On Tuesday, Nov. 28, from 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., The South Carolina Education Association (The SCEA) will hold a livestream on our Facebook page with Dr. Jennifer Garrett of the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement (CERRA) to draw attention to South Carolina’s growing teacher shortage crisis, as highlighted in CERRA’s 2023-2024 Educator Supply and Demand Report.
According to the report, departures have risen by 9% from last year. As of the beginning of the school year, there were 1,613 educator vacancies in South Carolina, up from 1,474 at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.
“Stopping the educator shortage is one of our most important priorities,” said The SCEA President Sherry East. “Each of these vacancies represent a classroom in which students are left without the highly-qualified and credentialed educators they deserve.”
The number of educators leaving the profession has dropped slightly from last year, but still remains higher than 2021-2022. For the 2023-2024 school year, districts reported 7,353 teacher departures. Last year there were 8,321 and in the 2021-2022 school year there were 6,927.
“CERRA’s recent Supply and Demand report continues to demonstrate what educators have been saying for years—the existing teacher shortage continues to be a five-alarm fire,” said East. “Our legislature’s highest priority must be meaningfully addressing this crisis. Our elected officials need to listen to educators, improve our working conditions, and take meaningful, substantive action to recruit and retain quality educators. Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions, and South Carolina children deserve the best conditions we can provide.”
The SCEA Legislative Agenda urges legislators to address the educator shortage crisis by focusing on several key areas: Funding and compensation, unencumbered time and recertification, and professional contracts.
