Michigan is certifying more teachers than at any time in the past decade, but many schools are still struggling to fill classrooms with qualified educators due to persistently high turnover, according to a new report from Michigan State University’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, or EPIC.
The report finds that the number of candidates earning their initial Michigan teaching certificates rose sharply in each of the past two years, reaching a decade high in 2024–25.
The 2024–25 school year marked the first meaningful increase in traditional-route certification in over a decade, which refers to when candidates complete an undergraduate degree program. It was also the seventh consecutive year of growth in alternative-route certification, referring to when candidates with bachelor’s degrees teach while completing a preparation program.
“Data shows we are making great progress in increasing the number of newly certified teachers in Michigan,” said State Superintendent Dr. Glenn Maleyko. “Enrollment in programs to become certified teachers has reached its highest point in the last decade. At the same time, data also show more work is needed to retain teachers if we want to continue our progress in addressing Goal 7 in Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan, to increase the number of certified teachers in areas of shortage. To put Students First, we need to have well-trained and experienced teachers in our classrooms. Both recruitment and retention are vitally important. We must continue educator retention efforts such as mentoring and induction programs for new teachers and professional learning that’s connected to the needs of individual teachers.”
Michigan schools have been losing teachers at unusually high rates since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite new teachers entering the workforce at historically high rates, Michigan is still producing too few certified teachers to replace those leaving the classroom.
Nearly 8,000 of the public-school teachers working in Michigan in 2023–24 did not return for the 2024–25 school year. Although the state certified more than 5,000 new teachers that year — the highest rate in a decade — this is only enough to replace about 68% of the teachers who left. While former teachers returning to the classroom helped to fill many of the remaining open positions, districts also relied increasingly on noncertified teachers, who accounted for more than 5% of Michigan’s teacher workforce in 2024–25.
“It is clear from the data that Michigan’s recent investments are helping to bring more people into the teaching profession,” said Tara Kilbride, associate director of EPIC and lead author of the report. “But the state’s current teacher turnover levels are unsustainable. When thousands of teachers leave the classroom each year, school districts are stuck in a constant cycle of hiring and rehiring. Recruitment alone can’t carry the load of replacing 8,000 teachers every year—retention has to be part of the solution.”
According to the report, teacher exits reached their highest point in 2022–23 and only improved marginally since then. The authors estimate that, at the current rate, turnover won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until the 2031–32 school year. “Meaningful and urgent improvements in educator retention will be essential to maintain Michigan’s recruitment growth and stabilize the workforce,” Kilbride says.
Special education disproportionally affected
Retaining teachers is a challenge that is not evenly distributed across the teacher workforce. They are most pronounced in special education.
Vacancy and turnover rates are higher in special education than for any other teaching specializations, as many school districts rely heavily on teachers who do not have the appropriate credentials to fill these positions. Special educators are about 31% more likely to leave their positions than elementary classroom teachers, and 55% more likely to do so mid-way through a school year, which can be particularly disruptive for students and schools.
Although more candidates are earning special education credentials than in past years, the supply of special education teachers remains insufficient to meet the demand, especially as Michigan’s population of students with disabilities continues to grow.
“Michigan must increase the number of special educators to meet the needs of a growing student population,” Maleyko said. “Programs such as the ones that allow veteran teachers to pursue additional endorsements in special education are important to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.”
Shortages in rural communities
The report shows that teacher shortages are most severe in Michigan’s urban cities, rural areas and charter schools.
Educator staffing conditions also vary widely across Michigan communities and school systems.
For example, vacancy rates among urban districts are more than twice the state average. Charter schools rely more heavily on under-credentialed teachers, with nearly one in five secondary-level core subject teachers lacking a Michigan teaching certification, compared to one in 50 for traditional public schools. Rural districts often face acute shortages in specific subject areas and may have limited options to reassign existing staff or recruit replacements locally when a teacher leaves.
These patterns mean that severe teacher shortages in Michigan disproportionately affect students from historically underserved communities. About half of all students in high-shortage districts are persons of color (compared to 24% of the statewide student population) and 63% are economically disadvantaged (compared to 51% statewide). According to the authors, these disparities risk reinforcing longstanding gaps in educational opportunity if staffing challenges persist.
