feasibility study of assessing the supply and demand for … · 2020. 1. 23. · english language...

Feasibility Study of Assessing the Supply and Demand for Educators in Maine

Prepared by:

Amy F. Johnson

Lisa Morris

Maine Education Policy Research Institute

University of Southern Maine

December 2019

A Center of the

School of Education and

Human Development

140 School Street, Gorham, ME 04038

(207) 780-5044; TTY (207) 780-5646

www.cepare.usm.maine.edu A member of the University of Maine System

Published by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute in the Center for Education Policy,

Applied Research, and Evaluation (CEPARE) in the School of Education and Human

Development, University of Southern Maine.

CEPARE provides assistance to school districts, agencies, organizations, and university faculty

by conducting research, evaluation, and policy studies.

In addition, CEPARE co-directs the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI), an

institute jointly funded by the Maine State Legislature and the University of Maine System. This

institute was established to conduct studies on Maine education policy and the Maine public

education system for the Maine Legislature.

Statements and opinions by the authors do not necessarily reflect a position or policy of the

Maine Education Policy Research Institute, nor any of its members, and no official endorsement

by them should be inferred.

The University of Southern Maine does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,

sexual orientation, national origin or citizenship status, age, disability, or veteran's status and

shall comply with Section 504, Title IX, and the A.D.A in employment, education, and in all

other areas of the University. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified

individuals with disabilities upon request.

This study was funded by the Maine State Legislature, and the University of Maine System.

Copyright © 2019, Center for Education Policy, Applied Research, & Evaluation.

Center for Education Policy, Applied Research, and Evaluation

http://www.cepare.usm.maine.edu/

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FeasibilityStudyofAssessingtheSupplyandDemandforEducatorsinMaine

AmyJohnson [email protected] [email protected]

PolicymakerSummary.........................................................................................................................i

Background............................................................................................................................................1

StudyQuestionsandMethods.........................................................................................................3

Findings...................................................................................................................................................7

StaffingNeedsforMaineSchools(pseudo-demand)...........................................................................7Statewidenumberofeligible(credentialed)educators(pseudo-supply)...............................11Shortageareas...............................................................................................................................................15SecondaryMathematics.............................................................................................................................................17SecondaryScience........................................................................................................................................................18ComparisonSubjects:SecondarySocialStudies&SecondaryEnglish.................................................20WorldLanguages..........................................................................................................................................................21SpecialEducation.........................................................................................................................................................22EnglishLanguageLearnerTeachers....................................................................................................................24SpeechandHearing/LanguageClinicians.........................................................................................................25

Summary&Conclusions..................................................................................................................27

PolicyImplications............................................................................................................................28

References............................................................................................................................................29

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PolicymakerSummary

Why was this study conducted? Likemoststates,Maineisfacingstaffingshortages.RecentMEPRIstudieshave

documented—bothquantitativelyandqualitatively—someofthechallengesthatschoolsfaceinfillingteacherpositions.Inthisreportwefocusonthesupplyofeducatorsandassessthefeasibilityofusingadministrativedatafromthecertificationsystemtoidentifyshortageareas.Specifically,wecombinecertificationandstaffdatatoquantifythenumberofcertificateholderswhoareworkingintheirendorsementarea,workingineducationoutsideoftheirendorsementarea,ornotworkinginMaine’seducationsector(i.e.potentiallyavailableforhire)togetaroughsenseofdemandandsupply.Wegivespecialattentiontoteachershortageareasincludingmath,science,specialeducation,worldlanguagesandEnglishlanguageacquisition.

Findings & ConclusionsAkeyconclusionofthisreportisthattheavailableadministrativedatahavelimited

usefulnessinaccuratelyidentifyingshortageareas.Thedataarehelpfulforprovidingaroughestimateofdifferencesineducatorsupplyacrossdifferentpartsofthestate,butarelesshelpfulformakingadeterminationaboutwhetheragivensupplyofcredentialededucatorsinanareaisadequatetomeettheneedsofthatregion.

DatalimitationsresultprimarilyfromthefactthatamajorityofMaine’spotentialeducators(58%)holdmultiplecertifications.Asimplecountofthenumberofcertifiedindividualsinanygivenroleprovidesanover-estimateofthenumberofpotentialeducatorsavailabletoworkinthatfield,whichcomplicatesthedepictionof“supply”.Thenumberofstaffpositionsthatexistisalsoaninexactestimateoftheactualneedforeducatorsinaregion.Asubstantialproportionofemployedstaffmembers(32%)holdmorethanoneposition.Sinceonepersoncanfillmorethanoneroleinaschool,thenumberofpositionsisanoverestimateofthenumberofpeopleneededonstaff.Ontheotherhand,theremaybeunfilledpositionsduetoashortageofqualifiedapplicants,sothatsomecountsunderestimatethenumberofneededpositions.Analysisofdemandwasfurtherlimitedbecausethecertificationrecordsusedinthisfeasibilityanalysislackeddetailedinformationaboutwhetherindividualswereemployedinfull-vs.part-timepositions.Doeducatorswearmultiplehatsbecausethereareshortagesinsupplyofotherpersonneltofillpositions,orbecausethereisonlydemandforapart-timeposition?Conversely,doschoolscreatefull-timepositionsinordertoattractjobapplicantswhenonlyapart-timepositionisneeded?

Despitethesedatalimitations,weareabletodocumentthatasubstantialnumberofendorsedindividualsarenotworkinginMaine’seducationsector.Forexample,about18%ofindividualsholdingMaineteacheroradministratorcertificationswerenotemployedinourpublicorprivatepK-12schools.Paraprofessionalswereevenlesslikelytobeusing

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theircredentials;almost41%ofpersonsholdinganeducationaltechnicianendorsementwerenotworkinganywhereinMaine’spublicorprivateeducationsectors.

Analysisalsorevealeddifferentpatternsof“supply”and“demand”acrossteachershortageareas.Inallshortageareastherearemorecertifiedindividualsstatewidethanareemployedintheendorsementarea.However,therecanbelocalshortages;acountymayhavefewereligibleeducatorsthanpositionsinagivensubjectarea.Mathematicshasabouta1:1relationshipbetweenthenumberofpersonsendorsedinsecondarymathematicsandthenumberofmathteachers,butthisisaninexactmatchbecauseelementary(K-8)certificateholdersarealsoeligibleforsomemiddleschoolmathpositions.Theequalproportionisconcerninggiventhattheanalysesalsoshowedthatmanyindividualsholdingacredentialarenotactivelyseekingemploymentinthatfield.Forexample,someofthoseholdingmathcertificationareworkingasadministratorsorcurriculumcoordinatorsorotherroles.Weconcludethatarobustsupplyneedsasubstantialexcessofeligibleteachersforthenumberofneededpositions.

Incontrast,specialeducationwouldappeartohavearobustsupplyasjudgedbythenear2:1ratiosofcredentialholderstostaffpositionsbothstatewideandwithineachcounty.However,italsohasthehighestproportionofconditionallycertifiedteachersandiswidelyregardedasanareaofsevereshortage.Supplementalanalysisrevealedthatasubstantialproportionofindividualswithspecialeducationcredentialswereemployedbutnotinpublicschoolspecialeducationteachingpositions.Somewerepresentinthestaffdatainspecialpurposeprivateschools,and17%ofeligiblespecialeducationteacherswereemployedasmainstreamclassroomteachers.Thisisencouragingasitsuggeststheyareemployinginclusiveeducationpractices,butitcomplicatesthedepictionofdemandforthisimportantpoolofeducators.

Thevariabilityindatapatternsacrosssubjectareaswassomewhatunexpected,andsuggeststhattheremaybeunderlyingdifferencesinthenatureofteachershortagesdependingonthefield.Thesedistinctionsaresomewhatspeculativegiventhelimitationsoftheavailabledataandmeritfurtherstudyastheymayimplyaneedfordifferentstrategiestorecruitandretaineducatorsforspecificfields.

How do the findings relate to other research that has been, or will be, conducted? The current report can be deemed as a bridge between a 2018 study of teacher turnover

and a 2020 study on educator recruitment and retention. It was an exploratory effort to understand how the readily available data can inform our understanding of supply and demand. The findings were used to shape the data collection and analysis used for the ongoing Educator Recruitment and Retention study that is scheduled to be finalized in early 2020.

