A report last week detailed a growing shortage of teachers as more Baby Boomers retire.
Ron Martin is President of Wisconsin Education Association Council and an 8th grade teacher in Eau Claire. He says information from the state education colleges shows fewer people are going into teaching...
"....working with our UW-System and our student program we have an incredible shortage of people wanting to go into the teaching profession, which is concerning when we take a look at the data and the number of people retiring in the next five years..."
He says the high cost of getting trained is an impediment to people looking at teaching...
"...we see individuals who start in teaching but the debt that they come out of college with is so high that they don't go into teaching or they leave it real soon. I'm also seeing the lack of support we're giving new educators...."
Martin says cash-strapped school districts are cutting back on personnel who help support teachers. Martin says they've started a program in high schools called "Educators Rising" in partnership with the Department of Public Instruction and others. He says the program supports individuals interested in going into education. He says the program targets 16 to 18 year olds who haven't decided on a career choice. He says there is a similar program for college students called the "Aspiring Educators of Wisconsin" with chapters in the state's 26 college campuses. He says the college chapters reach out to students who are still undecided in their major.
Martin says from his own experience, many of his colleagues have left teaching or retired. He says many trained educators are also being lured to more lucrative positions in the private sector.
