New Visions-Issues Related to Teacher Recruitment

Analysts project that in the next ten years, the nation will need 2.2 million new K-12 teachers. Among these will be many foreign language teachers. Failure to anticipate and meet this need will place the future of our profession at risk. Therefore, we feel it is our professional and individual responsibility to be active in the recruitment of foreign language teachers now. However, this should not be a solitary task. We must speak through a unified profession at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Our recruits should come from varied backgrounds that represent the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity of our society at large. Solutions must be sought through multiple avenues such as foreign language professional organizations, the pre-K to 16+ education system, and society at large.

By forging alliances and establishing networks, we will initiate a unified, common response to the foreign language teacher shortage crisis. We feel strongly that well-planned foreign language teacher recruitment is essential to the future of our profession.

B. Beyond the educational domain, we propose to:

This list of issues is by no means exhaustive, and we welcome you to provide your own feedback. The primary goal of our discussion is to create an open environment in which everybody is encouraged to bring forward his or her invaluable experience as an educator.