The Michigan legislature has been asked to address the teacher shortages in public school districts. State Superintendent of Public instruction, Dr. Michael Rice, sent a letter to the legislature with some suggestions as to how to address the teacher vacancies in many struggling school districts.
The letter asks for at least $300 million to be spent over the next five years to address the crisis. That money is intended to be used to reimburse tuition and other expenses for current college students, including district support staff who make a commitment to pursue teaching.
Rice suggests loan forgiveness for recent college grads and current teachers who are paying on loans. He also pointed out a weakness in regional teacher preparation in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula which rely on a single program to produce a substantial number of teacher candidates.
Rice said, “If we expect a major commitment from a wave of young people as our next generation of educators in our great state, the least we can do is make sure that they don’t go into debt to perform this all-important public service.”
The Michigan Department of Education has several other initiatives in place as well to attract and maintain educators in the state.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
