Across the United States, vacancies in the educator workforce have drastically increased, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Leading up to the 2021–22 school year, Colorado schools sought to fill 5,729 teaching positions, representing 10.33% of all teaching positions in the state. Of those openings, 1,568 (27.37%) remained unfilled or
The R12CC hosts quarterly learning community sessions focused on strengthening and diversifying the Colorado educator workforce for state, local, and preparation program leaders. The sessions provide an opportunity for participants to share the bright spots and opportunities in their work to improve educator recruitment and retention efforts, and
A talented teacher workforce is an essential foundation for improving educational outcomes for students. As such, securing teachers at all levels of the teacher pipeline (i.e., recruitment into the profession, onboarding for the profession, retention in the profession, and advancement within the profession) is necessary for student success.
Recent efforts to support Colorado education stakeholders’ use of a geographic information system (GIS) map to strengthen the workforce pipeline include transitioning the map to the Experience Version. This mapping software update includes an introduction to the map with links to resources and materials developed by R12CC to inform strategy selection, action planning, and implementation
Voices from the Field spotlights stakeholders in Region 12 and their work to improve educational opportunities and outcomes. R12CC is privileged to collaborate with and share the insights of Dr. Carolyn Haug, Director of Research and Impact, Educator Talent Division at the Colorado Department of Education.
The Strengthening the Educator Workforce Pipeline project focuses on supporting education stakeholders to use geographic information system maps to understand factors that may be affecting educator shortages and identify and share effective locally developed practices with peers. As part of this work, the project team recently completed updates to the geographic information system map, including