Spread the Word about TEACH California!

• What is it?

  TEACH California is an online resource for people considering a teaching career.

• Who is behind it?

  The TEACH California website is the California Department of Education's (CDE) primary web effort for recruiting individuals to the teaching profession. It is sponsored by CDE's Special Education Division.

• What type of content do you publish?

  California faces a shortage of special education, mathematics, and science teachers. With a special focus on these shortage areas, the TEACH California website is designed to recruit individuals to the teaching profession, explain the teacher preparation process, assist prospective teachers in creating their plan to become credentialed teachers, provide relevant content, partner with related public and non-profit entities, and offer links to important resources.

• Why create this resource?

  To find out what your next steps are in becoming a California teacher, go to the TEACH California website, California's one-stop information center for future teachers. Make the difference of a lifetime. Teach!

• The need for teachers in certain geographic areas, such as rural and urban districts, always remains high even during periods of budget cuts and pink slips.
• Did you know there has been a constant shortage of special education, mathematics, and science teachers for decades? Obtaining a teaching credential in one of these fields would help reduce the shortage and may increase your chances of employment.
• California employs over 300,000 teachers to educate its 6.2 million students. While all the subjects taught in public schools are important, there is a greater shortage of teachers in particular subjects: special education, mathematics, and science. Obtaining a teaching credential in one of these fields would help reduce the shortage and may increase your chances of employment.

Teacher Supply in California — A Report to the Legislature - Annual Report, 2015-2016 (Released: April 2017)

Overall findings for the fiscal year 2015-16 are summarized below:

• The estimated teacher hires data for 2017-18 indicate that about three-fourths of the estimated teacher hires will occur in ten counties and in seven subject areas.
• After a steady decline in the number of candidates enrolled in teacher preparation programs for years, there was an increase of 10 percent between 2013-14 and 2014-15. Overall, teacher preparation program enrollment decreased by more than 12,000 candidates in the past five years.
• There was an increase in the number of candidates enrolled in intern programs (alternative route) in recent years, increase of 28.9 percent between 2014-15 and 2015-16.
• Due to the increase in intern credentials, permits, and waivers, the proportion of fully credentialed teachers at the state level was estimated to decline by 1 percent.
• The average age differed by teaching credentials — ranged from 31 years for multiple subject preliminary credentials to 39 years for education specialist district intern candidates.
• Nearly three-fourths (73 percent) of the current teaching force were female and nearly two-thirds (65 percent) were White.
• There was an increase of 1.6 percent in the number of newly issued credentials across all three types of preliminary teaching credentials (i.e., Multiple Subject, Single 30 April 2017 Subject, and Education Specialist). After a steady decline for ten consecutive years, 2015-16 was the second year in which there was an increase in the new teaching credentials.