Robbie Fletcher

Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher

When it comes to addressing the needs of our communities, getting the best data possible about those needs is critical.

One of the most pressing needs in our classrooms is highly-qualified teachers. Without enough educators in our schools, districts have to resort to inadequate solutions to make sure every student receives instruction, including using more substitute teachers, using retired teachers and increasing class sizes. We even see districts eliminating courses, and we never want to eliminate opportunities for our kids.

A major issue we’re running into though is how do we accurately measure the number of teacher vacancies in Kentucky? The current system requires Kentucky schools to report vacancy data with the Kentucky Educator Placement Services, but the data doesn’t help us much in terms of seeing where our current areas of need are. For instance, Districts are not required to update postings immediately when they’re filled, which can hinder our ability to draw conclusions.

This is why we at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) put together an educator workforce shortage survey that we sent out to districts this fall, gathering data from all 171 school districts across the Commonwealth as well as our state-run schools.

The data paints an interesting and, thankfully, a more complete picture of where schools in the Commonwealth are at with their workforces. Running down a few of the key points:

  • For the 2023-2024 school year, 13% of all vacancies across Kentucky remained unfilled for the entire school year.
  • As of Sept. 1, 1,766 vacant classified support staff positions were reported. There were 447 vacant licensed educator positions, 363 vacant special education and early childhood teaching positions, 889 vacant general teaching positions and 64 school-level administrative positions.
  • District leaders indicated that they felt the quality of applicants for positions during the 2024-2025 school year were either of similar quality (49%) or lower quality (42%) to candidates from the previous year.

Only one district reported being fully staffed as of Sept. 1.

It’s not just a shortage of educators our schools have to deal with, either. Many schools and districts struggle with support staff, which ranges from teaching aides to bus drivers, and other classified staff positions. I know the bus driver shortage is particularly tough on families, because your kids are getting home later. It has been impacting our educators too, as some of them end up driving bus routes instead of using their planning periods to actually plan their lessons.

You can easily see how these problems compound on each other and how it can negatively impact your student’s education. That’s the reason we did this survey, so we can get a clearer picture of where these issues are and work with our partners in the Kentucky General Assembly to find solutions. It’s going to be a long process, but I pledge my dedication toward addressing these workforce shortfalls to make sure our students are receiving every opportunity imaginable.

This is just one example of the things we’re doing at KDE to improve education in the Commonwealth. As I have settled into this position of commissioner, I have been encouraged by the work KDE has already started to address issues like the educator workforce shortage, chronic absenteeism and assessment and accountability. We plan on unveiling a teacher recruitment campaign next year, similar to what we’ve done on chronic absenteeism this fall.

As we plan out our next steps as an agency to best address the needs of our communities, I also want to take time to slow down and celebrate the upcoming holidays. The world can be a difficult place, but stopping to take time for what we’re thankful is always a worthwhile experience.

It’s also a time to make sure the people in your life know you’re thankful for them, whether that be family members, your student’s teachers or anyone else that makes a significant impact on you and your family. When people feel appreciated, it makes their lives that much better.