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Your students are waiting for you. Give them the best and apply your unique skills and knowledge as an educator of a high-need area. If you’re truly passionate about teaching, make a difference by pursuing or adding a vital subject area to your repertoire. Becoming a high-need area teacher is not only one of the most beneficial things you can do as a teacher committed to helping all students – but it also comes along with a myriad of benefits for you! Once you learn what they are, it’ll be hard to imagine a time where you considering anything else! Check out the benefits of becoming a high-need teacher below:

  1. Get hired fast: Districts specifically ask us for a list of our candidates who are certified to teach high-need areas. Do yourself a favor and make sure your name is on this list if you want to get hired sooner – rather than later.
  2. Better job security: Did you know that becoming a teacher is the closest thing possible to a recession-proof job? Teachers are always in-demand, which is why their jobs are stable, no matter the economic circumstances. Becoming a teacher in an area which is critically short of teachers provides an ironclad layer of job security to an already secure profession.
  3. Higher salary: Some high-need area teachers can make up to $98,530, which is a whopping 73% higher than the median teacher salary in Texas. *
  4. Receive loan forgiveness: Every year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) releases its list of shortage areas for the upcoming school year. Teachers who choose to pursue a subject area on the high-need areas list may be eligible to apply to loan forgiveness programs.**

    Curious to learn which subject areas made this year’s high-need list? Read this post to find out!

  5. Help end the teacher shortage: Working to end the teacher shortage is our common goal, and your help is absolutely essential. To best serve our mission, we must first address the areas which need additional support. The most constructive starting point is providing more high-need subject area teachers. We have the resources to help you become the teacher they need. Together, we can be part of something bigger!
  6. It’s rewarding: No two days are alike as a teacher. You’ll bear witness to countless ‘ah-ha!’ moments. Seeing your students succeed and grow, emotionally and cognitively, provides immeasurable joy. Take pride in the fact that you are educating the minds of tomorrow and guiding them on a path toward a bright future. Teachers are the core creation of all other careers – how rewarding is that?
  7. Become an expert: You’ll never stop learning, but you will become an expert. Your skills are highly sought-after! Nourish them with continued professional development, and you will undoubtably develop unmatched expertise in your subject matter.
  8. Helps stabilize the economy: Yes! Becoming a teacher helps stabilize, support and even grow our economy. The subject areas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) routinely make their way on to the high-need areas list. These subject areas are critical to the longevity of our nation’s continued economic growth and to our students’ future.
  9. Promotes educational equity: Becoming a high-need teacher helps support some of our most vulnerable populations. As COVID-19 has forced students and teachers to adopt online learning, it is clear that minority populations, and those will special needs, have been disproportionately affected. Due to lack of access to internet connectivity, among other factors, a growing lapse in education has been created. When students return to schools, those who were unable to continue learning at the same rate of their peers, due to circumstantial factors, will need extra support. Becoming their teacher is more important now than ever.

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Sources:

**“2020-2021 Teacher Shortage Areas and Loan Forgiveness Programs.” Texas Education Agency, 30 Jan. 2020, tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence/taa-letters/2020-2021-teachershortage-areas-and-loan-forgiveness-programs.

* “Occupational Outlook Handbook, Special Education Teachers.” Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 20 Apr. 2020, www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/special-education-teachers.htm .