Topic: Teacher Workforce Policy
Teacher Workforce Policy
State Policies to Elevate the Profession and Address Shortages
The most important thing schools can do for students’ education is ensure they have good teachers. States need a strong teacher workforce to increase student learning and to build a stronger economy. SREB helps state leaders address teacher shortages and improve policies that affect teachers across their careers — including recruiting, supporting and retaining great teachers.
A Comprehensive Approach to Teacher Workforce Policy
Click on an area below to explore publications, resources, data and more.
These four elements support teachers at every stage of their careers — from candidates and early career teachers, to professional teachers and teacher leaders.
To address teacher shortages, elevate the profession, and fuel the economy, a key first step is unpacking the data.
Teacher Career Pathways and Advancement Options
We need more high-quality pathways to ensure a skilled teacher workforce so that all students have prepared, certified teachers in every class. This report reviews the data on teacher shortages and quality and shows the four main pathways into the profession. It details the essential elements of quality teacher career pathways and offers examples to look toward from states around the nation.
Explore regional highlights, state-by-state data collections, and spotlights of promising state practices from across the South. Data include various measures of teacher quantity, preparation, demographics, shortages, quality, and talent distribution from 2019-2023.
Perspectives
Read SREB's Teacher Workforce Blog
From shortages to solutions, find thoughtful articles about policies and data that affect educators, written by SREB staff and guest authors.
The latest: Generation Z Isn’t Interested in Teaching − Why Not? by SREB’s Sheniqua Pierce.
Building a First-Rate Teacher Workforce
Four Fundamentals of Attracting and Retaining Great Teachers — Starting with Data
Districts and schools are having to rely on a “warm body” approach to address teacher shortages, focusing on filling numerical vacancies over teacher qualification or preparedness. But taking a closer look at four fundamental areas of data can help make efforts to solve shortages more effective and longer-lasting.
Teacher Compensation Across the South
Dashboard & Analysis
Teacher compensation is about more than just salaries. Each year, SREB tracks and analyzes state-by-state data on teacher compensation packages, including heath and retirement benefits, salaries and take-home pay. Use our updated Teacher Compensation Dashboard to examine and compare data or see trends and key takeaways from around the Southern region.
Teacher Labor Market Trends
Insights From Two Southern States
Teacher shortages, high turnover rates and declining interest in the teaching profession have proven difficult for policymakers to address. These concerns are even more dire in Southern states.
Partnering with researchers at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education, SREB studied data in Kentucky and Tennessee on teacher labor market trends over the last decade. This online report features seven findings with interactive charts.
The Next Generation of Teachers
A Study of Generation Z’s Interest in the Teaching Profession
We depend on Generation Z to fill the growing number of teaching vacancies. Partnering with researchers at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education, SREB studied data in Kentucky and Tennessee for insight into Gen Z and their interest in the teaching profession. This online report features six findings with interactive charts.
