UT Tyler heads up effort to address teacher shortage

TYLER — Thanks in no small part to the pandemic, the entire country is facing a teacher shortage. And with UT Tyler heading up the effort, educators met Tuesday in Tyler to address what the university’s Dr. Frank Dykes calls “a crisis situation.” The next step is to take information shared at Tuesday’s meeting, assemble a plan, and send it to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board — with an eye on applying for a grant to put the ideas into action. Dykes says the plan will be submitted by the end of September, with hopes for a response by the end of the year. Dykes heads up the university’s School of Education. UT Tyler has already been awarded a $50,000 planning grant from the Coordinating Board.