The nationwide teacher shortage is also being felt in Kentucky. Over the past few years the number of student enrolling in teacher preparation programs has been on the decline. There are efforts to change that.
Julian Vasquez Heilig is the outgoing Dean of Education at the University of Kentucky. In an interview with Eastern Standard, he said improving teachers’ pay will help keep teachers in the classroom.
“Educators, whether it’s in starting pay or over time, average pay are underpaid relative to other college graduates, and that’s part of the reason we have such high attrition nowadays.”
Heilig said some kind of loan forgiveness at the state or federal level could help as well. He said there is some good news.
“Right now we’re looking at new applications to our college for next year and, quite frankly, they’re even higher for this next year than they were for last year’s.”
Heilig says they have also increased the number of people of color looking to go into teaching. Hear more with Julian Vasquez Heilig later this week on Eastern Standard, on WEKU.
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