Supply and Demand

The following information has been provided by the Texas Education Agency for compliance purposes only. No endorsement of the information sources is implied. 

SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR EDUCATORS IN TEXAS 

Over the next decade, there will be an increasing demand for new teachers due in part to a dramatic increase in enrollments and high attrition rates as an aging teacher workforce becomes eligible for retirement. 

As hiring trends soar, Texas has once again broken its own record by achieving record-breaking hiring in 2013 with over 4,500 new teachers placed in the classroom. 

As demographics change in Texas, there will be an increasing need to attract minority teachers.  One of the goals of the SBOE is to have a teacher workforce that reflects the racial-ethnic composition of the state.   

In the State of Texas, there continues to be a shortage of secondary math and science teachers.  The Texas Education Agency has released the statewide teacher shortages areas:  Bilingual Education/English as a Second Language; Foreign Languages; Mathematics (STEM); Science; Special Education.  

The Texas Workforce Commission anticipates elementary school teaching positions will add the second-highest number of jobs among all occupations in the state through the end of the decade assuming the economy returns to long-term growth patterns. That's nearly 68,000 new jobs. Middle schools are expected to add an additional 65,000 teaching jobs during the same time period.

Typically, teachers are in demand for urban and rural areas. Urban and poor communities will have the greatest need for teachers, with more than 700,000 additional teachers needed in the next decade. Urban communities also face the added challenge of retaining their teachers, who may be attracted to the higher salaries offered in wealthier suburban school districts. The urban schools typically open schools with substitutes in the classroom because of the lack of available certified teachers. Some school districts will pay a signing bonus or extra stipend as an incentive if the teacher agrees to teach in an inner-city school or in a shortage area.   If a teacher is trying to get a job along the Interstate 35 corridor, the competition will be fierce.  The rural areas typically have difficulty attracting teachers because of their remoteness and lack of amenities.    

Since some shortage areas have been forced to hire teachers without certifications or to instruct in areas outside of their certifications, preference is given to teachers with a Master of Arts in Teaching, a Master of Education, or a similar graduate degree. Having a master’s degree can also equate to higher salaries and more leadership opportunities.