Specific policy implicationsSinceitiscommonforschooldistrictstoemployasingleindividualtoworkinmore

thanonetypeofrole(orinthecaseofteachers,morethanonesubjectarea),itisdesirabletoencourageeducatorstodevelopexpertiseinmorethanonearea.Thisaffordsmoreflexibilityforbothemployersandeducators.Cross-trainingmaybeespeciallyusefulinruralareaswheretheremaynotbeadequatenumbersofstudentstowarrantfull-timepositionsforsomeeducationalroles.

Staffshortagesappeartohavemultiplecontributingfactors.Somesubjectareas(e.g.math)mayhaveadearthofindividualswiththeappropriateacademicbackgroundand/or

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teacherpreparation.Incontrast,specialeducationteachinghasaseeminglyadequatesupplyofcredentialholdersbutstillfacesashortageofjobapplicants—perhapsbecausetheirskillsaresoughtformultiplesettings.Thisvariationimpliesthattheremaybeaneedtorecognizenuanceddifferencesbetweensubjectfieldswhendevelopingstrategiesforenticingeducatorstoenterandremainintheworkforce.Additionalstudyiswarrantedtobetterunderstandthesedifferences,whichmaybeinformedbyanongoingstudyofeducatorrecruitmentandretention.

Itwouldbeusefultoidentifythetypesofongoingorannualreportsabouteducatorsupplyanddemandthatwouldbehelpfultothefield(i.e.MaineDepartmentofEducation,policymakers,andK-12practitioners).Thesereportswouldlikelyrequireadditionaldatalinkagesinordertobefeasibletoproduceonaregularbasis.Forexample,conductinganalysesofstaffingneedsacrossthestatewouldbeeasierifinformationaboutthefull-timeequivalentstatusofeachpositionwereincludedinthedatafieldsthatarealreadydirectlylinkedwithinthecertificationsystem.

Acentralizedsystemfortrackingjobopeningsandapplications,suchasthoseusedinotherstates,mayenabletheabilitytoidentifyshortagesituationsinrealtimeandthuscreatenewpotentialtobeabletodirectresourcestostrugglingdistricts.Thepotentialbenefitstopolicymakersandpractitionerswouldfirstneedtobeunderstoodinmoredetailsotheycouldbeweighedagainstthecostofdevelopingandimplementingsuchasystem.

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Background

Aswithmostotherstates,Mainepublicschoolsarereportingincreasingdifficultyin

findingwell-qualifiedindividualstofillvacanciesincertainareas.Thesechallengesare

worseforcertainteachingsubjectareas(suchasspecialeducation,mathematics,science,

andworldlanguages)andspecialtyfields(suchasspeechandlanguagepathologists)than

inothers.Differentregionsofthestatearealsoharderhitthanothers,andwithinregions,

oursmallerandmoreruralschoolstendtohaveahardertimerecruitingeducators

(MEPRI,2018).Manyofthefactorsthataffectrecruitmentalsoaffectretention,causing

greaterstaffturnoverinsomedistrictsthaninothersandexacerbatingexistingshortages.

Allofthesetrendsareconsistentwithwell-establishedpatternsseenacrossthecountry

(Ingersoll,2001;NationalPublicRadio,2015;Sutcher,Darling-Hammond,Carver-Thomas,

2016;MEPRI,2018).

Thegoalofthecurrentstudywastouseexistingadministrativedatatoquantifythe

extentofthe“supply”probleminMaine.Theidealmeasureoftheavailabilityofqualified

educatorsforspecificpositionopeningswouldbebasedonactualjobapplicationdata.

Namely,thenumber(andpercent)ofopeningsinagivendistrictisthebestdepictionofits

demandforneweducators,andthenumberofindividualswhoapplyforagivenposition—

andwhethertheapplicantsholdthenecessarycredentialsfortheposition—isthebest

indicatoroflocalsupply.However,Mainedoesnothaveacentralizedteachingjob

applicationsystem1,sothosetypesofadministrativedataarenotavailableonastatewide

levelforassessingshortages.Thusthisstudywasconductedusingmorereadily-available

datatoinvestigatesupplyanddemandacrossthestate.

ApriorMEPRIstudy(2018)investigatedtheteacherturnoverratesinvarious

settingsinMaineusingmultipleyearsofstaffingdata.Thisstudyvalidatedthe

1 For example, NH (www.edjobsnh.com); Ohio (education.ohio.gov/About/Education-Jobs); South Carolina (www.cerra.org/online-educator-employment-system.html); Texas (tea.texas.gov/Texas_Schools/Job_searches)

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conventionalwisdomthatcertaindistrictshadhigherturnoverrates(andthusfacea

greaterneedtorecruitandhirenewteacherseachyear)thanothers.Districtsthatrely

moreheavilyonbrand-newbeginningteachers,thosethathavehigherratesofstudent

poverty,andthosewithloweraveragesalariesexperiencedmoreteacherturnover.

However,turnoverratesinMainewerelowerthanthenationalaverage.Becausetheprior

studyofturnoverreliedsolelyonstaffingdata,itdidnothavetheabilitytomakerobust

distinctionsbetweendifferentsubjectareas.Inaddition,staffingdataaloneareinsufficient

toassesstheextenttowhichnewly-hiredindividualspossessedtheexpectedknowledge

andexperienceforthepositionstheyfilled.Thisadditionallevelofdetailrequires

certificationdata.

Thecurrentstudyseekstogainadditionalperspectiveonstaffingchallengesby

incorporatingcertificationdataintotheanalysis.Certificationdatacanbeusedtoquantify

thenumberofeducatorsineachregionofthestatethatholdcredentialsforvarioustypes

ofpositions,andthusprovidearoughestimateof“supply”ineachcounty.However,the

factthatanindividualholdsvalidcertificationdoesnotguaranteethattheyareactively

lookingforjobsinthatfield.Inaddition,manyeducatorsholdcertificationformorethan

onetypeofposition(“endorsementarea”)yetonepersoncanonlyfilluptoonefull-time

equivalentposition.

Withregardto“demand”,thisanalysisusesstaffdatatoquantifytheneedfor

educatorsofeachpositiontypeacrosseveryregionofthestate.However,thisisan

imprecisemeasureoftruedemand,asitispossiblethatagivenschoolisunabletofilla

neededpositionandisforcedtooperatewithreducedstaff,sothatthenumberofactual

positionsisanunderestimateofneed.Also,thenumberofpositionsisonlyonemeasureof

staffingchallenges.Ateacherthatreturnstothesamepositionfromyeartoyearislessof

anadministrativechallengethantheteacherswhomoveorleaveapositionthatthenhasto

befilledwithanewhire.Usingnumberofpositionstomeasureof“demand”quantifiesthe

sizeoftheworkforcebutdoesnotaccountfortheheightenedchallengesindistrictswith

highturnover.

Withintheselimitations,bycomparingtheavailablesupplyofcredentialed

educatorstothenumberofpositionsineachpartofthestatethecurrentstudydoes

provideameasureofrelativeshortageindifferentregionsofthestateandindifferent

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endorsementareas.Inaddition,theprocessofconductingthisstudyofferedan

opportunitytoidentifythecapacityandlimitationsofavailableadministrativedatafor

investigatingquestionsofeducatorshortage.

StudyQuestionsandMethods

Torespondtothequestionsandneedsraisedbypolicymakersinthedevelopment

ofthisstudy,wedevelopedthefollowingstudyquestions:

• WhatdoesthesupplyofeducatorslooklikeinMaine(i.e.howmanypeople

holdcurrentcertificationforteaching,administrative,educationalspecialist,

paraprofessionalandclinicalpositions)?

• Whatisthedemandforeducatorsinthefieldsthatrequirestate

certification?

• Whatproportionsoftheeligible(certified)supplyareworkingintheir

endorsementarea,workingineducationoutsideoftheirendorsementarea,

andnotworkingintheeducationfield(i.e.potentiallyavailableforhiring)?

• Whatproportionofeducatorsisworkinginpositionsthatrequire

certificationwithoutholdingtheappropriateendorsement?

