Tarsky seeks to train more teachers

Needham Observer: by Kay Matipa, March 11, 2026

As a nationwide teacher shortage challenges schools’ abilities to staff classrooms, Needham — which has done well to-date — is beginning to feel the effects of fewer educators. State Representative Josh Tarsky (formerly a local high school principal) has long been concerned about the profession of teaching, and recently introduced new legislation designed to bolster Massachusetts’ teacher workforce.

If passed, the TEACH-MA Act would introduce a statewide program designed to recruit, certify and retain teachers committed to three years of service in Massachusetts public schools. Program fellows would be placed in high-need districts and hard-to-fill subject areas, and provided mentorship, a stipend and the promise of a reduced-cost master’s degree upon completion.

With high rates of teachers leaving the profession, and fewer entering it than in years past, recent researchindicates the teaching profession is at or near its lowest levels in 50 years. 

The Learning Policy Institute, a non-profit conducting research on educational policy and practice, analyzed state-level data from the most recent school years and found that, nationally, more than 410,000 teaching positions — one in eight — were left vacant or filled by under-certified teachers. 

LPI also found that even as more educators are leaving (less than one-fifth because of retirement), interest in teaching has dropped.

“It actually became very real to me last spring when I was at my niece’s Boston College graduation,” said Alexandra Montes McNeil, assistant superintendent for human resources at Needham Public Schools. “The number of people graduating from the School of Ed was so small, like a fourth of the number of people graduating from the business school; and I was like, ‘Wow, it used to be the opposite.’” 

TEACH-MA is born from Tarsky’s own frustrations as a former educator faced with staffing shortages. 

“A school shouldn’t be put in a position where they have to compromise on core subjects or any subjects at all,” he said. “So this bill hopes to relieve some of that stress that schools, principals, administrators are feeling across the Commonwealth by providing an alternate pipeline for recruitment, certification, job placement, and then some additional goodies that we filtered into the bill.”

Tarsky hopes this piece of legislation, filed in his first term as a state representative, will become a prestigious program that sets a model for other states and, ultimately, for the nation. 

Responsibility for the program would largely fall on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), he said. Teachers interested in the program — Tarsky hopes for a cohort of around 50 the first year — would apply in the fall, be accepted in the spring and attend a five-week summer program. Following the summer program, which would certify them in their subject area, they would be placed in a high-need school in the Commonwealth and assigned a mentor. The following two summers, participants would attend more summer programming. Upon completion of the program in the third year, they would be offered a reduced rate master’s degree from a UMass school. 

“It makes access to the field easier, it provides them with robust training, and also finds ways to make it in their best interest to stay in the field,” said Tarsky. “People that do this and try it often fall in love with it, so we just got to find ways to get them excited about that, get them into it.”  

The bill is currently unique. A deep-dive with the House of Representative’s legal counsel found nothing comparable that was state-sponsored, Tarsky said.

“I drew up this idea, presented it to them, we got it into bill form and then pushed it through the Legislature, and it’s currently sitting with the rules committee now waiting to be assigned a committee.”

After being assigned a committee, TEACH-MA will be assigned a hearing date and go to vote within the committee. It will then be assigned to Ways & Means (the tax-writing committee), be put to a floor vote and sent to the Senate side, before landing on the governor’s desk to be signed.

Montes McNeil, actively involved with four education-centered state organizations, says conversations around teacher shortages are not new. Tarsky echoed this, noting that an alternate pipeline is “sorely needed” for schools seeking qualified teachers.

“There’s just been a lot of teachers who have left the profession, both recently because of the pandemic and also because of factors like burnout,” said Tarsky. 

Reasons for leaving range from financial motivation to disinterest in teaching as a career.

In 2018, the PDK Poll (released annually with data on the public’s view of national education) found that, for the first time in years, a majority of parents surveyed said they did not want their children to become teachers. Rationale included low salaries, difficult working conditions and a lack of career pathway opportunities.

“People aren’t thinking of education as a potential pathway that will allow them, you know, the independence and the monetary awards that they believe are the metrics of success,” Montes McNeil said. As a result, she added, children do not see education as a potential career.

Montes McNeil pushes back on the perception that education cannot be a sustainable career.

“I’m the primary breadwinner in my family, and have been for quite some time,” she said.

As the pool of candidates entering the field of education has gotten smaller, competition for those candidates’ attention has grown. This, said Montes McNeil, increases the difficulty of filling teaching positions.

International individuals hoping to teach may experience additional barriers, she added. NPS world language teachers in particular, she said, have been challenged by the process of getting their diplomas from other countries validated to the equivalency of a bachelor’s degree.

“The testing can [also] be biased, and can limit the access for certain populations of people who would like to go into education,” said Montes McNeil. 

Despite the teacher shortage, Needham has done well, she said, adding, “And yet it is getting harder for us. The pools are not as wide, certainly; when someone goes on leave, it’s harder to fill those positions.”

Tarsky hopes to have support and movement around TEACH-MA by next session, January 2027.

If all goes well, the bill is passed, a director chosen and the first cohort created, he believes public schools could begin feeling its effects as early as 2030. Currently, Tarsky said, he is just “building buzz” — gaining support from advocacy groups, peers in the House and Senate, teachers unions, etc.

“I will push hard for this. I think it’s a good bill, and I think it would ease some of the pains currently happening in the education sector,” said Tarsky. “And the bottom line is … we need to get excitement around the field of education, right? We need to attract young, passionate educators into the field. And really at its core, that’s what this bill is trying to do.”

In the interim, NPS continues to draw teachers on its own: a new contract offers competitive pay, staff supports exist for those with infants, reimbursement encourages continued learning, mentorship is available, and individuals such as Montes McNeil continue to leverage networks and university connections for opportunities like discounted coursework.

“For the last several years, I’ve also sought out funding through DESE, for recruitment and retention of diverse staff in particular,” Montes McNeil said.

Efforts to organize more opportunities at the high school level for students to come alongside other students aim to plant seeds of interest in education.

“Why not?” she emphasized. “The most rewarding work I’ve done is teaching.”

She does not believe these efforts, both local and on larger stages, will be in vain.

“I think we’re ripe for a resurgence, given all the attention that’s being given to it,” Montes McNeil said. “And I certainly hope there is one, because we need excellent, well-trained and able teachers in our schools.”