Rural Teacher Shortages -- Rural Policy Matters, Volume 1, Number 9 (November 1999)

Last month in Colorado Springs, a panel of educators from Alaska, Montana, Vermont, West Virginia, South Dakota, Iowa and North Dakota sat down and found, unfortunately, that their states had much in common. The subject was teacher shortages -- problems of recruitment and retention in rural areas. The meeting was the annual convention of the National Rural Education Association. Though the panel was particularly diverse (a teacher union representative, a school board member, a state superintendent, an executive director of a rural/small school organization, a director of student placement of a university), there was broad agreement. Small schools in rural communities are frequently unable to compete with larger districts in attracting qualified teachers.

With active audience participation from states such as Nebraska, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, and Missouri, the group shared specifics of the problem. Unequal salary was definitely identified as the main culprit. Suburban and urban districts often have the ability to attract more candidates, with significantly higher salary offers. In Alaska, even with very high salaries, remoteness and housing shortages contribute to teacher shortages. Many rural states find that 50% or more of their teacher graduates take positions in other states that have higher pay scales. One participant noted that teacher shortages have led many districts into hiring long-term substitutes -- since there are no state certification requirements for substitutes. Some rural states do not presently have shortages, except in specific subject areas. Special education, science and math are the fields most frequently mentioned as problematic.

Many rural areas and states have begun developing a variety of strategies to combat this problem. Alaska, for example, has instituted a statewide clearinghouse for job openings and for posting candidate resumes. Many states hold job fairs. Mississippi offers loan repayment for students who teach in rural areas. Other places are beginning programs to encourage student-teacher placement in rural schools and linkage with mentorship programs.

With many promising plans to deal with teacher recruitment /retention, the group identified three very difficult and pervasive problems. First, many of the causes of the teacher recruitment/retention issue center on finances. Rural schools often do not have the fiscal resources to be able to compete with suburban and urban districts and offer comparable salaries and benefits. Second, the link between the economic health of rural communities and rural schools needs to be recognized. Solutions, therefore, demand community/economic development as well as educational reform. And lastly, rural citizens need to be active in promoting the assets and attractiveness of both teaching as a profession, and of rural communities as wonderful places to live. As one participant stated, "we have to make it 'cool' to remain in a rural town and make it your home"