Thebulkofthestudywascomprisedofquantitativeanalysisofdatafromtwo

primarysourcesobtainedfromtheMaineDepartmentofEducation’snewcertification

system(implementedforthe2018-19schoolyear).First,certification(endorsement)data

wereusedtodescribetheavailablepoolofpotentialeligibleapplicantsforMainepublic

schoolpositions.Endorsementdataincludedinformationonallcertificatesheldduringthe

2018-19schoolyear,asofApril2019.Thesedatacapturethe“supply”ofpersonswhoare

currentlycertifiedbytheMaineDepartmentofEducationtoworkinteaching,

administrative,educationalspecialist,and/orparaprofessionalpositions.Staff

employmentdata,asreportedeachDecemberbyschooldistrictsthroughtheNEOdata

systemandsubsequentlylinkedtocertificationrecords,werethenusedtodescribethe

numberofstaffworkinginvarioustypesofpositionsthatrequirestatecertification.NEO

dataincludesinformationonallindividualsemployedinMaine’seducationsectorduring

thefallofschoolyear2018-19;asubsetofthefullNEOdatafieldswereavailablewithinthe

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certificationsystem.Publiceducationincludestraditionalpublicschoolsaswellaspublic

charterschools,CareerandTechnicalEducationschools,andstate-runschools.Thestaff

dataalsoincludesstaffatcertainprivateschoolsthatreceivepublicfunds,suchastown

academiesandspecialpurposeprivateschoolsforstudentswithspecialeducationalneeds,

andotherprivateschoolsthatreporttheirdatatothestate.

Eachofthesedatafileswascleanedtoremoveduplicates,mappedtogeographic

locations,andaggregatedtoperson-leveldata.Endorsementdataandstaffdatawerethen

linkedusingtheStaffID,auniqueidentifierassignedtoallindividualswhoworkinMaine’s

publiceducationsector.Thisenabledustodeterminewhichoftheindividualsholding

validMaineendorsementswereworkinginpublicschools,privateschools,ornot

employedinpubliceducationduringtheschoolyear2018-19.

Conceptually,thecertifiedindividualsthatwerenotworkinginpublicschools

representexcesssupply(i.e.,individualseligiblebutnotcurrentlyemployedinMaine’s

educationsector).Thesedatawerealsousedtoidentifyindividualsthatwerenotworking

inpositionsforwhichtheyholdanendorsementbecausetheywereworkingundera

differentendorsement(e.g.,acertifiedteacherworkingasanadministrator,orasaned

tech).Lastly,thematchingprocessalsoidentifiedindividualsworkinginpubliceducation

whodidnotholdanappropriateendorsementfortheirposition.Theseanalyseswerealso

brokenoutbycountytodepictregionaldifferencesineducatorsupplyanddemand.Special

attentionwasgiventoknownteachershortageareas,whichMaineidentifiesas

mathematics,science,worldlanguageteachers,EnglishasaSecondLanguage,giftedand

talented,andspecialeducation.

Tofacilitateanalysis,endorsementsandtheircorrespondingpositionswere

categorizedintofivesubgroups:

1. Teachers

2. Administrators

3. Educationalspecialistroles

4. Clinicalstaff,and

5. Paraprofessionals

Table1summarizestheendorsementsandNEOpositionlabelsthataligntoeachgroup.

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Table1.MaineCertificationEndorsementsandRelatedStaffPositionTitles

CertificationEndorsements NEOPositionTitlesTeachers GeneralElementary,EarlyElementary(K-3),EarlyChildhood(Pre-K),Gifted/Talented,English-SecondLanguage,TeacherofStudentswithDisabilities,plussubjectareasincludingEnglish/LanguageArts,Mathematics,SocialStudies,PhysicalEd,Music,ComputerTechnology,VisualArts,MediaProduction,BusinessEducation,Science,Science-Life,Science-Physical,IndustrialArts/Technology,Spanish,French,Italian,Latin,etc.

Classroomteacher,TitleIteacher,SPEDteacher,G&Tteacher,ELLteacher,long-termsubstitute,andvisitingteacher

School&DistrictAdministrators SuperintendentofSchools,AssistantSuperintendent,BuildingAdministrator,AssistantBuildingAdministrator,AdministratorofSpecialEduc,AssistantDir.OfSpecialEd,AthleticDirector,DirectorAdultandCommunityEduc,AssistantDirectorAdultandCommunityEduc,TeachingPrincipal,VocationalEducationEvaluator

Principal,AssistantPrincipal,Superintendent,AssistantSuperintendent,TeachingPrincipal,SpecialEducDirector,SpecialEducAssistantDirector,Dean,AssistantDean,AdultEdDirector,AdultEdAssistantDirector,AthleticDirector,CTEDirector,CTEAssistantDirector,CTEEvaluator

EducationalSpecialist GuidanceCounselor,LiteracySpecialist,CurriculumCoordinator,SchoolPsychologist,SpecialEducationConsultant,Library/MediaSpecialist

SPEDConsultant,CurriculumCoordinator,DirectorofGuidance,GuidanceCounselor,Library/MediaSpecialist,LiteracySpecialist,SchoolPsychologistorExaminer,InstructionalCoach,SupervisorofInstruction,TeacherSupportTeamMember,TechnologyIntegrationCoordinator,TitleICoordinator,ELLProgramsDirector,OtherSPEDServicesProvider,CDSCaseManager

Clinicians Nurse,SpeechandHearingClinician Nurse,SpeechandHearingClinicianParaprofessionals EdTechI,II,andIII,EdTechIIandIIIUp,EdTechIIandIIVoc,EdTech,NCLBA

EdTechI,II,andIII,EdTech-LibraryMediaI,II,andIII,StudentMonitor,SubstituteTeacher,SubstituteEdTech,SubstituteOther

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Fouradditionalcategorieswerecreatedtocapturestaffinpositionsthatdonot

requireaspecificcertification.Manyoftheclinicalpositions,suchassocialworkersor

clinicalcounselors,requireothertypesofprofessionallicensesthataremanagedbythe

stateOfficeofProfessionalandFinancialRegulationratherthantheMDOECertification

division.Thussuchlicenseswerenotwithinthescopeofthestudy.Extra-andco-

curricularpositionsarealmostalwayspart-timeandareoftenfilledbyindividualswho

holdcertification(suchasteachers),buttheydonotrequireaparticularcredential.The

sameistrueformanyofthe“otherprofessional”positions,whichoftendrawcandidates

fromthepoolofcertifiededucatorsbutdonotrequirecertification.The“otherstaff”

positionsrequireonlyacriminalhistoryrecordscheck.

Table2.PositionsThatDoNotRequireCertificationThroughMDOECategory NEOPositionsExtra-curricularsupport

Coach(Athletic),Co-Curricular(non-Athletic)

OtherProfessional

AttendanceCoordinator,BusinessAdministrator/Manager,ComputerMaintenance,Co-OpDirector,Computer/TechnicalCoordinator,DirectorofDataServices,DirectorofStudentActivities,DirectorofSchoolPerformanceManagement,Drop-OutPreventionCoordinator,EmploymentCoordinator,Interpreter,McKinney-VentoLiaison,SignLanguageInterpreter,TalentDevelopmentStrategyCoordinator,VolunteerCoordinator,CertifiedEmploymentSpecialist,InterpreterorTranslatorfortheDeaf,DirectorofTechnology,DataSpecialist,SchoolResourceOfficer

OtherClinical AthleticTrainer,Audiologist,BoardCertifiedBehaviorAnalyst,CounselororRehabCounselor,DirectorofHealthServices,OccupationalTherapist,RecreationTherapist/Specialist,PhysicalTherapist,SchoolSocialWorker,Speech-LanguagePathologist,LicensedClinicalProfessionalCounselor,OTAide,PTAssistant,Speech-LanguageTherapyAide/Assistant,Physician,HealthAide

OtherStaff Administrativeassistant/secretary,bookkeeper,busdriver,facilitiesmaintenance,foodservice

Limitations

Perhapsthemostsubstantiallimitationofthedatausedforthisanalysisisalackof

detailaboutthestaffpositions.Toreducetheamountofperson-levelinformationthat

neededtobesharedwithresearchers,thestudyreliedonthestaffingdatathatwas

uploadedtothecertificationdatasystemandthereforeavailablefromasinglesource.This

processalsoallowedresearcherstoenvisionthetypesofanalysesthatcouldbeconducted

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bystaffwhohaveaccesstothecertificationdata,butwhodonothavedirectaccess(or

whodonothavethenecessarytechnicalexpertise)tolinkdirectlytoNEOstaffrecords.

Thesubsetofinformationavailablewithinthecertificationsystemandsharedwith

researchersdidnotincludedetailaboutwhethereachpositionwasfull-timeorpart-time,

noradistinctionbetweenstipendedvs.salariedpositions.Thisreducedlevelofdetail

provedtobeabarrierincertainanalyses,asdescribedinthereportfindingsand

conclusions.

