More SC teachers inexperienced, lacking certifications since COVID, districts report
Far more South Carolina students were taught last year by inexperienced teachers or teachers without the appropriate certifications, a worrying sign that education advocates say speaks to a worsening of the state’s teacher shortage.
The number of inexperienced math, English and science educators increased by nearly 40% last school year and the number of educators teaching core subjects for which they weren’t certified jumped by more than 60%, according to district-reported data included in South Carolina school report cards.
The percentage of inexperienced and out-of-field teachers varied considerably between districts, but overall about 17% of math, English and science educators in the state were inexperienced, meaning they had three or fewer years of teaching under their belt.
Nearly 3% of math, English and science teachers were not certified to teach those subjects.
Non-charter public schools in South Carolina are not permitted to employ non-certified individuals in full-time teaching roles, but may hire uncertified long-term substitutes or have certified educators teach outside their area of expertise.
Leaders of two of the state’s teachers organizations said the school report card data illustrates the difficulty districts are having attracting and retaining teachers.
“It’s the continuation of a trend that was accelerated and exacerbated by the pandemic,” said Patrick Kelly, a Richland 2 teacher who serves as director of governmental affairs for the Palmetto State Teachers Association.
As more veteran teachers leave the profession due to escalating work demands and low pay, the odds their replacements are inexperienced grows, Kelly said.
Districts are increasingly unable to fill openings — teacher vacancies rose 26% last year — and have been forced to rely on a combination of uncertified long-term substitutes and teachers without subject matter expertise to lead core classes, South Carolina Education Association President Sherry East said.
“They’re pulling people from everywhere to cover,” East said. “You may teach music, but you are pulled to cover math lessons for the day. It’s a mess. It’s a giant mess.”
Research indicates that when teachers are inexperienced or uncertified, children’s learning can suffer.
“There’s a mountain of evidence that shows access to a certified teacher is a positive for student achievement and growth,” said Kelly, who testified about the benefits of employing certified teachers this spring when state lawmakers were considering a bill that would allow schools to hire non-certified staff to fill vacancies.
The bill, which would allow schools with vacancies five days before the start of the school year to hire non-certified staff in up to 25% of teaching positions, passed the House in April but has yet to receive a hearing in the Senate.
Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree, R-Horry, said in April that his committee ran out of time to discuss the bill last session due to the demands of passing a state budget, but likely would pick it up next year.
COVID led to increase in inexperienced, uncertified teachers
State Department of Education spokesman Ryan Brown acknowledged that many educators were asked to teach in subject areas outside of their certification last year due to the high demand for virtual learning. But he declined to speculate on the reasons why districts reported an uptick in the number of inexperienced and out-of-field educators in their classrooms.
Brown said the numbers, like student assessment scores, probably were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, but that without further study officials could not say whether the increase in inexperienced and out-of-field teachers in core classes was tied to the state’s educator shortage.
Many Midlands districts, including all Richland and Lexignton districts, reported increases in inexperienced teachers last year, and all but Lexington 4 reported increases in out-of-field teachers.
A spokeswoman for Richland 1, which reported a near-doubling of inexperienced and out-of-field teachers in core classes last year, attributed the increase to retirements and the pandemic. Spokeswoman Karen York said the district had hired several first-year teachers to fill vacancies and employed substitute teachers who were not certified in the areas in which they taught.
Richland 2, which reported a roughly 50% increase in inexperienced and out-of-field teachers last year, saw its numbers jump because of the pandemic-related closure of educator testing centers that prevented many teachers from completing previously scheduled certification assessments or from registering for future certification tests, spokeswoman Ishmael Tate said.
She said the district last year hired 20 teachers who had been issued provisional certificates in lieu of completing their certification assessments, and that seven have since received their initial certification.
In Lexington 2, which reported the highest proportion of inexperienced teachers of any local district, the recent hiring of 150 teachers with three or fewer years of experience has been the primary driver, spokeswoman Dawn Kujawa said.
“We have a number of strong partnerships that have resulted in hires of candidates new to teaching, and we offer robust mentorship programs and (professional development) to support them in settling into the classroom,” she said.
Kujawa said the district’s increase in educators teaching outside their certification may be the result of teachers who are in the process of adding certifications, but have not yet completed the process.
She did, however, acknowledge the need for more certificated teachers generally, and said she expected more inexperienced and out-of-field teachers in schools across the Midlands in the years to come.
Education advocates agree and believe the school report card numbers are the latest sign that South Carolina is failing to stem an accelerating exodus of experienced teachers that will only intensify if substantial policy changes are not enacted at the state and local level.
Kelly said more competitive teacher salaries and improved working conditions are top priorities in the long term, but that returning authority over masking decisions to local districts by amending a one-year law that prohibits school mask mandates is the most pressing concern.
“We’ve got to get this public health crisis under control and to get teachers back to doing what they love, which is teaching and helping students,” he said.
Just weeks into the fall semester, dozens of schools in more than a quarter of districts statewide have had to suspend in-person instruction because they could not maintain normal operations amid COVID-19 outbreaks. Thousands of South Carolina students and school employees have been infected with the virus since the start of the school year, including some who have been hospitalized and died, and thousands more are at home quarantining due to exposure.
Many teachers who had hoped this year would be closer to “normal” are reeling from the realization that COVID-19 appears likely to dominate yet another semester, Kelly said.
“I’ve never in my career seen the morale of the teaching workforce in this state as low as it is right now,” he said. “I’m hearing almost daily about teachers who are thinking of breaking their contracts because they’re overwhelmed.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 10:10 AM with the headline "More SC teachers inexperienced, lacking certifications since COVID, districts report."