MDE reports uptick in licensed-teacher vacancies; highlights retention tools and residency funding ask

Jackson, Miss. — The Mississippi Department of Education presented findings from its 2023–24 educator shortage survey to the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure on March 1, saying licensed-teacher and administrator vacancies rose compared with the prior year even as they remain lower than in the initial 2021–22 survey.

“Licensed educator and administrator vacancies, those are on the rise since last year’s survey administration,” Doctor Vankley said while walking commissioners through grade-band and subject-area trends. She said support-staff vacancies, by contrast, have decreased over time, noting food-service vacancies are down by more than 100 in the last three years and bus-driver vacancies fell by more than 100 in the last year alone.

MDE’s presentation singled out persistent needs in elementary and special education and growing shortages in secondary STEM subjects. Vankley said middle-school math remains a high-need area (49 reported vacancies) and that high-school science and math show “upticks nearly across the board.” Pre-K vacancies rose over the three-year window and then leveled compared with last year.

The presentation included district- and congressional-district breakouts and trend columns showing the three-year and one-year changes. Vankley said MDE convened an educator workforce advisory with districts and universities to develop near-term proposals and to prioritize strategies that align recruitment and retention.

Asked whether the commission should press for legislative remedies, Vankley said MDE requested continued funding for the Mississippi teacher residency program. “It’s currently funded with ESSER, which we know is gonna drop off that fiscal cliff,” she said, adding that residency is a dual-certification pathway covering elementary K–6 and special education K–12 and that MDE hopes to secure recurring funding.

Vankley also described a new professional growth system portal within MECA that the agency launched at no cost to districts. She said the portal will provide MDE-approved observation tools, data dashboards to track practice trends, streamlined data submission aligned to accreditation requirements and aligned professional-development opportunities aimed at supporting retention.

Commissioners thanked MDE staff for compiling the data and said they would continue to press for both recruitment and retention work. No formal action was taken on the survey presentation itself.

The commission adjourned at 10:32 a.m.; its next regular meeting is scheduled for May 3, 2024.