2016 New Mexico Educator Vacancy Report

Date Prepared: November 4, 2016

Prepared by:

NMSU College of Education STEM Outreach Alliance Research Lab 1

2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

Dr. Karen Trujillo, Director of the NMSU Alliance for the Advancement of Teaching and LearningSabrina Jamison, NMSU student majoring in Secondary Education-Life SciencesYvette Salcedo, NMSU student majoring in Psychology

IntroductionIn recent years New Mexico has been experiencing an educator shortage. Prior to 2015 data regarding the magnitude of the shortage was unavailable. In December of 2015, The Alliance for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning at NMSU released the first report about teacher vacancies. This second annual report was completed to provide a clearer picture of the current state of the educator shortage as it currently exists. Although the form of this report is similar, it has been expanded to include data from Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) that offer Teacher Preparation Programs (TPP). The purpose of this report is to provide superintendents, deans and policy makers with information relevant to the teacher pipeline issues we face in New Mexico.

This report is modeled after the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Teacher Supply and Demand Report that is required by Minnesota Statute 127A.05, Subdivision 6. This statute requires the MDE to produce a comprehensive report every two years regarding the status of teacher supply and demand for the state of Minnesota. The only requirement for reporting on the status of teacher supply and demand in New Mexico that the research team is aware of is the New Mexico Educator Accountability Reporting System (EARS) Report which is produced annually by the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) and the New Mexico Higher Education Department (HED). The EARS report includes information regarding enrollment and graduation from Teacher Preparation Programs (TPP), but does not include information regarding vacancies, teacher turnover, pending retirements or other factors that impact teacher supply and demand in New Mexico.

MethodologyIn September of 2016, the New Mexico Superintendents Association, which consists of the superintendents from all public school districts in New Mexico, sent a request to superintendents using an online survey (Appendix A). Of the 89 school districts, 45 districts responded to the survey or provided the information via email. In order to obtain data from the other 44 districts, the research team contacted districts, and identified openings using district websites and the New Mexico Regional Education Applicant Placement (NMREAP) website.

A comprehensive database was created to include all vacancies and job postings either reported by district officials or advertised online. Although this information changes as people are hired, the data provided in this report represents verified openings as of October 20, 2016. Please note, this data DOES NOT INCLUDE state charter schools or private schools. The data represents the 89 school districts defined by PED plus the Bureau of Indian Education Schools located in New Mexico.

In order to gather information regarding the Teacher Preparation Programs (TPPs) in New Mexico, the research team used the 2015 Educator Accountability Reporting System (EARS) Report. This report is required annually by the New Mexico Higher Education Department and breaks down the data for TPP completers by college and subject area. This report includes data from 2009-2010 to 2013-2014. A request for the 2014-2015 data was sent to the 14 institutions of higher education in New Mexico that have Teacher Preparation Programs.

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

Total Education Vacancies in New Mexico Image 1: Vacancies by Subgroup

443

13

11920

2016 Vacancies by Subgroup (595)

Total TeacherAdministrativeAncillaryCounselors

In the survey, districts were asked to identify the most difficult positions to recruit for. Of the 39 districts who responded to this question, 59% reported SPED as being the most difficult position to fill because there are not enough qualified applicants. In addition to SPED, 49% said that they had difficulty hiring qualified math teachers and 28% said that it was difficult to recruit science teachers. Overwhelmingly the smaller, more rural districts said that it was hard to recruit teachers due to their location, regardless of the subject area.

Image 2: NM Districts with over 10 Openings

Albuquerque

Rio Rancho

Roswell

Gallup-M

cKi... BIE

Espanola

Gadsden

Las Cruce

s

Los Lunas

Deming

Santa Fe

Alamogordo

BloomfieldBelen

Farmington

Grants-Cibola

Hobbs0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

149

32 29 21 17 24 2411 12 16 13 15 12 11 8 10 9

Districts with over 10 Openings

Total Certified Ancillary

163

38

36 3

5

27 2

624

23

22

17 1

616

13

12

11 11

11

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

There are currently 595 openings in New Mexico. This number includes openings for certified teachers, counselors administrators, and ancillary service providers such as speech pathologists, social workers, and other therapists. This image shows the breakdown of the positions by subgroup.