Findings

StaffingNeedsforMaineSchools(pseudo-demand)

Thefirsttaskofthestudywastocompilebasicinformationaboutthenumberof

peopleemployedinMaineschools.Thisinitialdescriptionillustratesonekeyaspectabout

oureducationworkforce:Maineeducatorsoftenfulfillmultipledistinctroles.

Table3.NumberofSeparatePublicorPrivateSchoolSystemPositionsHeldbyIndividualsin2018-19

#ofUniquePositions

IndividualPersons

%ofIndividuals

1 34,557 68%2 9,456 19%3 3,535 7%4 1,513 3%5 703 1%6ormore 837 2%Total 50,601 100%

Apositionisdefinedinthestaffingdatabasedontheschoolordistrictandpositiontitle,

andinthecaseofteachers,thesubject(s)taught.Thereareafewdifferentwaysthata

singlepersoncouldholdmorethanoneposition.First,onepersoncanholdmultiple

positionsofthesametype,suchahighschoolteacherwithmultiplesubjectsoramusic

teacherworkinginmorethanoneschool.Second,apersoncouldswitchjobs,sothatthey

areassociatedwithboththefirstposition(ended)andthesecondposition(active)within

oneyear.Lastly,onepersoncanbeemployedinmorethanonepositiontype,suchasa

part-timeteacheralsoservingasapart-timeadministrator.Asdescribedaboveinthe

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methodssection,thedataavailableinthecertificationsystemdidnotfurtherdescribethe

percenttime(full-timeequivalent,orFTE)ofeachposition.WhiletheStaffIDfieldcanbe

usedtoidentifywhenonepersonholdsmorethanoneposition,itisinsufficientfor

determiningwhethereachpositionislargeorsmall.Thisinflatestheperceptionofthesize

oftheworkforcewheneachpositioniscountedequally.

Thus,toreducesomeoftheoverlapinpositions,thestaffingdatawasnext

aggregatedsothateachpersonwasonlycountedonceforeachpositiontype.Forexample,

thehighschoolteacherwithmultiplesubjectsandthemusicteacherservingthree

elementaryschoolswereeachtreatedasonepositionoftype=teacher.Anindividual

workingasbothateacherandanadministratorwascountedonceasanadministratorand

onceasateacher.Thisprovidesabetterestimateoftheoverallneedforstaffofeachtype.

Itisnotanexactmeasureofdemandbecausesomeofthepositionsbeingcountedareonly

part-time;wewereunabletoadjustforthiswithoutanyinformationonthefull-time

equivalentstatusofeachposition.(Asdescribedabove,thefull-orpart-timestatusis

availabletotheDepartmentintheNEOsystemthroughannualstaffreportingbutwasnot

includedinthesubsetofdatathatarelinkedtotheCertificationdatasystem.)Thismethod

alsodoesnotcapturepositionsthatareneededinschoolsbutwereunabletobefilledat

thetimeofdatacollection(i.e.unmetdemand).However,allstaffpositionswithineach

typeareincluded,eveniftheemployeedidnotappeartoholdtheappropriate

endorsementfortheirposition.Becausethenumberofpositionsisnotadjustedforfullor

part-time,wealsoincludethenumberofindividualswithineachpositiontypethatalso

holdasecond(ormore)positionofadifferenttype.Presumably,theseindividualsare

workingpart-timeineachposition.TheresultsaredisplayedinTable4.

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Table4:EmploymentDuringthe2018-19SchoolYearbyPositionType

Positiontype PublicSchoolSystemEmployees*

PrivateSchoolSystemEmployees*

(1)Headcountofindividualsholding

positiontype

(2)Headcount(%)ofindividualsin(1)alsoholdinganothertypeoflistedposition

(3)Headcountofindividualsholding

positiontype

(4)Headcount(%)ofindividualsin(3)alsoholdinganothertypeoflistedposition

Teacher 16,051 2,002(12.5%) 1,355 117(8.6%)Administrator 1,508 336(22.3%) 206 36(17.4%)Educationalspecialist 2,783 1,278(45.9%) 153 40(26.1%)Speech&nurses 577 57(9.9%) 54 0(0%)Paraprofessional 15,503 915(5.9%) 1,184 67(5.7%)Totalpositiontypes 36,422 2,952UnduplicatedTotal(uniqueindividuals)

34,187 2,826

*Publicsincluderegularpublicdistricts,publiccharters,state-runschools,BureauofIndianEducationschools,magnetschoolsandCareerandTechnicalEducation(CTE)schools.Privatesincludeprivateschools,specialpurposeprivatesandtownacademies.Individualswhoworkedinbothprivateandpublicschoolsystemswerecategorizedaspublic.

Atotalof34,187personsheldatotalof36,422teacher,administrative,specialist,

clinicalandparaprofessionalpositionsduringthe2018-19schoolyear.Notably,the

numberofpositionsaggregatedbytypeismarkedlylowerthanthetotalnumberof

positionswhenmultiplepositionsofthesametypearecountedseparately,aswascaptured

inTable3(50,601uniquepositions).Manyemployeeshavejobsthatspanseparate

positionsbyincludingmorethanonesubject,gradelevel,school,ordistrict.Table4also

illustratesthatmanystaffstillholdmorethanonetypeofposition,especiallyinthepublic

sector.Forexample,ofthe16,051teachersinthepublicsector,oneineight(n=2,002)hold

atleastoneothertypeofcredentialedposition.Educationalspecialistpositionsarethe

mostlikelytobecombinedwithanotherpositiontype,withnearlyhalfalsoservingin

anothertypeofjob.Theoverlapbetweenpositiontypesgoesinbothdirections,so

individualsarecountedinbothcolumn1andcolumn2foreachpositionheld.Table5

providesadetailedbreakdowntoillustratetheoverlapforthe16,051publicschool

teachersand1,508publicschoolordistrictadministrators.

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Table5.PublicSchoolTeachersandAdministratorswithAdditionalPositionsRequiringCredentials

PositionType NumberofTeachersAlsoEmployedinPositionType

NumberofAdminsalsoEmployedinPositionType

Teacher -- 188Administrator 188 --Educationalspecialist 1,044 112Clinical(SpeechorNurse) 8 8Paraprofessional 762 28Total(%oftotal) 2,002(12.5%) 336(22.3%)

Teachersservingmultiplerolesmostoftencombinedclassroominstructionwith

educationalspecialistpositions(e.g.literacyspecialist,instructionalcoach,Supervisorof

Instruction,TechnologyIntegrationorComputer/TechnicalCoordinator).Lesscommonly,

teachersalsoservedasparaprofessionals(mostlyEdTechIIIs)oradministrators

(principal,assistantprincipal,teachingprincipal,orDirectorroles).Administratorswith

multiplepositiontypesweremostlikelytoservejointlyasteachers,andalsoheld

specialistpositions.

Inadditiontoeducationalpositionsrequiringcertification,publicschoolteachers

andadministratorsalsofulfilledothertypesofrolesintheeducationsystem,asshownin

Table6.

Table6.PublicSchoolTeachersandAdministratorswithOtherPublicSchoolPositions

PositionType NumberofTeachersAlsoEmployedinPositionType

NumberofAdminsAlsoEmployedinPositionType

Coachesorco-curricular 4,327 164Otherprofessional 86 78Otherclinical 16 11Otherstaff 647 62

Tables4,5,and6showthattheK-12educationworkforceisnotcleanlysegregated

intocategories.Stafffulfillpositionsatmultiplelevelsofresponsibilityandrequiringvaried

trainingandexperience.Someteachersalsoserveasadministrators,andsome

administratorsalsoserveasadministrativeassistants,chemicalhygieneofficers,facility

managers,andsubstituteteachers.Thisoverlapbetweenpositiontypescomplicates

11

thedepictionof“demand”ofcertaintypesofstaff.Thisisfurtherlimitedbythelackof

detailedinformationaboutfull-vspart-timepositionsthatwasavailabletoresearchersvia

certificationrecords(althoughcapturedinotherMDOEdatasources).

Statewidenumberofeligible(credentialed)educators(pseudo-supply)

Endorsementdataareonewaytoestimatethetotalsupplyofpersonsavailableto

workinteaching,administrative,clinical,specialist,andparaprofessionalrolesinMaine

publicschools.In2018-19,therewere93,792endorsementsheldbyatotalof40,788

individuals.Aswithstaffingpositions,manyindividualsheldmultipleendorsementsas

depictedinTable7.

