Lakshmi Reddi Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer | nmsu.edu
Lakshmi Reddi Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer | nmsu.edu
New Mexico has reported a decrease in teacher vacancies for 2024, as detailed in a study by New Mexico State University’s Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation and Policy Center. The report highlights that as of September 9, there were 737 teacher vacancies out of a total of 1,259 educator vacancies. This marks a 2% reduction from the previous year when there were 751 teacher vacancies.
Special education remains the area with the highest demand, accounting for 280 vacancies or 38% of all teacher openings. Elementary education follows with 179 vacancies, representing 24%. A notable change was observed in middle school teaching positions, which saw a decrease from 118 to 87 vacancies, reflecting a decline of approximately 26%. However, elementary teachers experienced an increase in vacancies from last year's figure.
Phillip Post, interim dean of the NMSU College of Health, Education and Social Transformation stated: “This year’s decrease in teacher vacancies is a step in the right direction, but the persistent needs in special education, elementary education, and critical subjects like math and science highlight the ongoing challenge of ensuring our schools are fully staffed with qualified educators.”
The report also noted a drop in student admissions to educator preparation programs during the academic year of 2023-24. A total of 1,826 students were admitted compared to higher numbers previously. Despite this decline in admissions, completion rates remained steady with similar figures recorded over consecutive years.
“While the slight decrease in admits is a concern," Post commented further on this trend. "We are encouraged by the consistency in completer totals...we remain committed to addressing the state’s teacher shortages."
The methods used for determining educator vacancy numbers include job listings across New Mexico's school districts and data from state colleges and universities.
For those interested in further details or past reports on educator vacancies can visit https://alliance.nmsu.edu/soar-center/publications.html. Data collection for this year's report was conducted by SOAR researchers Emily Heredia, Maryanne Long, Ashley Mathis and Bryan White.
The annual report originated in 2015 under Karen Trujillo's guidance during her time at NMSU before her passing in 2021.
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