Vacancies by RegionIf we look at New Mexico in terms of regions, the data shows a clearer picture of where the needs are. The data was separated using geographical regions defined by the following map. The Image provides a list of the districts by region.

The four graphs below demonstrate that the vacancy patterns are relatively consistent regionally for

teacher, administrator and ancillary vacancies. The only exception is for the counselors.

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

The central region has the majority of the openings in the state, however it also includes four districts with large enrollments (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe and Los Lunas). The small number of openings in the Northwest is consistent with the fact that the majority of the districts in this region have small student populations.

Image 3: Map and Table of Districts divided by Region

263

76

142

97

17

2016 Vacancies By Region (595)

CentralSouthwestNorthwestSoutheastNortheast

Image 4: Total Vacancies by Region

Districts by RegionCentral

(11)

Albuquerque, Belen, Bernalillo, Estancia, Los Lunas, Moriarty, Mountainair, Pecos, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Vaughn

Southwest (13)

Animas, Cobre, Deming, Gadsden, Hatch Valley, Las Cruces, Lordsburg, Magdalena, Quemado, Reserve, Silver, Socorro, Truth or Consequences

Northwest (16)

Aztec, BIE, Bloomfield, Central, Chama, Cuba, Dulce, Espanola, Farmington, Gallup-McKinley, Grants-Cibola, Jemez Mountain, Jemez Valley, Los Alamos, Mesa Vista, Pojoaque, Zuni

Southeast (28)

Alamogordo, Artesia, Capitan, Carlsbad, Carrizozo, Cloudcroft, Clovis, Corona, Dexter, Dora, Elida, Eunice, Floyd, Fort Sumner, Hagerman, Hobbs, Hondo Valley, Jal, Lake Arthur, Loving, Lovington, Melrose, Portales, Roswell, Ruidoso, Tatum, Texico, Tularosa

Northeast (21)

Cimarron, Clayton, Des Moines, Grady, House, Las Vegas, Logan, Maxwell, Mora, Mosquero, Penasco, Questa, Raton, Roy, San Jon, Santa Rosa, Springer, Taos, Tucumcari, Wagon Mound, West Las Vegas

Image 5: Teacher Vacancies by Region Image 6: Administrative Vacancies by Region

Image 7: Ancillary Vacancies by Region Image 8: Counselor Vacancies by Region

Teacher Vacancies by Subject Area

Arts/M

usic

Bilingual, E

LL &TESOL

Early Child

hood

Elective

s

Elementary

Foreign Language LA

Math PE

Science

Social S

tudiesSPED

020406080

100120140160180

14 16

43

12

144

626 27

11 17 10

152.5

Vacancies by Discipline

Image 9: Teacher Vacancies by Subject Area

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

4

34

1

1

2016 Administrator Vacancies (13)

CentralSouthwest Northwest SoutheastNortheast

217

51

94

70 11

2016 Teacher Vacancies (443)

CentralSouthwestNorthwestSoutheastNortheast

3

2

6

6

2016 Counselor Vacancies (17)

Central Southwest Northwest Southeast Northeast

39

1738

205

2016 Ancillary Vacancies (119)

Central

Southwest

Northwest

Southeast

Northeast

It is also important to determine what types of teaching positions are available in New Mexico. In an effort to capture this data, the vacancies were divided into various subject areas. Although the graph shows specific needs, the following issues occurred when gathering subject specific data:

1. Duplicate Counts: Please note that approximately 36 positions are listed in two different categories, for example a bilingual elementary school opening is listed both in bilingual and elementary.

