My text to my husband after my kids got on the bus this morning:

Hope they all have a good day…(nervous emoji)

I sound over-anxious. But I work in a school, and I see the truth.

And that’s why I worry.

I know it’s one of the hot topics on the chinuch table these days, and that’s why you might think it’s overdone.

But if you’re a principal- you’re feeling the strain.

If you’re a teacher- you’re making some tough decisions.

And if you’re a parent- you are probably unaware.

Unaware of what, you ask?

Your child’s school is facing a serious lack of teachers. And that means that the chinuch of our collective children is suffering.

As a parent, here are some stats you should know:

7 years ago: When I graduated seminary in 2015, there were 170 girls vying for the same 3 available teaching positions in an elementary school.

Today: At the start of the ‘21-’22 school year, Torah Umesorah’s online job board had 90(!) teacher and administrator positions open!

With those facts on the ground, these become the burning questions of the day:

Will my daughters be in the hands of competent, qualified role models?

Will they have skilled guides addressing their questions, struggles, or social challenges?

Will my children be able to spend 8 hours a day with teachers who help them thrive?

What’s the cause? It’s math- but also more than that.

Can we blame the hundreds of talented, capable, passionate graduates who decide to pursue careers other than education?

Can we blame the star teachers who abandon their classrooms in favor of the corporate world in order to make ends meet?

Simple math.

A teacher cast into the role of her family’s primary breadwinner on a salary of $18,20,000 a year? Not particularly feasible.

As a former Morah, current computer programmer laments: “‘Talent is appreciated way more in the corporate world than in the classroom. If I could make 100 thousand dollars more than a teaching salary… and work from the comfort of my home! And get health insurance, paid benefits, subsidized daycare, and family leave! I should put myself in front of a classroom?!’

But it’s not only about the math.

Mrs. Debbie Selengut, assistant principal in Bnos Bracha of Passaic, says:

“We’re talking about the whole way we view this profession. We don’t want teaching to be the ‘nebach job.’ Yes, we need to raise salaries, but we also need to raise esteem.”

— source, Ami Magazine

Who do you want your daughter’s teacher to be next year?

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