COVID-19 creates dire US shortage of teachers, school staff

By JOCELYN GECKER
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Schools have welcomed students back to classrooms but face a new challenge: a shortage of teachers and staff the likes of which some districts say they have never seen. Public schools have struggled for years with teacher shortages, but the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the problem. One school official in California calls it “the most acute shortage of labor” he has ever seen. Similar scenarios are playing out across the country as schools cope with a spike in retirements and a need to hire more teachers, counselors, tutors and aides to help children recover make up for learning losses.