Teachers are fleeing Oklahoma for higher paying jobs in surrounding states. Shortage has sparked schools to push for emergency certifications to fill positions.

A teacher shortage is happening in the US over discrepancies in wages varying from states, high costs in tuitions to gain the required bachelor degree, insufficient classroom resources, and inadequate evaluation processes. The shortage has caused a decline in special education teachers, larger classes, and less qualified teachers.

According to usnews.com, “Oklahoma schools have grown increasingly reliant on filling teacher vacancies with emergency certified teachers amid a statewide shortage of educators.” That means teachers are now not being required to have a bachelor’s degree in education from an accredited college or a certification from the Oklahoma Department of Education.

A program named Teacher Shortage Employment Incentive Program (TSEIP) is “a legislative ruling administered by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.  TSEIP was designed to recruit and retain mathematics and science teachers in Oklahoma. Successful candidates will be reimbursed eligible student loan expenses or an equivalent cash benefit” according to okhighed.org.

TSEIP main design is to offer an incentive of financial freedom after earning a degree. TSEIP helps with the problem but is not an overall fix to the epidemic.

The teacher shortage is a problem for the entire state and until the US puts more of an investment and value into education a solution will not be fixed with a band aid solution. Teachers are vital to a thriving and innovative society, but with lack of attractivity and competitive wages the problem may continue to grow.