More SC college students enroll in teaching programs even as teacher shortage grows. Why?
More South Carolina college students are enrolling in education-related study programs, a possible positive sign as the statewide teacher shortage worsens.
At the University of South Carolina, overall enrollment for the current school year increased 6.5% over the previous year, while the number of incoming freshmen in USC’s College of Education grew by more than 75% since last year, said Angela Baum, the university’s associate dean of academic affairs.
Meanwhile, the university’s redesigned teaching and special education master’s programs have grown by 137% in the last year.
“I don’t think there’s anything more acute than the educator workforce shortage,” said Tommy Hodges, dean of the USC College of Education. “Being the flagship institution, we have an obligation to address workforce needs.”
A record 1,474 positions in South Carolina schools were vacant at the beginning of the 2022 school year, a 39% increase from the year prior and more than twice the number of vacancies two years ago, according to a November report by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement.
South Carolina classrooms lose between 5,000 and 7,000 teachers each year, according to the report, and only 2,000 new teachers graduate yearly from the state’s teaching programs.
But university leaders say there are signs of growing interest in education.
Claflin University, a private historically Black college in Orangeburg, says it also has recorded more students enrolling in teaching-related fields.
“Our students are tremendously excited about the profession of teaching,” said Anthony Pittman, dean of Claflin’s School of Education.
The teacher shortage doesn’t intimidate them, it encourages them, said Dora Waymer, the interim director of Claflin’s Bridges to Education program, which introduces high school students to the profession.
“(Teaching) is their dream,” Waymer said. “It only pushes them to accomplish that dream and succeed.”
Many Claflin students connect the teacher shortage with their own experiences, Pittman said. Some students have never had a teacher of color. He said it’s motivating.
The College of Charleston also has grown enrollment in education programs, with an increase of more than 100 students, said Frances Welch, dean of the college’s School of Education. Elementary education increased by 76%, Welch said, and secondary education is at its highest in three years.
Despite all the negative parts of being a teacher, Welch said, students want to make a difference in the lives of the people they will teach.
“It’s a helping profession,” Welch said. “They have a commitment to improving society.”
This growth helped introduce a new education minor at the college, Welch said, and they are in the process of creating a doctorate program.
Recruitment is important, but retention is key
The teacher shortage is nothing new, said USC education professor Barnett Berry, but now the stakes are higher.
“It’s even more clear that the solutions are not just one program here or there,” Berry said. “It’s about a system that we need to put in place to treat the problem.”
Teachers’ salaries aren’t enough, Barnett said, but the nature of the job itself needs to change — young educators need more support.
More aggressive recruitment will never be enough to fill needs, USC’s Hodges said.
Growth in the profession is key, but stabilizing the workforce is even more important. Many teachers leave within their first five years. That’s why universities say they are focusing on support, professional development and creating hands-on experiences.
“When you see that there’s such significant workforce needs, you do what you can to respond to them,” Hodges said.
Claflin graduates get support from the university during their first year in the classroom or longer. It ensures professional development and that they are meeting evaluation benchmarks, Pittman said.
Universities say that scholarships and support programs are helping entice students to study education and help guide them as they start their careers.
Claflin’s Bridge to Education program, which partners with South Carolina State University, recruits high school students of color to complete teacher education programs. It provides these students mentors and resources to pass exams and receive licensure.
The South Carolina Teaching Fellows awards scholarships of $6,000 per year, as well as professional development, to 200 high school seniors interested in teaching.
For those who’ve already graduated college with a degree in a different field, the Carolina Collaborative for Alternative Preparation offers a different path into teaching. The program, a partnership between South Carolina school districts, the University of South Carolina and the Center for Teaching Quality, helps those switching careers earn their teaching licensure.
Once in the classroom, the Carolina Teacher Induction Program, a collaboration between USC and teachers in school districts across the state, helps graduates of any program transition into teaching with three years of coaching. Hodges said the program’s retention rate is 96%.
Despite the growing teacher shortage, Hodges isn’t necessarily surprised that students still want to be teachers. Not only has there been a concerted effort to find and support these students, the profession has a draw all its own, he said.
“People see the critical role teachers play,” Hodges said. “Despite the challenges, I think people see it as such an important function and want to be a part of it.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 11:27 AM.
