow students to misbehave without consequences. Many teachers earn a Master's Degree. The cost and time commitment equals that of a dentist, veterinarian, optometrist, accountant, or business manager. Earning $30,000 the first year and advancing slowly to a salary cap of $55,000 at the end of a career, one is foolish to major in education!

Teaching is like any other profession, it's true. But since education in this country is state run, a shortage indicates a failure in policy. If we say that education is a right in the US--and most of us do--then a shortage means a lower quality of education and therefore an inequality in rights for certain students.
I felt my public education in Utah was subpar. We have exceptional students supported by exceptional families. That's one reason our scores aren't the lowest in the country, even if our teacher pay and class sizes are stacked against us. How far do we think we can stretch our luck? !4% more of Utah teaching graduates seem to think, "Not much farther."

The abuse and horrible treatment teachers take from administrators is terrible. It seems as if many administrators have zero interest in the well-being of teachers and students. I wish I could tell you what they are interested in, but I just can' tell.