Teacher Shortage

Read this three-part series about the teacher shortage in Mississippi, produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, in partnership with Mississippi Today.

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Teacher Shortage

Mississippi's Teacher Shortage: A three-part series

By Aallyah Wright and Kelsey Davis | February 15, 2019

Mississippi Today Delta reporters Kelsey Davis and Aallyah Wright were awarded the Hechinger Report’s 2018 Educating Children in Mississippi and New Orleans Fellowship to report on what a critical teacher shortage actually looks like and what it means for students and communities.

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Teacher Shortage

Photo essay: A day in the life of one Delta teacher

By Eric J. Shelton | February 15, 2019

Follow this slideshow of photos by photojournalist Eric J. Shelton depicting a day in the life of Delta teacher Kaitlyn Barton as she navigates through her day of teaching, working a second job and, finally, making it home to prepare for her next day in the classroom.

“I felt like I had to become a revolutionary — the Fannie Lou Hamer for education in the Mississippi Delta.” — Adrienne Hudson, founder of RISE

Defining a teacher shortage:

The Mississippi Department of Education defines a critical teacher shortage district as one in which 10 percent of 60 or more teaching positions are either unfilled or filled by someone who isn’t properly licensed, which could mean the educator is a long-term substitute, or is teaching using a temporary license issued by the state instead of the standard five-year license. A district with fewer than 60 teaching positions is not considered to have a teacher shortage unless 15 percent of those positions are unfilled or are filled by someone who isn’t properly licensed. A district in which at least 30 percent of the teaching staff has accrued sufficient years of teaching to retire is also considered as having a shortage.

A day in the life

A photo story about Delta teacher Kaitlyn Barton by Mississippi Today photojournalist Eric J. Shelton.

Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/ Report for America

Kaitlyn Barton discusses the graphic novel "Maus" with her English class at Clarksdale High School Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

By Eric J. Shelton | February 15, 2019

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