Idaho has enough teachers, “but not enough of the right teachers in the right places,” according to the state’s latest educator pipeline report. 

There is a critical shortage of elementary education teachers, for example, and staffing issues are exacerbated at rural and high poverty schools.

Plus, there are more than 8,000 people with teaching certificates in Idaho who are not working in classrooms for various reasons, according to the report, which was presented to the State Board of Education at a regular meeting last month. 

Each year, about 2,000 teacher vacancies  — of about 19,000 positions total — must be filled, according to five-year averages. At the same time, only about 1,000 incoming teachers graduated from Idaho preparation programs in the 2021-22 academic year — the most recent data available — and not all of them stayed in state.

With more vacancies than traditionally qualified candidates, requests for alternative and emergency teaching authorizations are increasing. 

To shore up the workforce gaps, Idaho education stakeholders are calling for increased teacher salaries and incentives, mentorship programs, pathways to certification and improved working conditions.

The report is primarily focused on the 2023-2024 school year. The Office of the State Board has produced the report annually since 2016, except in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

New teachers and men less likely to stay in the classroom

Early-career teachers and male teachers are more likely to exit the profession than their peers, according to the report.

About 12% of Idaho teachers leave the profession after or during the first year, but that figure steadily drops as time goes on. About half of Idaho teachers make it through 11 years, but fewer than half of the state’s male teachers make it to 10 years.

Educators leave the classroom for a number of reasons ranging from stress to low salaries, according to the Learning Policy Institute. 

In Idaho, teacher salaries have increased over time but still don’t compete with those in neighboring states, according to the report.

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Quality teacher preparation is another factor. Teacher training that doesn’t match the actualities of the job can negatively impact retention, according to the report. Because of that, student teaching is “an important component of teacher preparation.”

Related: New teachers feel unprepared — Critchfield is calling on college of education to change that

Enrollment trends will determine teacher need

As education leaders try to forecast the need for teachers, population and enrollment numbers are important to watch. The state’s population has been steadily increasing as more people move to Idaho, but the birth rate has been steadily falling. 

For now, student enrollment numbers that have long been on the rise are beginning to plateau.

Regional and national databases have given conflicting reports about what the future will hold. The National Center for Education Statistics projects continued public school enrollment growth in the years to come, while the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education forecasts a slight decline in public school enrollment by 2026. 

How student enrollment numbers end up trending will likely depend on the “continued in-migration of families with school age kids or soon to have kids,” the report said.  Either way, Idaho is unlikely to “face the kind of demographic cliff other states are experiencing.”

Possible solutions: More incentives, mentoring, certification pathways and better working conditions

Three Idaho education groups gave the State Board their advice on how to shore up educator workforce gaps. 

All called for more teacher pay and incentives, two pushed for more mentoring and pathways to certification and two wanted to see improved working conditions for educators.