Oklahoma Schools On Track For Record Number Of Teaching Vacancies, Emergency Certifications

A new survey shows Oklahoma is on track to bring in a record number of emergency-certified teachers to combat a teacher shortage.

One district superintendent says the numbers could get worse if nothing is done. The Oklahoma State School Boards Association says more than 320 Oklahoma school districts responded to the survey. The association is reporting more than one thousand vacancies in districts that responded to start the 2022-23 academic school year.

More than 2,500 have applied for emergency teaching certifications to help combat the problem, according to the survey. Bixby Public Schools superintendent Rob Miller says filling teacher vacancies is not a new issue for administrators.

“It seems to be like a game of hearts for those who have played that,” said Miller. “You’re just shuffling cards from one person to the next.”

Districts that answered the survey say the hiring market for teachers is a lot more competitive than in years past, with fewer candidates. Bixby is offering what it can when it comes to incentives.

“We’ve had some postings for additional 4th-grade and 6th-grade teachers just because of some class sizes that have increased, and we have zero applicants for those positions,” said Miller.

Tulsa Public Schools reports that 195 emergency certifications have been granted for the school year. The district still has 23 job openings. Broken Arrow reports 98 emergency certifications have been granted, with 11 jobs still open.

Union, Owasso, Jenks, and Bixby Public Schools also confirm they have been granted emergency certifications.

Miller says the problem is likely to keep growing unless more funding is put into Oklahoma schools.

“Until we really show investing in our education system in Oklahoma, we’re going to have more and more teachers that either look elsewhere, look at more occupations that pay better or never get in that pipeline to begin with,” said Miller.

Of the schools that responded to the survey, 85% are also expecting a shortage in substitute teachers for the school year.