BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Teacher shortages in Alabama have shown improvement in some subjects, but persistent challenges remain, according to State Superintendent Eric Mackey.
Mackey presented findings of an annual survey where local districts report unfilled positions by subject areas and grade level to the state board of education during last week’s work session. The data, captured this month, provides a “snapshot” of vacancies at the time of the survey, Mackey explained, noting that some positions may have been filled shortly afterward.
Between early elementary education and early childhood, which includes pre-K programs, there were more than 800 openings, Mackey said.
”That’s a lot statewide,” Mackey said. For survey purposes, any position not filled by a fully certified teacher is counted as a vacancy.
“That does not mean there’s a room of children with no adult,” he stressed. Teachers may be using emergency certificates or could be long-term substitutes.
“So we had 800 classrooms with elementary children that did not have a fully certified adult at the front of the room,” Mackey continued. “When we’re trying to push literacy and numeracy and all the things we talk about, that’s a real concern for us.”
The teacher shortage is also evident in the number of applicants for open positions.
“When I was an elementary principal, if I had a third grade opening, it was not uncommon to have 40 people apply for that job,” Mackey said. “And now superintendents tell me they may have to go out and beat the bush to get applicants for some of these jobs, especially in some of the underserved parts of the state.”
Board member Wayne Reynolds, a Republican who represents parts of north Alabama, noted that 800 vacancies represent a small percentage of Alabama’s thousands of classrooms, but acknowledged the shortage is more severe in some areas.
“They’re not equally dispersed over the state, which is good and bad, because some of them are critically dynamic and located in certain areas,” Reynolds said. “I think it’s important.”
While improvements are evident in some areas, others, particularly special education, have seen little to no progress.
For the current school year, the top five shortage areas by number of vacancies are:
- Elementary Education – 551, down from 661 last year
- Early Childhood Education – 261, down from 298
- Collaborative Special Education (6-12) – 198, up from 197
- Collaborative Special Education (K-6) – 219, up from 209
- General Science – 120, down from 121
Teacher shortages are a longstanding challenge for public schools, and having fully certified teachers in classrooms remains the ideal for student success. However, when certified teachers are unavailable, schools are forced to turn to alternative measures, such as emergency certificates, to ensure classrooms are staffed.
The state continues to explore strategies to address the issues, but the disparities in access to certified teachers underscore the need for targeted interventions to support underserved schools and communities.
Lawmakers extended the use of emergency certificates in 2019, allowing teachers to work in classrooms for up to four years while pursuing full certification, instead of the previous one-year limit.
That change has led to a sharp increase in the number of teachers working under emergency credentials.
During the 2023-24 school year, 3,014 teachers statewide, or just under 6% of all teachers, used emergency certificates, up from 2,800, or 5.6% the previous year and more than six times the 476 teachers who were emergency-certified during 2019-20 school year, when only 1.8% of teachers held emergency certificates.
The number of schools with more than 10% of teachers holding emergency certificates also grew significantly – from one in 20 schools in 2019-20 to more than 1 in five schools in 2023-24.
Federal data shows teacher shortages hit high-poverty schools hardest. In total, 309 out of 1,363 schools have over 10% of their teachers certified under emergency provisions.
In six schools- five of which are elementary schools – more than half of teachers are emergency-certified:
- Highland Gardens Elementary School in Montgomery – 58% of teachers are emergency-certified
- Payne Elementary School in Selma – 57%
- Barbour County Primary School – 56%
- Chisholm Elementary School in Montgomery – 51%
- Nixon Elementary School in Montgomery – 50%
- Lowndes County Middle School – 50%
The poverty levels in those six schools range from 85% to 96%.
The table below shows the percentage of teachers holding emergency certification during the 2023-24 school year as reported on the federal report card. The table is sorted by school district. Use the dropdown menu to choose which district you want to view. Click here if you are unable to see the table.