1999 Supply and Demand - Preface

This report presents supply and demand information about educational personnel for Wisconsin Public Schools. The complete report for this and last year is available on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) web page. The 1999 report contains information on the employment of part-time teachers, an analysis of applications for positions, and verification of future retirement projections (dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/supdem99.html). The 1998 report has complete attrition data by subject field and retirement projections for the years up to 2012 and is found on web site: (dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/supdem98.html). The 1997 report, which contains maps of the teaching position vacancies in twelve geographical regions, is available from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The author hopes this information is of value to those making policy decisions for the state, those administering programs at the University of Wisconsin System campuses and Wisconsin's independent colleges and universities that prepare educators, and those wishing to make more informed career choices in education. This report complies with the reporting requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), an amendment to PL 94-142, which requires accurate reporting of personnel needs in special education, complete data on the status of emergency licenses, and future projections of personnel needs for the field.

This is the 21st annual report on supply and demand of educational personnel for Wisconsin Public Schools and the last year for the retiring principal investigator. For the first eight years, the report focused only on special education. Since that time, however, the report expanded to include supply and demand information for all teaching fields and non-teaching areas of education. This report also continues the analysis presented in previous years on the number of newly licensed teachers, the sources of newly hired teachers, and projected future personnel needs in education in Wisconsin Public Schools.

Sources of data include information from Wisconsin Public School districts collected on the third Friday of September and reported to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI, in the School District Staff and Teacher Personnel Report (PI 1202). Also contributing are the educator preparation institutions that provided the number of newly prepared educators eligible for licensure, and select public school districts, which provided information on the applications for positions in their district. The supply and demand data analyzed in past Wisconsin studies have documented a surplus of teachers seeking positions in most subject fields and shortages in several areas.

Recent years have shown considerable variation in the number of newly hired teachers in Wisconsin Public Schools. This 1998-1999 school year continued the increase from the previous year in the number of new hires. The projection of an increasing number of retirements over the next nine years must be evaluated in light of the large reserve pool of teachers and the current high levels of persons prepared to teach so that the needs of specific fields can be addressed.

The major tables are at the end of the report, making the text for Chapters 1 through 5 uninterrupted. Each chapter begins with highlights of the most important findings, which are followed by supporting information and explanations.

The factors that contribute to the supply and demand of educational personnel are complex, and certain limitations are inherent in this research area. The report deals with educators employed only in Wisconsin Public Schools. Certainly, educational opportunities exist in non-public schools, and some graduates of educator preparation institutions in Wisconsin choose to work in other states. Within the parameters of this study accurate data about these educators are difficult to gather; therefore, it is likely that some errors exist. Despite these limitations, this report provides a reasonably accurate educator supply and demand picture that will contribute to making the best qualified educators available to all children who attend Wisconsin public schools. The study includes in Appendix B a supplement from the University of Wisconsin System Administration from the perspective of teacher preparation programs presenting other factors in evaluating the prospects for teacher education students.

For questions about this information, contact Paul Trilling (608) 266-0933

Last updated on 12/6/2010 1:22:55 PM