Following a large decrease in educator vacancies, New Mexico is now seeing a slight increase, according to a report by New Mexico State University’s Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center.
The report, which has been posted at the center’s website and is available to the public, found a 9% increase in teacher vacancies. Last year’s report found 690 teacher vacancies, compared to 751 this year.
Rachel Boren, director of the center, also known as the SOAR Center, said the largest change from 2022 to 2023 was the number of special education teacher vacancies, which increased by 75 openings compared to last year. The study found increases in educational/instructional assistant vacancies.
The report also found decreases in elementary, high school, K-12 and gifted teacher vacancies. As in prior reports, the areas with the most vacancies are elementary and special education teachers, and in math and science subjects.
Last year, there were a total of 1,344 educator vacancies. This year’s study found 1,471 educator vacancies. In 2021, the study indicated a “staggering” 1,727 vacancies.
Rick Marlatt, director of the NMSU School of Teacher Preparation, Administration and Leadership, said NMSU continues to strive to meet the educational needs of the state by expanding its educator preparation programs. Earlier this year, TPAL debuted Teacher Pipeline, a program that addresses educator vacancies by partnering with several school districts, including the Las Cruces Public Schools, to recruit and prepare highly qualified teachers, especially in reading instruction.
“The work of addressing teacher vacancies continues to present New Mexico educator preparation programs with numerous challenges and complexities,” Marlatt said. “Our teacher education program at NMSU continues to sustain growth, both in enrollment of new teacher candidates and in the degree completion of licensure-pursuing graduates. We continue to approach challenges with innovative solutions, and with the continued support from our stakeholders, we believe we can turn a corner in our mission to generate and sustain a robust, diverse teacher pipeline in New Mexico.”
According to the report, New Mexico continues to see a rise in students admitted to an educator preparation program overall. A total of 2,055 students were admitted to an educator preparation program during the 2022-23 academic year compared to 1,886 students during the previous academic year. There was also an increase in students completing an educator preparation program with 1,158 students compared to 1,027 the previous academic year.
Methods for determining the amount of educator vacancies include compiling the number of job openings listed by every school district in New Mexico, as well as data provided by the state’s colleges and universities.
To download the 2023 New Mexico Educator Vacancy Report and view past reports, visit https://alliance.nmsu.edu/soar-center/publications.html. The annual report was created in 2015 by education advocate Karen Trujillo during her tenure as a professor and researcher at NMSU. Trujillo passed away in 2021.
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PHOTO CAPTION: Participants in the Teacher Pipeline program learn about the science of reading framework and structured literacy practices during a recent workshop hosted by New Mexico State University and Las Cruces Public Schools. New Mexico is now seeing a small increase in educator vacancies after a large decrease last year, according to a newly released educator vacancy study by NMSU’s Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)
Image description: A group of people in a classroom.