That means that the competition for professional skills will increase, and young people who might otherwise be drawn into teaching can easily choose to go elsewhere. The most notable shortages are for teachers of math, science, technology and special education. If we are to deal with the shortages, we need to change our approach on how we recruit, hire and compensate teachers. There is not a single profession called teacher. We have a complex combination of talent and alternative pathways to certification that must be encouraged and supported if we are to meet and beat the competition.
Many states already pay more in hard to staff fields such as math and science.
In order to gain and maintain competitiveness, Wyoming should do the same. There can and should be salary flexibility in district pay plans. We need greater support for our beginning teachers as well. As many as one-third of our teachers leave the field within their first five years. They are drawn away by the competition in non-teaching professions, or frustrated by a lack of mentoring or lack of support from administrators and parents.