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From Missing Out to Moving Up: Addressing Teacher Shortages in Arkansas

The view from above of students walking through a door and up a flight of stairs.

Arkansas, like many states across the country, is facing teacher shortages and seeking solutions to keep its classrooms fully staffed. Three years ago, TNTP proposed recommendations for Arkansas to address teacher shortages in our report Missing Out: Arkansas’ Teacher Shortage and How to Fix It. 

Since then, Arkansas has implemented our recommendations by sustaining existing and creating new programs, as well as by establishing additional policies in the Literacy, Empowerment, Accountability, Readiness, Networking, and School Safety (LEARNS) Act, signed in March of 2023.  

In our latest report, Moving Up: Promising Strategies to Address Teacher Shortages in Arkansas, we assessed the impact of those programs and policy shifts on the state’s teacher pipelines. We then propose a second set of recommendations to continue this essential effort, building on those from the 2021 report.  

We hope other states and school systems will find useful action steps to address teacher shortages, inspired by Arkansas’ strong start. To learn more, download the full report.  

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Header image: On the left and right, students collaborating in classrooms across Phoenix, AZ. In the center, students participating in student-led programming in Albuquerque, NM

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Reflecting on a year of impact, learning, and working together to ensure all young people have pathways to thriving lives in adulthood.

Imali Ariyarathne, seventh-grade teacher at Langston Hughes Academy, stands in front of her students while introducing them to the captivating world of science

Imali Ariyarathne, seventh-grade teacher at Langston Hughes Academy, introduces her students to the captivating world of science.

About TNTP

TNTP is the nation’s leading research, policy, and consulting organization dedicated to transforming America’s public education system, so that every generation thrives.

Today, we work side-by-side with educators, system leaders, and communities across 39 states and over 6,000 districts nationwide to reach ambitious goals for student success.

Yet the possibilities we imagine push far beyond the walls of school and the education field alone. We are catalyzing a movement across sectors to create multiple pathways for young people to achieve academic, economic, and social mobility.

Learn More About TNTP