In this commentary from Hoppy Kerchaeval from MetroNews, he reports that "West Virginia State School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano says the teacher shortage has reached the “crisis” stage.  “Right now we have 718 teacher vacancies across the state,” Martirano said. “That means our young people are not receiving the quality education they deserve by a quality teacher.”

 

The number of teacher vacancies is rising dramatically, from more than 400 two years ago, to 593 last year and now over 700 this year.  The vacancies are filled using short and long-term substitutes, educators with permits but no degree in education, and retired teachers.

 

The vacancies are particularly acute in special education, where 238 positions are vacant, followed by 92 open math spots, 79 openings for elementary and early education, 43 vacancies in science, 41 in English, 36 openings in administration, 32 in career and technical education, 32 in reading, 31 in foreign languages, 20 in the arts and 96 in other disciplines.  McDowell County has the most vacancies with nearly 40 out of 225 teachers.

 

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