Table7.NumberofSeparateMaineDept.ofEducationEndorsementsHeldbyIndividualsin2018-19

#ofUniqueEndorsements

IndividualPersons

NumberofEndorsementsHeld

# % # %1 17,086 42% 17,086 18%2 9,201 23% 18,402 20%3 4,136 10% 12,408 13%4 7,741 19% 30,964 33%5 1,327 3% 6,635 7%6ormore 1,297 3% 8,297 9%Total 40,788 100% 93,792 100%

Thereareafewkeyportraitsof“multipleendorsement”holders.Itisquitecommonfor

teachersandeducationaltechnicianstoholdmorethanonetypeofendorsement.For

example,secondarylifescienceteachers(endorsement#395)areoftenalsoendorsedin

physicalscience(#350),andthoseholdingeducationaltechnicianIII(endorsementcode

#023)alsomeetthecriteriaforedtechIandIIandlikelyholdallthreeendorsements.Itis

alsocommonforthosewithadministratororeducationalspecialistpreparationtohave

alsoworkedasateacher,andtheseindividualstypicallyretaintheirteachingcertification

tohaveexpandedcareeroptions.Lastly,anindividualcanholdmorethanonetypeof

certificationforthesameendorsementduringagivenyear–forexample,ateachercould

upgradefromconditionaltoahighercredentialbeforeithasexpired,orfroma

professionaltoamastercertificate.

12

Table8furtherdisplaystheoverlappingnatureofthenumbersofpeopleholding

endorsementsbothwithinandacrossthefivejobcategoriesusedinthisstudy.

Table8:PublicEducatorCertificationin2018-19byEndorsementField(pseudo-supply)

Jobgroup NumberofValid

Endorsements

Headcountofindividualsendorsed

Number(%)conditionallycertified

Headcount(%)alsoendorsedforanotherjobgroup

Teacher 35,681 23,357 1,490(6%) 3,685(16%)Administrator 3,173 2,527 91(4%) 1,766(70%)EducationSpecialist 2,217 2,141 76(4%) 1,106(52%)Clinical(Speech,nursing) 724 724 11(2%) 104(14%)Paraprofessional 51,997 16,119 N/A 1,282(8%)Total 93,792 44,868 1,668 4,080*(9%)UnduplicatedTotalNumberofIndividuals:40,788

*Totalnumberofindividualsholdingendorsementsinmorethanonejobgroup

AsofApril2019therewere40,788individualsholdingatleastonecurrent

endorsement.97%hadaMaineaddressand3%hadanaddressoutsideofMaine,most

ofteninNewHampshire,Vermont,orNewBrunswick,Canada.

Ofthe23,357individualsholdingateacherendorsementinMaine,35%(n=8,113)

holdmorethanonetypeofteachingendorsement,forexample,inscienceandmathor

languageandESL,and16%(n=3,685)holdanon-teachingendorsement(e.g.

administrationoreducationalspecialist)inadditiontotheirteachingendorsement(s).

Specifically,ofthe3,685personswhoheldbothateachingandsomeothertypeof

certificate,1,656heldanadministratorendorsement,1,210wereendorsedasedtechs,960

heldaneducationalspecialistcredential,and77heldaclinicalcertificate(speechand

hearingclinicianorschoolnurse).Otherjobcategorieshadsimilaroverlap,with

administratorsbeingthemostlikelytoholdendorsementsformultiplejobcategories.The

keytakeawayfromTable8isthateducatorsinMainearepreparedtoserveinmultiple

differenttypesofpositions,withtheaverageeducatorholdingtwoormoredistinct

credentials.Thiscross-trainedworkforcemakesitdifficulttoaccuratelypredictthe

true“supply”ofeducatorsforanygivenposition,asmosteducatorsfillonlyonetypeof

roleatatime.

13

Theanalysesthusfardemonstratethatusingadministrativedatatoestimatesupply

anddemandforeducatorsisimprecise.Thenumberofpublicschoolpositionsisaninexact

measureofthenumberofpeopleneeded,becauseinmanycasesonepersonfulfillsmore

thanonetypeofposition.InTable9wedepictotherwaystoillustrateeducatorshortages.

Herewecombinethenumberofindividualsavailabletoserveinpublicschoolpositions

(basedonendorsements)tothenumberofcurrentstaffwithineachjobcategory.Thegoal

ofthiscomparisonistoexploretheproportionofthe“supply”thatisbeingcapturedinto

theworkforce,andtheexcess“supply”availableforopenpositions.Thesupplyof

individualsismeasuredasthosewhoarefullyendorsedorconditionallyendorsed.In

addition,thedepictioniscomplicatedbythepresenceofemployedindividualswhoshould

beendorsedbutarenot(i.e.,theyareemployedinMaine’spubliceducationsectorbutare

notlistedasholdinganappropriateendorsementfortheposition).

Table9:Numberof2019EducatorEndorsementsandEmploymentbyJobGroup

HeadcountEndorsed(Table8)

Endorsed&workinginrelatedpublicschoolposition

Endorsed&workinginothertypeofposition

Endorsed&workinginprivateschool

%ofEndorsedAvailable

forPositions

Teacher 23,357 15,480 2,910 802 17.8%Administrator 2,527 1,132 848 91 18.0%Educationspecialist 2,141 1,387 460 86 20.6%Clinical 724 460 95 20 20.5%Paraprofessional 16,119 7,601 989 1,001 40.5%

Teachers:Ofthe23,357individualsendorsedtobeaMaineteacherin2018-19,

93%(21,723)werefullycertifiedand6%(1,490)wereconditionallycertified.Ofallthose

certified,66%(15,480)wereemployedasteachersinthepublicsector.16%(3,712)were

workinginthepublicsectorassomethingotherthanateacherorintheprivatesector,

mostlyaseducationaltechnicians(1,444),specialists(754),oradministrators(581).About

18%(4,165)werenotemployedinthepublicorprivatek-12educationsectorinMaine.

14

Ofthe16,048peopleemployedinteacherpositionsinthepublicsector,97%

(15,480)wereendorsedasateacherand3%(568)werenotendorsedasateacher

accordingtotheavailablecertificationrecords.Ofthe568publicschoolteacherswhowere

notendorsed,398ofthemwerenotintheendorsementfile(i.e.,theyheldno

endorsement)and170wereintheendorsementfilebutheldsomethingotherthana

teachercertificate;most,80%,hadanedtechcertificate.

Administrators:Ofthe2,527peopleholdingoneormoreadministratorcertification,

96%werefullyendorsedand4%wereconditionallyendorsed.Ofthe848workinginthe

publicsectorinsomeothertypeofposition,479wereteaching,347wereineducation

specialistpositions,49wereedtechs,and2wereinclinicalpositions.

Lookingfromtheotherdirection,therewere1,508peopleinadministrator

positionsinthepublicsectorin2018-19,87%ofwhomwerematchedtoanadministrator

endorsement.However,13%(166)ofthepersonsemployedinpublicsectorinan

administratorpositionwerenotendorsedasanadministrator(n=82asteacher,n=94were

endorsedinsomethingelse,andn=72didnotappearatallintheendorsementfile).

Educationspecialists:Ofthe2,434personsholdinganeducationspecialist

endorsement,2,320(95%)werefullyendorsedand114(5%)wereconditionally

endorsed.Ofthe2,434peoplewitheducationalspecialistendorsements,fullorconditional,

57%(1,387)wereworkinginaeducationalspecialistpositioninthepublicschoolsector,

22%wereworkinginthepublicsectorinsomeothertypeofposition(i.e.,noteducational

specialist)orintheprivatesectorand20%(501)werenotemployedanywhereinthe

educationsectorinMaine.

Ofthe546personsholdingeducationalspecialistendorsementsbutnotworkingin

aspecialistpositioninthepublicsector,460wereworkinginthepublicsectorinanother

typeofposition(279asteacher,90asadministrators,86asotherprofessionals,60ased

techs,and26inotherroles)and86workedintheprivatesector.

Ofthe2,954personsworkingineducationalspecialistpositionsinthepublicsector,

1,387(47%)heldoneofthespecialistendorsementslistedinTable1and1,372(46%)

heldsomeotherkindofcertification(1,274teacher,76asedtechs,154asadministrators

and16clinical).Unliketheotherpositioncategories,the“educationspecialist”grouping

useinthisstudyisindirectlyaligned,assomeofthepositiontypes(forexample,Teacher

15

SupportTeamMemberorTitleICoordinator)donotrequireoneparticulartypeof

endorsement.However,about7%(195)werenotfoundinthecertificationrecordswith

anytypeofendorsement.

