SC education group warns coronavirus could exacerbate teacher shortage

The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to worsen a statewide teacher shortage, an education official said Wednesday.

“We don’t have enough. We didn’t have enough before this crisis,” said Patrick Kelly, the director of governmental affairs for Palmetto State Teachers Association, when asked at a press conference whether the pandemic could worsen an existing teacher shortage. “This has the potential to exacerbate this crisis even further if we aren’t careful in how we approach it.”

“Teachers are more important than ever,” Kelly said.

While it is unclear how severe South Carolina’s teacher shortage will be in the upcoming school year, In the 2018-2019 school year, 6,650 S.C. teachers left their jobs, according to a report from the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA).

In recent years, K-12 teacher shortages have been a persistent problem in South Carolina because of a lack of support from administrators, a teach-to-the-test culture and relatively low pay, according to previous articles from The State. But this year, amid coronavirus, virtual classes and more disruptions to teaching, teachers are facing more stress than ever before.

During a Tuesday State House committee meeting, S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman told lawmakers she recently spoke to a superintendent who told her 60 teachers in that district refused to teach in-person until coronavirus cases decrease, even if that means losing their jobs.

The press conference Wednesday was held to release a report based on a survey of 12,000 teachers and a focus group to gather information on what teachers were struggling with amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

Among they key findings were that 94% of teachers want to stay in the profession for the 2020-2021 school year; 44% of teachers struggle with online learning; teachers felt paper packets were less effective than online learning and that concerns about students’ social health and remote learning substantially increased teachers’ stress levels.

“Teachers had to take on many new goals and tasks to teach your kids,” said Barnett Berry, the founder of education group All4SC and a USC professor. “Many teachers struggled as a result of this.”

The teaching profession has always required more than just teaching lessons, but the COVID 19-related changes meant 78% spent less time on direct teaching, 65% of teachers spent more time holding office hours and 55% spent more time learning how to use technology, according to the report.

The report was compiled by multiple education organizations throughout the state including: the Palmetto State Teachers Association, the S.C. Department of Education, the University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Education Association, All4SC, REM center and The S.C. Center for Excellence in Teacher Education Research.

The report called on state officials to eliminate the “digital divide” by increasing internet access to rural and low-income communities, fund school-based social workers and nurses and provide technological and professional support for teachers who are using virtual learning, according to the report.

Chanda Jefferson, the 2020 South Carolina Teacher of the Year, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that teachers need support networks and tools to serve students especially disadvantaged by a virtual education.

“This year, I witnessed the true definition of hard work,” said Jefferson, who teaches at Fairfield Central High School.