CA shortage

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Home : 2002 : August : 12

CA shortage
By Monica

It's my impression that the shortage exists in areas where not many people want to teach, which makes sense. Los Angeles Unified, which has a reputation for being a huge mess, seems to be pretty desperate. There was a story
in the L.A. Times a few months back about the struggles of emergency-credential teachers in LAUSD. The only job experience of one of the teachers profiled had been working in a camera shop. When school started, he was surprised to discover that his kindergarteners couldn't read. The fact that he got hired tells me that LAUSD was indeed desperate!
The district in the story I mentioned

Saturday was Inglewood, which is not exactly a garden spot. I wouldn't be thrilled about teaching there.

I think California's teacher shortage was very real in many districts a few years ago, when class-size reduction went into effect and districts had to scramble to find warm bodies to fill those classrooms. Nowadays, I think the shortage still exists in troubled districts, but has eased significantly in more desirable districts. Unfortunately, the conventional wisdom is if you're drawing breath, you can get a job in California, and that leads to a lot of frustration for those of us who are finding it ain't quite so easy!