SC lacks over 1,000 teachers. It’s the biggest gap in at least 20 years, survey says

South Carolina’s teacher shortage is greater this school year than at any point in at least the last 20 years, according to a newly released survey.

As of September-October, there were 1,060 teaching positions vacant in the state, according to the 2021 Annual Educator Supply and Demand Survey by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA). Statewide, S.C. school districts employ more than 56,000 people in full and part-time teaching positions, according to the survey.

“This is an increase of more than 50% compared to last year and the largest number of vacancies reported by districts since the Supply and Demand Survey was first administered in 2001,” according to the survey.

The survey consisted of 83 S.C. school districts, career and technical centers, charter schools and more.

Since the beginning of the pandemic teachers and experts have been warning that increased job stresses, lack of perceived support from administrators and general disrespect for teaching will push more people to leave the profession. Even though South Carolina has boosted pay for teachers, and districts have given school employees bonuses, S.C. continues to rank in the bottom 10 states to be a teacher, according to a 2021 study.

The Palmetto State Teachers Association, a teacher advocacy group, called the teacher shortage a “crisis.”

“Each vacancy comes with a story of additional challenges, whether it’s from the middle school teacher trying to instruct a class of more than 40 students in algebra 1 or from a school where teachers are routinely asked to give up their planning time, lunch, or both in order to provide coverage for a class without a teacher,” the teachers group said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Teacher vacancies hit core subjects such as math, science, English and history particularly hard, according to the survey. However, special education had more teacher vacancies, 163, than any other subject or specialization. The subject with the second-most vacancies was math, with 117 vacancies, followed by third to fifth grade teachers with 115 vacancies, according to the survey.

The survey wasn’t all bad news, however. Fewer young teachers are leaving the profession than in recent years, according to the survey. Last year, 42% of teachers who left the profession had five years or fewer of classroom experience. This year, that percentage was down to 35%, according to the survey.

Schools are also hiring more teachers. More than 7,000 teachers were hired for the 2021-2022 school year, which is an 11% increase over last year, according to the survey.