Nationwide teacher shortage expected to stretch into fall: "The pandemic was certainly perhaps the last straw"

There is a growing teacher shortage in districts nationwide and the potential crisis is expected to stretch into the fall. A recent Frontline Education survey looked at more than 1,000 districts and found a record two in three reported having a teacher shortage, and few were immune from it.

In cities, 75% of districts reported a shortage, compared with 65% in rural areas and 60% in the suburbs. These days, teacher Scott Sherburne's life feels more free than free-falling, but that wasn't always the case, especially last year. The 55-year-old spent 29 years teaching science in Livonia, Michigan. But after contracting COVID-19 in November and juggling increased demands at work, the pandemic pushed him to retire early in the middle of the school year.