Low pay, high burnout fuels Missouri teacher shortage

Interest in becoming a teacher has plummeted to historic lows over the past decade, and Missouri is feeling the impact. 

With the state ranking near the bottom nationally for teacher pay and grappling with rising living costs, nearly one in four Missouri teachers works a second job just to get by, according to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“Lots of teachers work multiple jobs and are struggling to make ends meet”

Nationwide, the story is similar: One in five public school teachers — about 20% — work a second job during the school year, often outside the education field, according to the U.S. Department of Education and Education Week.

Towina Jones left the classroom in 2020 after 21 years as an educator in Missouri.

“The ever-increasing demands put on the plate of educators can be extremely overwhelming,” Jones said, describing a workload that grew heavier over time. As her students’ needs increased and collaboration with parents became less consistent, the job became more difficult.

Burnout was inevitable, Jones said. She noted the lack of support for teachers and salaries that do little to encourage teachers to stay or attract new ones.

“Teachers are the professionals who touch the lives of all other professionals,” Jones said. “More respect and value definitely needs to be put back in the profession.”

Corrie Hamilton, who was named her district’s Teacher of the Year in 2012-2013, echoed Jones’ concerns. The 20-year veteran of the University City School District said the teaching environment has changed dramatically since the pandemic.

“Teaching has always been hard, but the expectations shifted,” Hamilton said, adding that burnout can feel unreal sometimes. “It’s physically, mentally and emotionally draining,” she said.

Hamilton said she still has confidence in her school district and believes it is committed to teaching kids in ways that honor everyone.

“The umbrella ideas of what has caused the hardships, in my opinion, are far outside of their control.” she said. “They’re doing the best they can while trying to navigate new challenges.”

Both Jones, a former teacher in rural Missouri, and Hamilton, who teaches in a suburban school district, share a passion for educating young minds.

For Jones, teaching was never just a job — it was personal. She entered the profession with a deep desire to make the same kind of intentional, meaningful impact on other children that she was striving to make in her own son’s life as he started school. Hamilton, too, always knew she wanted to teach — ever since she played school with her stuffed animals. “It’s something that’s been deep inside of me forever,” she said.

But for many teachers like Jones, the fire that once fueled their passion to prepare future generations has slowly burned out. “They just need more undergirding,” she said, referring to the support systems teachers need, along with “increased pay.”

Jones now works as a consultant on a project called SchoolLink, which aims to provide educators with the support and resources she once found lacking.

Missouri teachers remain among the lowest-paid in the country — a fact that’s hard to ignore.

The state ranks 50th out of 51 (including Washington, D.C.) for average starting salary at just $36,829, and 47th for average teacher pay overall at $53,999, according to the National Education Association.

“Lots of teachers work multiple jobs and are struggling to make ends meet,” said Hamilton. 

Across the river in Illinois, the picture is dramatically different: Starting salaries there average $43,515, ranking 24th, while veteran educators earn $73,916 on average, placing them 12th in the nation.

And with 94% of public school teachers dipping into their own pockets to pay for classroom supplies,the paycheck gap is more than a statistic — it’s a daily burden. 

In May, Senate Bill 727 bumped the starting salary to $40,000 — still $10,000 less than in neighboring states like Arkansas and Illinois. According to a new report from St. Louis University’s PRiME Center, more than 15% of educators are either switching school districts, leaving for private or out-of-state public schools, or exiting the profession entirely.

The exodus isn’t evenly distributed. Teachers of color are leaving at disproportionately higher rates than their white counterparts, even as the state has made notable strides in diversifying its teaching ranks—doubling the proportion of first-year teachers who are non-white.

The instability is especially acute in urban and rural schools, with educators in St. Louis and Kansas City significantly more likely to leave than those in suburban or other urban districts. Turnover is also hitting schools serving high concentrations of low-income students the hardest, as educators increasingly transfer to schools with more affluent student bodies, deepening inequities in staffing across the state.

While overall teacher retention has improved since the onset of the pandemic, retaining early-career educators remains a challenge. During the 2023-24 school year, 88.7% of Missouri teachers remained in the profession, according to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. However, schools struggled to hold on to first-year teachers.

Yet, Missouri continues to grapple with a critical teacher shortage, particularly in foundational subjects such as math, science, and social studies, as well as in elementary education. DESE data shows that Missouri’s public education system serves more than 870,000 students and employs over 72,000 teachers.

Teach For America, a national nonprofit that recruits and trains recent college graduates to teach in high-need schools, is working to rebuild its presence in the teacher-preparation space after a sharp decline in participation over the past decade. The organization welcomed nearly 6,000 new corps members in 2013, but by 2022, that number had dropped to around 1,600, according to TFA data. 

Missouri has seen an increase in teacher retention, but why? Some education experts point to broader economic factors, noting that during periods of economic uncertainty, recent graduates may be more likely to consider teaching as a stable career option. Another factor to consider is that the  job market for young adults has tightened significantly. In March 2024, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates was 5.8%, notably higher than the national average of 4%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In an effort to address the state’s ongoing teacher shortage, DESE has released a “Teacher Recruitment and Retention Playbook” to give school districts a clear framework for building a stronger educator workforce. The guide, based on three years of research, offers practical strategies to attract and retain qualified teachers and ensure more consistent access to quality education statewide.

The paybook outlines a comprehensive strategy to tackle Missouri’s educator workforce challenges, anchored by eight core pillars. At its foundation is a call for strong, state-level systems to deliver consistent support across districts. It pushes for bold, statewide campaigns to elevate the image of teaching and attract new talent.

Collaboration is key — encouraging partnerships among districts, schools, and community stakeholders to create a unified support network for educators. Recognizing that solutions require resources, the playbook emphasizes the need for targeted funding to fuel recruitment, development, and retention initiatives. It urges policymakers to use public policy to address teacher shortages and improve working conditions.

Central to these efforts is ensuring that teachers themselves have a voice in shaping the strategies that affect their careers. 

Ultimately, the playbook presents a holistic, aligned approach to recruitment, development and compensation practices aimed not just at attracting teachers, but keeping them.