2. Early Childhood and Elementary: There was an effort made to distinguish between early childhood (K-3) and elementary vacancies, however, this chart may not capture all of the early childhood vacancies. If the job postings specifically stated PreK-3rd grade it was included in Early Childhood, if not, then it was included only in Elementary. Thus, the total number of vacancies for elementary including early childhood is actually 187.

3. Bilingual, ELL & TESOL: There was an effort to identify bilingual, ELL or TESOL positions, but if the advertisement did not specify these requirements, it was not included. It is very likely that many more bilingual, ELL or TESOL positions are available.

4. Reading Coaches and Instructional Coaches: Reading coaches and instructional coaches were placed in the Language Arts category.

5. Electives: The electives category includes FACS teachers, computer teachers or other electives that did not specifically fall under arts, music or foreign languages.

Alternative Licensure:In addition to teacher shortages, districts were asked to report the following information:

1. Number of teachers who have an alternative license.2. Of those who have an alternative license, identify the number of STEM (Science, Technology,

Engineering, Math) teachers.

Note: Only 38 of the 45 districts that responded to the online survey answered this question. It is important to note that Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and other large districts DID NOT report this information and are therefore not represented in the data below.

Image 10: Alternative Certifications Reported by 38 School Districts

Alternative Licenses 360STEM Alternative Licenses 111

Additional Information regarding alternative licensures:

9 districts reported having over 10 teachers with an alternative license with 4 districts that reported having over 30. One district reported having 67 teachers with an alternative license.

31% of the teachers reported to be teaching with an alternative license are teaching STEM courses.

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

Important Observations regarding Education Vacancies:

1. The current school vacancies represent the number of positions that could not be filled during the regular hiring season between April and August, which means that 443 classrooms in New Mexico are likely being taught by long term substitutes and not certified teachers.

2. The majority of the school vacancies in New Mexico are in the central region.

3. Special education teachers account for 153.5 or 35% of all teacher openings. However if you include the ancillary service providers, who usually work with the special education population, the number of openings specifically geared to serve the special education students in the schools account for 272 or 46% of the posted vacancies and impact districts throughout New Mexico.

4. There are 187 vacancies in elementary school and early childhood.

5. Vacancies in math and science represent 44 of the posted vacancies or 10%, however it is important to note that 31% of the reported alternatively licensed teachers are teaching STEM courses. This demonstrates the need for highly qualified STEM teachers.

6. New Mexico does not only need teachers, there is also a need for professional services as seen by the 119 vacancies for ancillary positions.

7. According to the survey, it is difficult for rural schools to recruit teachers regardless of subject area.

Picture from Higher EducationAccording to the 2015 New Mexico Educator Accountability Reporting System (EARS) report, the following institutions have programs that prepare teachers in New Mexico.

Image 11: Teacher Preparation Programs in New Mexico

4 Year Institutions 2 Year Institutions Private InstitutionsEastern New Mexico University (ENMU)New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU)New Mexico State University (NMSU) *Northern New Mexico College (NNMC)University of New Mexico (UNM) *Western New Mexico University (WNMU)*Research universities

Central New Mexico CC (CNM)New Mexico Junior College (NMJC)San Juan Community College (SJCC)Santa Fe Community College (SFCC)

University Of Phoenix (UPHX)University of The Southwest (USW)Wayland Baptist University (WBU)

The 4-Year Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) offer various types of Teacher Preparation Programs (TPP), including traditional undergraduate programs, graduate certification programs, and alternative licensure programs. The 2-Year IHE’s only offer alternative licensure programs to individuals who already have a bachelor’s degree. The private institutions offer both traditional

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

programs and alternative programs. The series of images below provide trends for completers from 2009 to 2015.

