With graduation season now upon us, many university and college students across the state and country will be receiving their education major degrees and entering a career in teaching.
For many graduates, there is genuine optimism and excitement as they begin their instructional journey. To me, there truly is no more noble or fulfilling profession than teaching. Being a teacher is more than a job; it’s a calling. Teachers shape the minds of future generations and have the profound ability to inspire students to reach their fullest potential.
But with that optimism comes the reality of our country and state’s longstanding teacher shortage and the significant challenge of retaining teachers at the K-12 level. Hawaii continues to have a large shortage of qualified public and private school teachers.
A recent Hawaii Department of Education report on teacher retention found that the first five years of a teacher’s career are pivotal in determining whether they stay in the profession for the long-term.
While not a new situation, teacher retention remains difficult with Hawaii having one of the highest costs of living in the nation. With many teachers already facing burnout from long work hours and heavy workloads, it is normal for many of them to take on second or third jobs to make ends meet.
With National Teacher Appreciation Week being observed during the month of May, it is a timely reminder that our society needs to do more to help deal with teacher recruitment and retention. It is crucial that we prioritize the well-being of our teachers through supportive policies, livable wages, adequate resources and positive supportive school environments.
To ensure a continuous flow of qualified educators into the workforce, we need to provide more funding to support teacher education. We are deeply grateful to Kamehameha Schools for providing a $10.5 million grant that annually creates 50 full-tuition Mu‘o scholarships for Chaminade’s teacher preparation bachelor’s degree programs. This invaluable financial support will enable students to become teachers here in Hawaii, with a priority on early learning at the pre-school level.
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The construction and availability of affordable housing is crucial to help keep our teachers in Hawaii for the long run, particularly for our younger generation of teachers. Innovative plans are underway to build on-campus affordable housing units for teachers on the Mililani High School campus grounds. Housing initiatives such as this, need to continue as important incentives to attract and retain more teachers in our state.
It is also important that we provide more school support services such as counselors, psychologists, and social workers to help assist students dealing with personal or family issues that may hold back their true learning potential. To help with this issue, Chaminade University has partnered with Hawaii’s Department of Education to develop new programs to train more homegrown school psychologists, educational psychologists, as well as additional school counselors to help ensure the mental well-being of our public school students.
We also need to look at ways to reduce teachers’ workload and class sizes. Schools can streamline administrative tasks, use technology strategically, promote collaboration, and explore flexible working arrangements.
Small acts of kindness by all of us toward teachers can go a long way. Simple gestures such as a handwritten note, gift card or even a sincere “thank you” show teachers our appreciation and ensure they feel valued.
Teachers make valuable and often unseen contributions to society that are difficult to quantify. Yet, their impact on shaping future generations is undeniable. To enable teachers to continue their essential work, they deserve our ongoing care and support.
Dale Fryxell, Ph.D., is dean of Chaminade University’s School of Education and Behavioral Sciences and a professor of psychology
