Columbia, SC (WLTX) - Tuesday marks National Teacher Appreciation Day. There are 53,146 teachers in the state and there is a "teacher shortage crisis." That's according to the executive director of the Palmetto State Teachers Association, Kathy Maness.
"Our colleges and universities aren't producing enough students who want to be teachers," says Maness.
According to the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA), in 2017 South Carolina universities graduated 1,684 students with bachelor's degrees in education, but the state posted about 7,850 openings for teachers.
CERRA also noted that 6,705 teachers left positions during and at the end of the 2016-17 school year. That's up more than 200 from the previous school year.
"We have a lot of teachers who are leaving the profession due to retirement, deciding to stay home, certain circumstances where they don't want to teach anymore," says Maness.
In order to recruit teachers, the South Carolina General Assembly wants to raise teachers salaries by one to two percent.
"We do need to increase teacher salaries, but that's not everything," says Maness. "Work conditions, paperwork, testing that our teachers have to do. There's so much more outside of just producing information to students now."
"We have outstanding teachers in our schools," says Maness.
One of those outstanding teachers, is Richland School District Two's Teacher of the Year, Regina Dilley.
Dilley has been teaching for 13 years and has spent the past six years teaching AP Psychology and the Teachers Cadet program at Spring Valley High School.
"There's nothing more rewarding than working with these kids," says Dilley.
Dilley says she has seen a change within the classroom since she started more than a decade ago.
"Everything is about numbers and data these days. More of is expected of students and all teachers are dealing with a certain amount of stress and anxiety on behalf of the student population."
She says despite the stresses in the classroom, she continues to work with her students to make sure that they get an excellent education.
To recruit and retain teachers, the SC Department of Education has several programs that give incentives, including the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, the Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE), and the Call Me MISTER program, that is designed to increase the pool of available teachers from a more diverse background.
Maness says as a society, we have to uplift teachers and put them back on a pedestal.
"We have to put teachers back there," says Maness. "They deserve it, and they work hard for our students everyday. It's a profession that makes all other professions possible."