Image 12: TPP Completers at 4 Year Intuitions from 2009-2010 to 2014-2015

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-20150

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

434 462 362 405 310 326

294 283320 192

196 156

115 12769

5141 70

108 9987

7070 76

86 97

127

97

101 103

36 26

22

2429 44

TPP Completers for 4-Year Institutions

UNM NMSU WNMU NMHU ENMU NNMC

1073839

9871094

747 775

The completion rates at all 4-year institutions has decreased considerably over the last six years, with the exception of ENMU which has shown an increase of 17 completers in 2014-2015. These numbers represent bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees and alternative licensure candidates. The trend is clear, in 2009-2010 there were a total of 1073 TPP Completers and in 2014-2015 there were 775. This is a 27.7% decrease in the number of TPP Completers from 4-year universities in NM over the past six years. Image 13: TPP Completers for 2 Year Colleges

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-20150

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

102 128 11983 92 106

3656 95

63126

14617

2221

31

19

28

13

13

20

TPP Completers for 2-Year Programs (Alternative Licensure)

CNMCC SFCC SJC NMJC

155206

839839

839839

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

The TPP Completers from 2-year institutions are candidates for alternative licensure. In 2009-2010 there were 155 total students who completed TPP Programs at community colleges. In 2014-2015, that number went up to 300. This is a 94% increase in the number of TPP Completers from 2-year universities in NM over the past six years. The largest increase is at Santa Fe Community College which had a 300% increase in TPP Completers since 2009-2010.

Image 14: TPP Completers for Private Colleges

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-20150

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

57 4464 67 55

39

2121

2539

2

4

1211

19

16

21

12

TPP Completers for Private Insti-tutions

UPHX USW WBU

90 76

108 122

78 55

In 2009-2010 there were 90 TPP Completers at the private colleges in NM and in 2014-2015 there were only 55, a 39% decrease. The data suggest that the University of the Southwest is phasing out the TPP program as shown by the dramatic decrease from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014.

The overall picture shows a disturbing trend. The 4-year institutions have seen a significant decrease in completers over the past six years, on the other hand the alternative licensure providers have shown almost a 100% increase. Although this increase is significant, when you look at the overall trend, even this increase in alternative licensure programs does not make up for the losses in the comprehensive 4-year programs.

Image 15: TPP Completers for All Institutions

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

In 2009-2010 there were 1318 total TPP Completers and in 2014-2015 there were only 1130. This is a 14% decrease over six years. For the 4 year TPP programs, there was a 27.7% decrease during the same time period.

The 2015 NM EARS Report, which reports extensive data for 2009-2010 to 2013-2014, 105 or 14% of the students from the research universities received alternative licenses in 2013-2014, and 33% or 355 of the total TPP completers received alternative licenses. Due to the nature of the alternative licensure programs, these students were already employed in schools as teachers while completing their licensure programs. Thus, the positions filled by these individuals would not be reported as vacancies and the students are not technically available to fill vacant positions because they are already employed as teachers.

Recommendations for Policy and Future Research: 1. The legislature should require the PED and HED to develop a Teacher Supply and Demand by

expanding the NM EARS Report to include teacher vacancies at various points during the year, turnover rates, expected population growth and anticipated retirement rates. By requiring the NMPED and NMHED to provide a comprehensive picture of the teacher pipeline, policymakers can make informed decisions about how to address issues of recruitment and retention.

2. It is necessary to do a comprehensive study with TPP completers in order to find out where the TPP graduates are seeking employment after graduation. This can further inform policymakers on recruitment and retention issues. It is necessary to know where the TPP graduates are being employed upon graduation. Are they staying in NM? If not, why not. This report shows that there are 443 vacancies in October, but does not include information regarding how many new teachers were hired for the 2016-2017 school year. It is difficult to know how many TPP completers were employed prior to the beginning of the school year.

