Possible teacher shortage in South Carolina, 1 in 4 to leave teaching position survey shows

Charleston, South Carolina – The workers shortage might be even worse as latest survey shows that 1 in 4 teachers is ready to leave their position by the end of the year in South Carolina.

The teacher shortage across the state has been an increasing issue over the last years especially in 2020. Experts say this is mostly because of the pandemic year as teachers had tough time teaching their students in such a situation.

In a recent survey by RAND Corporation, one in four teachers say they may quit by the end of this school year.

The alarming survey shows that only 55% of the teachers plan to stay at their current position. But 22% plan and will rather change their current teaching jobs.

“I’ve been teaching for 15 years and this is by far the hardest year,” said Steve Nuzum, a high school English teacher in the Midlands.

She confirms that one the biggest struggles in the past period was the pandemic as she had to teach students on-line and in person.

“It was like having two jobs while simultaneously getting a salary freeze from the state then a lot of people hyper focused on education suddenly.”

“We have 29 teaching positions available. We are especially having a hard time finding special education and elementary education teachers,” said Mary Anne Byrd, Kershaw County School District spokesperson where there are 29 vacancies currently.