Trends in Michigan’s K-12 Public School Teaching Workforce

May 2021

This policy brief examines changes in Michigan’s K-12 public school teaching workforce, particularly for teachers and students of color and in traditionally hard-to-staff areas. Using data on the composition of the teacher workforce in Michigan over the last decade, we assess overall changes in the quantity of teachers actively employed in the state relative to enrollment declines in the state’s K-12 student population and trends in teacher mobility and attrition. We then look deeper into issues of representation in the teacher labor force, focusing on differences in the populations of teachers employed in districts with varying proportions of Black, Latinx, and economically disadvantaged students, as well as in urban relative to suburban and rural areas.

KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:

• The number of Michigan K-12 teachers is diminishing, but at slower rates than enrollment declines.
• Teacher attrition is increasing over time and is substantially higher in districts with the greatest proportions of economically disadvantaged and Black students.
• Urban districts and districts with the greatest proportions of economically disadvantaged and Black students have more novice teachers.
• Although the overall teacher labor force in Michigan is growing more diverse, these changes are occurring mostly in districts with the greatest shares of Black students.