| JACKSON, Miss. – Today, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) presented results of the 2025-26 Educator Shortage Survey and the 2024-25 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Survey to the State Board of Education.
Educator Shortage Survey
The Educator Shortage Survey was conducted from Aug. 13 to Nov. 1, 2025, with 100% of Mississippi’s traditional public school districts completing the survey.
Results show there were 6,907 vacancies among teachers, administrators and school support staff across the state as of Nov. 1. Compared to the 2024-25 school year, this is an increase of 1,747 vacancies.
The numbers of vacancies from previous years were 5,503 in 2021-22, 4,988 in 2022-23, 5,012 in 2023-24 and 5,160 in 2024-25. Mississippi teachers received pay raises in school years 2021-22 and 2022-23, and vacancies decreased during that time. College students who were unconditionally admitted to an approved traditional educator preparation program under the licensure testing suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic were not subject to meeting the testing requirement through Dec. 31, 2023, and may have contributed to the fewer vacancies.
Compared to last year, vacancies increased by 851 among teachers and by 56 among other K-12 licensed educators (library/media, counselors and speech language positions). Vacancies increased by 128 among administrators (principals and assistant principals) and by 712 among K-12 support staff such as teacher assistants, nurses, custodians, bus drivers, food service staff and administrative assistants. Among the state’s four Congressional Districts, vacancies increased the most in District Two at 436, while District One had the smallest increase in vacancies at 84.
Based on survey results, the following educator workforce challenges and aligned strategies have been determined as follows: |
