EDITORIAL: Fixing CCSD’s teacher shortage

Perhaps something good can finally come out of the shortage of teachers in the Clark County School District if it leads to a re-examination of licensing requirements that emphasize credentials rather than knowledge of subject matter.

The teacher shortage in the district is ongoing. Nor is it simply a matter of money, as many suppose. Teacher surveys reveal that complaints about working conditions and a lack of support drive many resignations. But the need for more educators is real. As of late last week, the district website lists more than 1,400 open positions for licensed teachers. Some schools have 10 or more openings.

There isn’t just a shortage of full-time teachers. The district is struggling to find substitutes. One day in January, the district’s substitute fill rate was just 19.3 percent. It’s likely January was especially tough because of the omicron surge, but that is stunningly low.

Late last month, the Legislative Commission voted to permit substitute teachers who have just a high school diploma “or its equivalent.” Previously, substitute teachers were required to have a minimum of 60 college credits or an associate’s degree. The variance will apply only during a declared state of emergency and to districts with more than 9,000 students. Smaller districts already had more relaxed requirements.

It’s likely this move will help increase the applicant pool. But without additional reforms and creative thinking, the district’s problem with full-time instructors will continue.

Start with the one-size-fits-all union pay scale that stamps out initiative and offers no avenue for good teachers to be rewarded for their efforts, something that certainly inhibits excellent candidates. In addition, existing union rules discourage experienced teachers new to Southern Nevada from applying with the district and earning appropriate compensation.

Relaxing the state’s teacher licensing requirements to value expertise in actual academic subject matter over pedagogical coursework could also help expand the candidate pool.

Under current rules, Albert Einstein would be prohibited from teaching high school physics in the Clark County School District because he lacked a teaching “credential.” To protect the system, many school unions would prefer a 23-year-old recent education school graduate teaching algebra over an expert in the field who lacks the proper pedagogical paperwork.

Potential teachers would obviously benefit from classroom training. And those who hope to teach in elementary school might need more specialized schooling to deal with young children. But the current approach — with its over-reliance on education schools — puts too much emphasis on theoretical curriculum rather than on mastering the subject matter that educators must relate to students in order for them to succeed.

It would be one thing if existing teacher certification requirements ensured quality and student achievement. They don’t. Despite the licensing hurdles, the district has long suffered from poor academic performance. There are plenty of outstanding teachers in the district, of course, but the licensing process does little to screen out poor performers.

Instead, too many young teachers — in Clark County and elsewhere — enter the classroom armed with their teaching credential but not well-versed in the subject matter they teach. “From one perspective, ed-school research is too soft, too applied and totally lacking in academic rigor,” wrote David Labaree, author of “The Trouble With Ed Schools,” “while from another, it is impractical and irrelevant, serving a university agenda while being largely useless to the schools.”

Teacher shortages are, in part, a reflection of the sheer number of educators needed to staff the nation’s public schools. In 2020, there were 3.5 million public school teachers in the United States, an 18 percent increase over 20 years earlier, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

But steps can be taken to alleviate shortages. In the long run, that will require a re-examination of the status quo as it relates to union contracts, licensing, education schools and pay scales. That may involve more innovative compensation plans to reward those who achieve results and teachers who work at at-risk schools or have demonstrated knowledge in specialized subject matter. It will also require the expansion of alternative licensure programs to attract those who earned academic degrees unrelated to education colleges.

Anything less is window dressing.