🍎 Wanted: Teachers | Morning Newsletter

Grab an umbrella today, we’re hearing a 70% chance of some rainfall in addition to temperatures in the 80s.

The shortage of teachers is real, Philly. But not just here, it’s a crisis nationwide. We take a look at the most significant pain points and potential long-term effects.

And, meet the Amazon distribution center workers from Bellmawr who said no when the mega-site attempted to reassign them to do hectic work far from home.

😬 Oh, did you hear about the small plane that made an emergency landing on St. David’s Golf Course?

Let’s get into Thursday. 👇

— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

America is experiencing a teacher shortage, fueled by low pay, tough working conditions, and decreasing respect for the profession, all exacerbated by a pandemic that has seen teachers quit in droves in some areas.

But a big part of the problem is the so-called pipeline of those studying to be teachers. There simply aren’t as many people willing to teach as before. Nationally, there has been a 25% drop in the number of people completing teacher education programs from 2010 to 2020, and in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the percentage drop has been almost double the amount.

Colleges and universities are holding expos and teacher summits to entice students to consider the profession, even as their enrollments decline or fall stagnant. Experts in the field believe there needs to be a concerted effort from a public relations perspective to get teachers excited about the classroom.

Our reporter Susan Snyder takes a look in the first of a series examining the levels of a nationwide teacher shortage and, what teachers say needs to be done.

🍎 Are you a teacher, student, parent or administrator who has a story to tell about how the teacher shortage has impacted you or your school? Consider contacting our education editor Cathy Rubin, crubin@inquirer.com or staff writer Susan Snyder at ssnyder@inquirer.com.

Depending on your role, working for Amazon can be particularly challenging.

So with that in mind when employees from a distribution site in Bellmawr recently learned that only about 30 workers would be transferred to West Deptford while 50 would be sent to Swedesboro and the rest would be spread across three other locations with some commutes are expected to near an hour, according to employees — it didn’t sit well.

On Wednesday, 10 employees walked out to protest what they described as a broken promise. Though small, the protest by the non-union workers is the latest example of labor activism at an Amazon facility, from efforts to unionize across the country.

Our reporter Ximena Conde takes a look at what happened and next steps for many workers caught in the mix.

The former Philly nightspot that most of us have been to — at least once.

PETYG

Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Javier Bartos of Sicklerville, Pa. who correctly guessed LIBERTY BELL as Wednesday’s answer.

Thanks for starting your morning with The Inquirer. Stay dry today. ✌