SUTTONS BAY — Local Districts are doing what they can to fight back against teaching shortages.
This, as the department of education reports that more teachers are staying in the field than leaving compared to previous years.
Ten years ago, the state saw a massive increase in teachers leaving the profession, with only 5,000 people entering the field and over 7,000 people leaving.
In the 2021 school year, numbers began to rise for teachers entering the field, but data from the Department of education shows that for the 2024-2025 school year, teachers entering the field dropped from 8,438 in the 2023-2024 school year to 7,877.
But, it is better than it was before.
Suttons Bay Public Schools Superintendent Casey Petz said they’ve seen quite a few applications for positions posted in the last two cycles, making it a nice return to normalcy.
=Petz adds that he wouldn’t actually say this is a teaching Shortage, saying “it isn’t as though you you don’t have enough people certified, highly qualified. They they are choosing not to teach. Right. So is it because we have a teacher shortage, or is it because the profession is not a attractive profession for many of the people who are certified and highly qualified? ”
It is not just people leaving the field, some teachers are just leaving schools and the districts cannot fill the spot.
Suttons Bay Public Schools have a multi-year plan in place to combat this trend.
Part of the plan includes being very clear with candidates about the districts core values, the other part involves preparation for when teachers leave.
Petz said that one reason people may be leaving the industry is due to loosing their passion.
“It’s a hard thing to do to teach someone else’s kids. And, when that work environment feels, frustrating, when you’re experiencing anxiety, that’s can be overwhelming and impacting your work as a result of trying to do what you think is right for kids.” Petz added “It creates a disconnect for people, and it creates, a question in someone’s mind like, why am I why am I putting myself through this right now?”
Petz encourages districts to focus on good work conditions, if they do, teachers may be more likely to stick around.