PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
(WTAQ-WLUK) — The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction says it needs to strengthen educator recruitment and retention to address the state’s teacher shortage.
That’s according to new data released Monday morning by the DPI Educator Preparation Program and Workforce Analysis Report.
A discussion with local and state education leaders happened at the Green Bay Area Public School District office Monday afternoon to address the issue.
State Superintendent Jill Underly said retention and recruitment has been an ongoing challenge.
“If we want our kids to be successful, we have to make sure that the individuals who are teaching them are also successful so that we’re providing the professional development, that they are getting the support they need, that they are being respected,” Underly said.
The report uses data from 2023-24 and shows despite training thousands of new teachers each year, many aren’t staying in Wisconsin classrooms.
The state lost 1,688 potential educators out of the nearly 5,300 who completed Wisconsin educator preparation programs, or about 30%.
Underly blames a lack of compensation as the main driver.
“Our teachers are earning, you know, 22% less than they were, you know, 15 years ago,” Underly said. “Are we asking too much of individuals in order to sacrifice their own livelihood and whether they can support their family just because they’re good people who love to teach kids?”
The report also shows 52.6% of teachers in their eighth year stay in Wisconsin public schools.
Eight years marks around the time when educators are reaching their peak.
The number is even lower for special education teachers, at just 43.2%.
While statewide numbers show struggles with teacher retention in Wisconsin’s schools, GBAPS said it’s making strides with retention, but there’s still a lot of work to do.
GBAPS Superintendent Vicki Bayer said the district is number one in staff retention among urban schools at 92%.
“But that doesn’t take away at all from the really hard work that still goes on in our schools that we need to address and make conditions better for our employees,” Bayer said.
Despite this, Green Bay teachers still say pay is not keeping up with inflation.
“It is frustrating, you know, to try to think about… I go to the grocery store and my bills are going up and my pay is kind of staying stagnant. It kind of feels a little insulting at times because we are professionals,” Edison Middle School Math teacher Andrea Huggett said.
The DPI launched the Special Educator Induction Program in 2023 to help address the issue and improve long-term retention.
Underly said more state funding, better relationships with communities, lawmakers and higher education partners could all help improve retention.
DPI hopes Monday’s discussion is the start of that process.
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