Paraprofessional:Therewere16,119personsholdinganeducationaltechnician

endorsement(EducationalTechnicianI,EducationalTechnicianII,orEducational

TechnicianIII,orEducationalTechnician,NCLBA).Ofthoseendorsed,fullyorconditionally,

47%(7,601)wereemployedinaparaprofessionalpositioninthepublicsector,12%

(1,990)wereemployedinthepublicsectorbutnotasaparaprofessionalorintheprivate

sector,and40%(6,528)werenotemployedanywhereintheeducationsectorinMaine.

Ofthe1,990personsholdingoneormoreparaprofessionalendorsementsbutnot

workinginaparaprofessionalpositioninthepublicsector,989wereworkinginthepublic

sectorinanothertypeofposition:711asteachers,68wereeducationalspecialists,5

administrators,andtheremainderinotherroles.Therest,1,001,wereworkinginthe

privatesector.

Clinical:Ofthe724personsholdingaclinicalendorsement(schoolnurseorspeech

andhearingclinician),97%heldafullendorsementand3%wereconditionallyendorsed.

Ofthoseendorsedfullyorconditionally,64%(460)wereemployedinaclinicalpositionin

thepublicsector,16%(115)wereemployedintheprivatesectororinthepublicsector

butnotasanurseorspeechandhearingclinician,and20%(149)werenotemployed

anywhereintheeducationsectorinMaine.Therewere578personsholdingaclinical

positioninthepublicsector,80%(460)ofwhomheldanendorsementasaclinicianand

20%(118)ofwhomdidnot.

Shortageareas

Inthelastseriesofanalyses,wecompiledthenumberofpeopleineachcounty

holdingpositionsincriticaleducatorshortageareas(secondarymath,physicalscience,

worldlanguages,specialeducation,EnglishLanguageLearners,orspeechand

hearing/languagepathology).Thesearedepictedinthefirstcolumnineachtable.Because

notallpositionsarefull-time,wealsocapturedtheproportionofteachersinhigh-need

fieldsthatalsoholdapositioninanothercategory,andthereforearenotfull-timeinthe

16

shortagesubject,incolumn2.Thisinformationisrelevantforassessingsupplybecauseit

impliesthatindividualsinteachingthosemulti-subjectpositionsareexpectedtohave

contentknowledgeexpertiseinmorethanonesubject;thehighertheproportion,themore

likelythattheteachersareteachingout-of-field.Inthethirdcolumnwecompiledthe

numberofindividualslivingwithineachcountythatholdanendorsementforeachposition

type.Thesenumbersarefromcertificationdata,notstaffingdata,sotheendorsed

individualslivingineachcountyarenotnecessarilythesameindividualsasthose

employedineachcounty.Nonetheless,column3canstillbecomparedtocolumn1tofora

generalsenseofthenumberofeligibleapplicantsandtotalteacherpoolineachcounty.

Thefourthandfinalcolumnineachtabledepictstheproportionofcertificateholdersin

column3thathaveconditionalratherthanfullcertification.

17

SecondaryMathematics

Table10.SecondaryMathematics(Endorsement300)

County

#TeacherswithSubject=

Mathematics(anygrade)

%Teachingadditionalsubjects

#HoldingSecondary*MathematicsEndorsement

(300)

%ConditionalEndorsements

Androscoggin 101 9.9% 94 6%Aroostook 75 32.0% 86 8%Cumberland 321 23.7% 282 5%Franklin 33 15.2% 35 6%Hancock 70 35.7% 64 9%Kennebec 117 6.8% 132 6%Knox 51 19.6% 44 5%Lincoln 34 8.8% 29 0%Oxford 55 9.1% 46 11%Penobscot 162 29.0% 157 5%Piscataquis 16 25.0% 17 24%Sagadahoc 22 27.3% 33 0%Somerset 35 14.3% 53 6%Waldo 30 16.7% 25 0%Washington 28 17.9% 36 6%York 178 8.4% 165 3%OutofState -- -- 75 8%Total 1,328 19.1% 1,373 6%*Therearealsomathteacherswhoholdanelementaryandmiddleschool(K-8)endorsement(seeTable12).Becauseelementaryteachersarenotgenerallyexpectedtoapplyforsecondarymathteachingpositions,hereweincludeonlythosewhoholdaSecondarylevelendorsementtodepictthe“supply”ofmathteachers.

Mainehasaboutthesamenumberofmathematicsteacherpositionsastheyhave

individualscertifiedtoteachsecondary(grades7-12)math(1,373comparedto1,328).

Thisisnotanexactalignment.Aneducatorisreportedasa“mathematics”teacherifheor

sheisasubjectspecialist,whichcanhappenatanygradelevel.Nearlyallpositionslabeled

withasubjectofmathematicscanbeassumedtobeinmiddleandhighschools,where

teacherstypicallyspecializeinoneormoresubjects.However,mathteachersin6thgrade

orbelowarenotcoveredbyasecondary(grade7-12)mathendorsement,andmusthold

eitheramiddlelevel(grade5-8)orelementary(gradeK-8)endorsement.Mathteachersin

grades7and8canholdanyofthosethreeendorsements(elementary,middle,or

secondary),andhighschoolteachersmustholdasecondarymathendorsement.

18

However,thisratioofpositionstocertificateholders—whileinexact—stillprovides

aroughmeansforcomparison.Theequalproportionremainsconcerning,asweknowfrom

theanalysesabovethatmanyindividualsholdingacredentialarenotactivelyseeking

employmentinthatfield.Forexample,someofthoseholdingmathcertificationare

workingasadministratorsorcurriculumcoordinatorsorotherroles,orinpositions

altogetheroutsideofpublicschools;arobustsupplyneedsasubstantialexcessofeligible

teachersforthenumberofneededpositions.

Overall,about1in5mathteachersalsoteachanothersubject.Countieswiththe

highestproportionofmulti-subjectteacherswereAroostook,Hancock,Penobscot,and

Sagadahoc.Therewere9counties—Androscoggin,Cumberland,Hancock,Knox,Lincoln,

Oxford,Penobscot,Waldo,andYork—thathadfewerendorsedresidentsthanteaching

positions(i.e.column3islessthancolumn1).Thecountieswiththehighestproportionof

conditionallycertifiedresidentswereHancock,Oxford,andPiscataquis.

SecondaryScience

Forsecondaryscience,lifeandphysicalsciencearecombinedasonesubject;this

requirescombiningthedataonlifeandphysicalscienceendorsements.Aswith

mathematics,thereisanimprecisealignmentbetweenteachersidentifiedwithsubject=

scienceandthoseholdingasecondarysciencecredential,asindividualswithan

elementary(K-8)credentialareeligibletobesciencesubjectspecialistsinthosegrades.

19

Table11.Science:SecondaryLife(#395)orPhysical(#350)Science

County

#TeacherswithSubject=Science(anygrade)

%Teachingadditional

(non-science)subjects

#HoldingSecondary*Science

Endorsement(350or395)

%Conditionallycertified

Androscoggin 81 13.6% 123 6%Aroostook 70 37.1% 137 6%Cumberland 301 23.6% 588 6%Franklin 38 21.1% 73 5%Hancock 56 44.6% 117 7%Kennebec 102 10.8% 173 8%Knox 47 14.9% 82 12%Lincoln 28 3.6% 79 4%Oxford 42 9.5% 103 8%Penobscot 137 25.6% 295 7%Piscataquis 15 13.3% 22 5%Sagadahoc 20 30.0% 49 4%Somerset 27 18.5% 88 9%Waldo 31 16.1% 93 3%Washington 21 4.8% 53 4%York 163 5.5% 268 4%OutofState -- -- 108 5%Total 1,179 19.3% 2,451 6%*Therearealsoscienceteacherswhoholdanelementaryandmiddleschool(K-8)endorsement(seeTable12).Becauseelementaryteachersarenotgenerallyexpectedtoapplyforsecondaryscienceteachingpositions,hereweincludeonlythosewhoholdaSecondarylevelendorsementtodepictthe“supply.”

Table11presentsacohesivedepictionofallsciencesubjects.Ifanindividual

teachesmultiplesciencesubjects,theyarecountedonlyonceincolumn1andarenot

treatedasteachingmultiplesubjectsincolumn2.Ifanindividualholdsbothlifeand

physicalsciencecertification,theyarecountedonlyonceincolumn3.Unlikemathematics,

thenumberofindividualsholdingscienceteachercertification(2,451)ismorethandouble

thenumberofscienceteacherpositions(1,179),andtherewerenocountieswithfewer

endorsedresidentsthanscienceteachers.

