More teachers work outside areas of expertise in high-poverty Mich. districts

By Isabel Lohman, Bridge Michigan

Michigan’s teacher shortage is so bad that instructors are leading classes they aren’t trained to teach — and the problem is far worse in schools with more students in poverty.

Researchers with the EdTrust-Midwest, a research and advocacy education organization, found that in districts with the most students in poverty, it’s four times more likely that the person leading the class isn’t certified in the subject or grade level they are teaching.

Teachers say the staffing challenges have affected student learning, teacher morale, course availability and student behavior.

Not only are teachers more likely to be instructing out-of-field, meaning they aren’t certified to teach the subject or grade they are assigned, they’re also more likely to have a temporary or emergency credential compared to wealthier districts, according to the EdTrust-Midwest analysis, called “Closing the Opportunity Divide: Addressing Michigan’s Teacher Shortage Problem for Students Most in Need.”

Generally, the state offers these permits for short-term or long-term situations where someone will teach a class that they otherwise wouldn’t teach.

Researchers grouped districts based on the “opportunity index,” which measures what proportion of students in a given district are considered economically disadvantaged.

“What happens very basically, is that students get subpar instruction by no fault of the teacher in front of them,” said Elizabeth Toye, a ninth grade math teacher at Detroit Public Schools Community District. “They are trying their best but they are literally not trained.”

Toye told Bridge Michigan that some of her current students were taught in middle school by a long-term substitute. This makes it “impossible to teach grade level content because they are missing the foundations of algebra.”

Read the full story by Bridge Michigan here.