Investing in Teacher Recruitment Delivers What Kids – and the Economy – Need

Mar 13, 2026

A teacher leans over to help young students with their work at a classroom table. The children are engaged in activities, and the classroom is colorful and filled with learning materials.

By Zachary Levine & Vincent Marigna

Levine and Marigna: For every tax dollar spent, teacher recruitment has a higher return on investment for student learning than almost anything else.

A teacher leans over to help young students with their work at a classroom table. The children are engaged in activities, and the classroom is colorful and filled with learning materials.

The teacher shortage has reached crisis proportions. In the 2024-25 academic year, 35% of public schools reported having one or more teaching vacancies; 64% of public schools reported a lack of qualified candidates for open teaching positions; and 411,549 teaching positions or 12.7% were unfilled or filled by people not fully trained. 

This is equivalent to one out of every 10 doctor positions going unfilled or going to someone who hasn’t yet completed medical school. We do not stand for that in healthcare, and it should be equally unacceptable for education. 

Every child deserves a qualified teacher, making teacher recruitment essential.

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