However,likemathematics,therewerestillabout1in5scienceteachersalso

teachinganon-sciencesubject.Tofurtherinvestigate,weexploredtheoverlapbetween

mathandscienceteachersandfoundthattherewere150individualsteachingboth

mathematicsandscience,mostlyatthemiddleschoollevel.Theserepresentabout11%of

20

mathteachersand13%ofscienceteachers.Theyaccountformorethanhalfofthe19%of

mathteachersinmultiplesubjects,andabouttwo-thirdsofthescienceteachersinmultiple

subjects.Ofthe150teachingbothmathandscience,130(87%)wereendorsedtoteach

bothsubjects,including98middleschoolteachersholdinganElementary(GradeK-8)

endorsement.Oftheremaining20,twowerecertifiedformathbutnotscience,eleven

werecertifiedforsciencebutnotmath,andsevenwerenotcertifiedineithersubject(but

heldothercertifications).

ComparisonSubjects:SecondarySocialStudies&SecondaryEnglish

Toprovidecontextfortheabovefindingsforsecondarymathematicsandscience,

Table12depictsparallelinformationforsecondaryEnglishLanguageArtsandSocial

Studies,twosubjectsthatarenotconsideredshortageareas.

Table12.SecondaryEnglish(#100)andSecondarySocialStudies(#200)Teachers

County#EnglishTeachers

#Endorsed(100)

%Conditional

Cert

#SocialStudiesTeachers

#Endorsed(200)

%Conditional

certAndroscoggin 126 136 3.7% 78 167 3.6%Aroostook 91 121 5.0% 66 113 1.8%Cumberland 347 553 2.2% 269 572 2.1%Franklin 36 46 6.5% 36 51 2.0%Hancock 64 84 4.8% 53 90 2.2%Kennebec 116 181 4.4% 110 203 3.9%Knox 48 82 6.1% 39 64 6.3%Lincoln 38 48 2.1% 23 48 4.2%Oxford 71 86 2.3% 42 93 6.5%Penobscot 184 216 4.6% 123 255 3.5%Piscataquis 15 20 5.0% 11 33 0%Sagadahoc 31 47 4.3% 24 59 5.1%Somerset 38 79 2.5% 30 85 5.9%Waldo 40 68 2.9% 28 72 4.2%Washington 33 56 8.9% 24 56 3.6%York 189 243 2.5% 148 264 3.4%Total 1,467 2,066 3.8% 1,105 2,225 3.5%

21

Itisnoteworthythattheratiosofcredentialholderstoteacherpositionsinthese

twosubjects(1.4:1forEnglishand2:1forsocialstudies)isnotmarkedlydifferentfrom

secondaryscience.However,thereproportionofconditionallycertifiedmathandscience

teachersismorethan50%higherthanthesetwosubjects.

WorldLanguages

Table13.WorldLanguages

County

#WorldLanguageTeachers

%Teachingadditionalsubjects

#HoldingWorld

LanguageEndorsement

(4xx)


Androscoggin 34 0% 49 2%Aroostook 22 13.6% 33 0%Cumberland 167 0.6% 300 10%Franklin 11 0% 28 4%Hancock 21 14.3% 28 0%Kennebec 46 2.2% 75 11%Knox 22 13.6% 31 3%Lincoln 16 6.3% 22 0%Oxford 15 6.7% 26 8%Penobscot 51 7.8% 94 9%Piscataquis 5 20.0% 2 0%Sagadahoc 8 12.5% 21 5%Somerset 5 0% 24 21%Waldo 10 0% 23 17%Washington 9 11.1% 15 20%York 69 2.9% 96 7%OutofState -- -- 49 6%Total 511 4.3% 916 8%

Statewide,thetotalnumberofworldlanguageteachersislessthanhalfofthenumberof

scienceteachers.Twocounties–CumberlandandYork–accountforalmosthalfofall

teachers(46%),yethaveasmallerproportionofMaine’sstudents(37%).Infourcounties

(Piscataquis,Sagadahoc,Somerset,Washington)therearefewerthan10worldlanguage

teachersservingtheentireregion,whilenocountyemployedfewerthan15science

teachers.Thisisanindicationthatstudentsinsomedifferentregionsmayhavemore

limitedopportunitiestostudyotherlanguages.

22

Thenumberofindividualscertifiedtoteachaworldlanguage(916)issubstantially

higherthanthetotalnumberofworldlanguageteachers(511),andonlyPiscataquis

Countyhasfewerendorsedresidentsthanworldlanguageteachers.However,onlya

handfulofcounties(Cumberland,Kennebec,Penobscot,andYork)hadmorethan50

individualscertifiedtoteachaforeignlanguage;regardlessoftherelativesizeofthe

demandintheother12counties,fewerthan50isstillasmallsupply.Only4%ofworld

languageteachersarealsoassignedtoteachinanothersubjectarea.Theproportionof

individualsholdingconditionalcertification(8%)ismodestlyhigherthanthe6%inmath

andscience.

SpecialEducation

Table14.Specialeducation

County

#SpecialEducationTeachers

%Holdingadditionaltypesofpositions

#HoldingSpecialEducation

Endorsement(282,286,291,

292)


Androscoggin 211 16% 385 9%Aroostook 116 21% 232 6%Cumberland 516 11% 1112 9%Franklin 57 7% 145 7%Hancock 99 17% 205 10%Kennebec 191 7% 452 11%Knox 88 25% 130 14%Lincoln 60 7% 131 9%Oxford 124 23% 193 13%Penobscot 267 14% 424 9%Piscataquis 24 8% 51 18%Sagadahoc 63 13% 135 9%Somerset 71 11% 165 10%Waldo 59 19% 167 13%Washington 60 18% 110 13%York 299 15% 658 8%OutofState -- -- 161 9%Total 2,305 14% 4,856 9%

23

SpecialEducationisalargecategoryofteachers,comprising15%ofthetotal15,480

teachersin2018-19.Thereweretwiceasmanyindividualsholdingendorsementsasthere

arespecialeducationteachers,andthisapproximateratiowaspresentacrossallcounties.

However,itiswidelyknownthatdistrictsreportongoingshortagesandchallengesin

hiringspecialeducationteachers.Thissuggeststhattheremaynotbeashortageof

individualsavailabletofillspecialeducationteacherpositionsandleadstodeeper

questionsabouttheavailabilityoftheindividualsholdingcertificationinspecialeducation

toworkasspecialeducationteachers.

Tofurtherexplorethisseeming“surplus”ofspecialeducationcredentialholders,

additionalanalysiswasconductedonallofthe4,856individualsholdingaspecial

educationendorsementin2018-19.Ofthosecredentialholders,fouroutoffivewere

employedineducationlastyear;only18.5%werenotfoundinthestaffdata.Halfofthose

credentialholders(49.9%)wereemployedasaspecialeducationteacherineitherapublic

orprivateschool,while17.2%wereemployedasaclassroom(orother)teacherinapublic

orprivateschool.Asmallproportionof3.9%wereworkingasadministrators,andthe

remaining10.4%wereworkinginotherpositionsincludingeducationaltechnicians.These

findingssubstantiallychangetheunderstandingoftheratioofspecialeducationcredential

holderstopublicschoolspecialeducationteachers.Namely,manyoftheindividuals

holdingaspecialeducationteachingcredentialareemployedintheeducationsectorbut

notasspecialeducationteachers.Inparticular,thereisaneedforspecialeducation

teachersinspecialpurposeprivateschools,andalsoanemphasisonemployingdually-

certifiedteachersasmainstreaminclusiveclassroomteachers.Thusthedemandfor

individualswithspecialeducationtrainingisnotcapturedsolelybythenumberofspecial

educationteachersinpublicschools.Inotherwords,theseeminglylargeratioofspecial

educationendorsementholderstopublicschoolspecialeducationteachersdoesnotmean

thattherearesubstantialnumbersofeligiblejobapplicantsavailabletoapplyforspecial

edteachingjobopening,asmanyofthemarealreadyemployedinotherroles.

