With more than 4,000 open positions for the upcoming school year, the teacher shortage in Florida is among the worst in the nation. Elementary, special education and STEM teachers are the hardest to recruit.
Across the state, school districts and universities are partnering on potential solutions. In Miami, Orlando and Bradenton, taxpayer dollars are supporting paid internships, full ride scholarships for master’s degrees and free college courses.
In WLRN’s monthslong statewide project Role Call, reporter Yvonne zum Tobel spent time in classrooms throughout Florida to examine government-funded incentive programs that aim to mitigate the ongoing and pervasive shortage. She found that the programs are successful or promising — but too small to solve the problem.
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FIUTeach at Florida International University aims to reduce the shortage of math and science teachers in Miami-Dade County and beyond — while ensuring educators are subject matter experts. WLRN goes into one of South Florida's oldest high schools to see how the program is working. -
The Manatee County school district partners with USF to offer intensive experiences in classrooms for education undergraduates — and it is one of the few programs in Florida to pay interns. The aim is to entice, prepare and inspire new teachers, in the hope they will also stay to teach locally upon graduation. -
Every special education teacher makes a big impact — but Florida public schools will need an extra 2,500 of them for the upcoming academic year. WLRN looks at a federally funded program at the University of Central Florida that offers a free master's degree in special education in exchange for a teaching commitment. -
This week on The Florida Roundup, we introduce a new WLRN series that explores how Florida universities and school districts are incentivizing college students to become teachers in the highest-need areas. Florida universities and school districts are incentivizing college students to become teachers in the highest-need areas. In the WLRN series Role Call, we found these programs are "moving the needle, but only a very, very small amount." -
This week on The Florida Roundup, we're joined by reporter Yvonne zum Tobel to discuss the WLRN series Role Call. The series looks into how Florida universities and school districts are incentivizing college students to become teachers in the highest-need areas.
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Florida universities and school districts are incentivizing college students to become teachers in the highest-need areas. In the WLRN series Role Call, we found these programs are "moving the needle, but only a very, very small amount."
