2024-25 South Carolina Annual Educator Supply & Demand Report
November 25, 2024
The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) has released its 2024-25 Annual Educator Supply and Demand Report.
For the first time since 2019-20, districts reported a decrease in the number of vacant positions at the beginning of the school year. Specifically, the 2024-25 school year started with nearly 600 fewer vacancies across the state compared to last year. There also were roughly 1,000 fewer teacher departures and new hires this year. Even without data from four districts, the significant drop in these numbers indicates some level of improvement related to recruitment and retention efforts in South Carolina.
According to the Palmetto State Teacher’s Association (PSTA), this report “represents a significant step forward in reversing persistent educator shortages while providing a clarion call to build on this momentum so South Carolina doesn’t take two steps back in the work of ensuring a high-quality teacher in every classroom.”
Over the last two legislative sessions, the General Assembly raised minimum teacher pay by 17.5%, introduced five additional levels to the teacher salary schedule, and made South Carolina the first state in the Southeast to provide educators with six weeks of paid parental leave. The findings in the Supply and Demand Report underscore that investing in educator support and salaries directly strengthens efforts to expand the state’s teacher workforce.
The PSTA went on to say that 1,043 reported vacancies are still “far too high and more than double pre-pandemic numbers.” The reduction in vacancies this year was also achieved, at least in part, as a result of districts staffing 914 fewer educator positions than in 2023-24.
Recent assessment data highlights ongoing challenges for students in math across all grade levels. Yet, the Supply and Demand Report reveals districts sought to fill 127 fewer math teacher positions this year, starting the school year with 92 unfilled math vacancies. Similarly, while student learning in grades 3-5 is critical for building a foundation for future academic success, districts posted 110 fewer elementary teaching positions for these grades this year.
The PSTA also recommended that the South Carolina legislature address these challenges by providing the resources necessary to build workforce reporting tools. They highlighted Educator Workforce Pipeline system in Colorado as possible model for South Carolina.