24

EnglishLanguageLearnerTeachers

Table15.BilingualorEnglishLanguageLearnerTeacher(Endorsement650or660)

County

#ELTeachers %Holdingadditionaltypesofpositions

#HoldingBilingualorELLEndorsement(650or660)


Androscoggin 54 17% 55 11%Aroostook 4 75% 10 10%Cumberland 90 12% 250 4%Franklin 1 100% 7 0%Hancock 4 75% 16 0%Kennebec 13 15% 22 5%Knox 4 50% 12 0%Lincoln 3 100% 11 9%Oxford 4 25% 9 0%Penobscot 4 50% 35 0%Piscataquis 0 -- 1 0%Sagadahoc 3 67% 16 0%Somerset 2 0% 8 0%Waldo 1 100% 19 11%Washington 2 0% 4 0%York 18 50% 51 2%OutofState -- -- 23 0%Total 207 24% 549 4%

Incontrasttospecialeducationteachers,thenumberofELLteachersisquitesmall.

ELLteachersincountieswithlargeELLpopulations(AndroscogginandCumberland)were

typicallydedicatedsolelytothatrole,whilethoseincountieswithsmallELLstudent

populationswerelikelytoholdpart-timeELLpositionsinconjunctionwithothersubjects

orroles.

25

SpeechandHearing/LanguageClinicians

Speech and hearing educators are specialist positions and not teaching roles. These

clinical positions were initially identified for more detailed analysis as a high-need field due to

reports of chronic shortages of these educators. However, in exploring the data it became

apparent that these specialists are unlike other roles in more ways than one. As noted in the

Department of Education’s Rule chapter 115, Part II, Section 2.6.A, “NOTE: Certification is not

required for a person who holds a valid license as a speech-language pathologist under Title 32,

Section 17301 and who has received approval by the Maine Department of Education.” This

means that a school district can hire an individual to provide speech services as long as that

person is either licensed by the state as a Speech-Language Pathologist or certified through the

Maine Department of Education as a Speech and Hearing Clinician. The title of the position

reported in the NEO staff data system is an indicator of which type of credential the person

holds, but the nature of the work is similar, if not identical, in the two position titles. Table 17

summarizes the number of positions of each type by county, and also the number of residents in

each county holding the state endorsement. Less than 1% of those holding state endorsements

were conditionally certified. Districts are more likely to hire licensed speech pathologists than

certified speech and hearing clinicians.

26

Table16.SpeechandHearingClinician(Endorsement293)

County

Speech - Language

Pathologists (Licensed)

Speech & Hearing

Clinicians (Certified)

#HoldingSpeechandHearing

(Endorsement293)

Androscoggin 20 13 18Aroostook 12 6 7Cumberland 62 28 44Franklin 11 0 1Hancock 17 12 13Kennebec 17 22 23Knox 12 5 3Lincoln 4 4 4Oxford 10 4 2Penobscot 49 19 36Piscataquis 4 0 0Sagadahoc 7 9 6Somerset 12 3 4Waldo 5 4 4Washington 8 3 4York 58 16 28CountyNotSpecified 47 2 --Total 355 150 198

27

Summary&Conclusions

Ingeneral,theseanalysesrevealthatthereadilyavailableadministrativedataare

mosthelpfulforillustratingthedifferencesineducatorsupplyacrossdifferentpartsofthe

state.Theyarelesshelpfulformakingadeterminationaboutwhetheragivensupplyof

credentialededucatorsinanareaisadequatetomeettheneedsofthatregion.The

followingsummarizesthekeypointsofthefindings.

Itiscommonforeducatorstoholdmorethanonetypeofposition.Thus,using

staffingdatatoestimatetheneedfordifferenttypesofeducatorsacrossthestateisonly

approximatewithoutinformationonwhetherthepositionsarepart-timeorfull-time.

Moreover,thenumberofpositionsthatexistisaninexactestimateofactualneedfor

educators,becausetheremaybeunfilledpositionsthatarenotcapturedinstaffcounts.

Usingcertificationdataasanestimateofthesupplyofeducatorsisalsoinaccurate.

Asubstantialproportionofcredentialholders(e.g.about18%ofeligibleteachersand

administrators)arenotworkinganywhereinMaine’sK-12educationsector.Some

individualsretaintheircredentials“justincase”evenwhentheyhavenoimmediate

intentionsofseekingrelatedemploymentinpublicschools.Othersmayhavehaveleftthe

educationfieldbutholdmulti-yearcredentialsthathavenotyetexpired.Stillothershave

multipletypesofcredentialsbutonlyuseoneatatime,whilesomeholdmultiplepositions

butareonlycredentialedforsomeofthem.Alloftheseissuesintroduceimprecisionwhen

tryingtousethenumberofcredentialholdersasanindicatorofworkforcesupply.

Moresurprisingly,thereweredifferentpatternsofsupplyanddemandacrossthe

shortageareasweinvestigated.Forexample,thereareproportionallyfewermathematics

teachercertificateholdersthancredentialedscienceteachers,butbothsubjectshaveabout

thesameproportionofconditionally-certifiededucators.Theratiosofscienceteachersto

eligiblecredentialholderswerenotmarkedlydifferentfromsecondaryEnglish,anarea

thatisnotconsideredtobeinshortage.Incontrast,specialeducationwouldappeartohave

arobustsupplyasjudgedbythe2:1ratioofcredentialholderstostaffpositionsboth

statewideandwithineachcounty,buthasthehighestproportionofconditionallycertified

teachersandiswidelyregardedasanareaofsevereshortage.Asubstantialproportionof

individualswithspecialeducationcredentialswereemployedinspecialpurposeprivate

28

schoolsorasmainstreamclassroomteachers,whichcomplicatesthedepictionofdemand

forthisimportantpoolofeducators.Thisvariabilityacrosssubjectareaswassomewhat

unexpected,andsuggeststhattheremaybeunderlyingdifferencesinthenatureofteacher

shortagesdependingonthefield.Thesedistinctionsarespeculativeandmeritfurther

studyastheymayimplyaneedfordifferentstrategiestorecruitandretaineducatorsfor

specificfields.

PolicyImplications

Sinceitiscommonforschooldistrictstoemployasingleindividualtoworkinmore

thanonetypeofrole(orinthecaseofteachers,morethanonesubjectarea),itisdesirable

toencourageeducatorstodevelopexpertiseinmorethanonearea.Thisaffordsmore

flexibilityforbothemployersandeducators.Cross-trainingmaybeespeciallyusefulin

ruralareaswheretheremaynotbeadequatenumbersofstudentstowarrantfull-time

positionsforsomeeducationalroles.

Staffshortagesappeartohavemultiplecontributingfactors.Somesubjectareas(e.g.

math)mayhaveadearthofindividualswiththeappropriateacademicbackgroundand/or

teacherpreparation.Incontrast,specialeducationteachinghasaseeminglyadequate

supplyofcredentialholdersbutstillfacesashortageofjobapplicants—perhapsbecause

theirskillsaresoughtformultiplesettings.Thisvariationimpliesthattheremaybeaneed

torecognizenuanceddifferencesbetweensubjectfieldswhendevelopingstrategiesfor

enticingeducatorstoenterandremainintheworkforce.Additionalstudyiswarrantedto

betterunderstandthesedifferences,whichmaybeinformedbyanongoingstudyof

educatorrecruitmentandretention.

Itwouldbeusefultoidentifythetypesofongoing/annualreportsabouteducator

supplyanddemandthatwouldbehelpfultothefield(MaineDepartmentofEducation,

policymakers,andK-12practitioners).Thesereportswouldlikelyrequireadditionaldata

linkagesinordertobefeasibletoproduceonaregularbasis.Forexample,conducting

analysesofstaffingneedsacrossthestatewouldbeeasierifinformationaboutthefull-time

equivalentstatusofeachpositionwereincludedinthedatafieldsthatarealreadydirectly

linkedwithinthecertificationsystem.

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Acentralizedsystemfortrackingjobopeningsandapplications,suchasthoseused

inotherstates,mayenabletheabilitytoidentifyshortagesituationsinrealtimeandthus

createnewpotentialtobeabletodirectresourcestostrugglingdistricts.Thepotential

benefitstopolicymakersandpractitionerswouldfirstneedtobeunderstoodinmoredetail

sotheycouldbeweighedagainstthecostofdevelopingandimplementingsuchasystem.

References

Fairman, J., & Mills, T. and Lech, P. (May 2019). Challenges with Teacher Retention and Staffing Shortages in Maine School Districts. A report of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI). Orono, ME: University of Maine. (http://mepri.maine.edu/posts/)

Morris, L. and Johnson, A. (April 2018). Teacher Turnover in Maine: Analysis of Staffing Patterns from 2005-06 to 2016-17. A report of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI). Gorham, ME: University of Southern Maine (http://mepri.maine.edu/posts/)

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