APM ReportsIlluminating Journalism from American Public Media
Menu
  • Our Reporting
  • Podcasts
  • About Us
Menu
  • Our Reporting
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Government
    • Health
    • History
    • Policing and Criminal Justice
    • Reading
    • Teen Treatment Industry
  • Podcasts
    • APM Reports Documentaries
    • Educate
    • Historically Black
    • In Deep
    • Order 9066
    • Sent Away
    • Sold a Story
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Email Notifications
    • Ethics Guidelines
    • Impact
    • Jobs
    • Our Journalists
    • Public Media Accountability Initiative
    • Who We Are and What We Do
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter

    Who wants to be a teacher?

    We’ve spent decades trying to alleviate teacher shortages. Our attempts have dramatically changed the teacher workforce, but the shortages remain.

    We’ve spent decades trying to alleviate teacher shortages. Our attempts have dramatically changed the teacher workforce, but the shortages remain.
    Rachel Sender for APM Reports

    A four-part podcast series by APM Reports.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Email

    July 28, 2021 | by Alex Baumhardt, Will Craft, Chris Julin, and Sabby Robinson

    Many schools around the country are struggling to find enough teachers. Large numbers of teachers quit after a short time on the job, so schools are constantly struggling to replace them. The problem is particularly acute at rural schools and urban schools. The most common level of experience of teachers in the United States now is one year on the job. At the same time, enrollment in teacher training programs at colleges and universities is plummeting, and schools are looking to other sources to fill classrooms.

    In Nevada, a desperate need for teachers this year led to allowing people with just a high school diploma to fill in as substitutes. Oklahoma recently changed its law to allow people with a bachelor’s degree — in anything — to teach indefinitely on emergency teaching certificates. Schools in Texas are increasingly turning to for-profit teacher training programs. Data we obtained shows that nearly one in four of the teachers hired in Texas last year came through a single for-profit online program — one that’s now making its way into other states. We look at the implications of these changes, both for children and for the teaching force.

    EPISODE 1
    The teacher emergency
    EPISODE 2
    The rise of the for-profit teacher training industry
    EPISODE 3
    The trouble with grading teachers
    EPISODE 4
    This very leaky pipeline
    "Who Wants to be a Teacher?" is a four-part series from the Educate podcast — stories about education, opportunity, and how people learn.

    Texas company fuels rise of for-profit teacher training programs

    Texas Teachers of Tomorrow has become the largest teacher training program in the nation, offering a low-cost online program. While it’s lowered barriers and helped diversify the workforce, this approach to training hasn’t solved chronic teacher shortages.


    HOSTS
    Alex Baumhardt
    Will Craft
    PRODUCERS
    Alex Baumhardt
    Chris Julin
    Sabby Robinson
    REPORTING
    Alex Baumhardt
    Will Callan
    Will Craft
    Chris Julin
    Sabby Robinson
    EDITOR
    Catherine Winter
    AUDIO MIX
    Craig Thorson
    EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
    Chris Worthington
    DIGITAL EDITORS
    Andy Kruse
    Dave Mann
    FACT CHECKER
    Betsy Towner Levine
    PROJECT COORDINATOR
    Lauren Humpert
    SPECIAL THANKS
    Sasha Aslanian
    Emily Hanford
    Robby Korth
    Alondra Sierra
    Stephen Smith

    Support for this program comes from the Spencer Foundation and Lumina Foundation.


    Resources
    • Complete documentary transcript

    Sign up for email notifications
    Enter your address below and we'll let you know when new investigations and documentaries are available.

    APM Reports
    • Our Reporting
    • Podcasts
    • About Us
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • Twitter
    American Public Media
    • © 2023 Minnesota Public Radio. All Rights Reserved.
    •  
    • Terms and Conditions
    •  
    • Privacy Policy