KEARNEY- Nearly 200 Nebraska-based educators from various school districts, universities, and educational service units convened last week in Kearney to discuss the challenges plaguing education in the state, as well as potential solutions. The conference, formally titled the Nebraska Educator Shortage Summit, included several hours of lively discussion surrounding the rising teacher shortage in Nebraska.

According to April Buschelman, a professor at Creighton University who attended the summit, there's a long list of factors that contributed to Nebraska's waning teacher population. The shortage is being exacerbated by an increase in K-12 student enrollment paired with a stagnant number of college students participating in the state's teacher preparation programs.

However, Buschelman highlighted that the number of high school graduates enrolling in teacher preparation programs has actually increased over the years, from 2,822 in 2017 to 4,149 in 2021. However, Buschelman added, many students fail to complete these programs. "We have a lot of people starting, saying 'I would love to be a teacher,' and then they're not really quite completing their degree," said Buschelman, "Are they leaving because they get into the classroom and it's not what they epxected?"

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