3. Investigate how TPP Programs can be modified to include either a SPED certification or TESOL certification upon graduation from every traditional program. Requiring

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-20150

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1073 1094987

839747 775

155 206 235 190 250 300

90 76 108 122 78 55

1318 1376 1330

11511075 1130

TEP Completers for All Institutions 2009-2015

4yr 2yr Private Total

comprehensive programs to ensure that each graduate has either a TESOL or SPED endorsement could potentially alleviate some of the need in these areas.

4. Develop viable programs at each 4-year institution to attract and retain highly qualified teachers in Math and Science to fill the need for qualified STEM teachers. The need for qualified STEM teachers is increasing annually and the number of graduates in the secondary STEM fields has been decreasing annually. What can be done to attract potential STEM teachers?

5. Offer incentives for current Educational Assistants so that they may receive the proper training and certification necessary to become teachers, especially in Special Education. These individuals are usually grounded in the communities where they are employed.

6. Support the “Grow Your Own Teachers” movement in New Mexico like Educators Rising at the state level by offering stipends for teachers who support students enrolled in this Career Technical Education Pathway for future educators. If we want teachers who look like our students, we have to start recruiting into the profession at a young age. Providing role models and professional experiences for these students in high school and supporting them throughout college may increase the number of TPP completers who serve in our schools.

7. Consider a loan forgiveness program for TPP graduates to teach in high need districts and in high need disciplines, especially in the rural areas of NM.

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

References

Nguyen, H. and Wassen, R. (2015) The Minnesota Teacher Supply and Demand Report 2015. http://www.educationevolving.org/files/blog/MDE-Teacher-Supply-Demand-Report-2015.pdf

Trujillo, K. (2015) The New Mexico Teacher Vacancy Report 2015. https://dept-wp.nmsu.edu/coealliance/files/2016/11/Teacher-Vacancies-in-New-Mexico.docx

Skandera, H. and Damron, B. (2015) The New Mexico Educator Accountability Reporting System (EARS) for the Annual Year 2013-2014. http://nnmc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Exhibit-6.4.2.a-EARS-15-Report-Final-Draft-10-21-15.pdf

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

Appendix A: 2016 Educator Vacancy SurveyIn December of 2015, The Alliance for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning wrote a report about the teacher vacancies in the 89 New Mexico Public School Districts. There were 517 openings identified. This survey has been developed to collect similar information for the 2016-2017 school year to create an updated report for distribution to all superintendents and education stakeholders. New Mexico is experiencing unprecedented teacher vacancies in many areas and we are trying to collect comprehensive information about the reality of the situation. Your help is appreciated. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Karen Trujillo at ktrujill@nmsu.edu.

1. School District (Charter) Name:

2. How many teachers does it take to fully staff your district (school)?

3. How many teaching openings do you currently have?

4. How many openings do you currently have for ancillary positions? (PT, OT, SLP, SW etc.)

5. How many administrative openings do you currently have?

6. In an effort to determine where the needs are, please let us know where the openings are. If it is easier for you to send this information in an email or an existing database, please send it to Dr. Karen Trujillo at ktrujill@nmsu.edu.

a. If you have elementary school openings, please list them here. Include SPED, TESOL and Bilingual identifiers as appropriate

b. If you have middle school openings, please list them here. Include SPED, TESOL and Bilingual identifiers as appropriate

c. If you have high school openings, please list them here. Include SPED, TESOL, and Bilingual identifiers as appropriate.

d. If you have ancillary positions, please list them here.

e. If you have any administrative positions, please list them here.

7. How many teachers does your district (school) employ who currently hold an ALTERNATIVE or SUBSTANDARD license?

8. How many of your ALTERNATIVE or SUBSTANDARD licensed teachers are STEM teachers? (math, science, engineering or technology)

9. What are the most difficult positions to fill in your district? Please explain why.

10. Please select the reports you would like to have access to.

a. Teacher Vacancies in December 2015 b. Teacher Vacancies September 2016

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report

11. Please provide contact information for the district official responsible for human resources.

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2016 New MEXICO Education Vacancy Report