KENTUCKY — According to statistics recently shared by Kentucky’s Department of Education Commissioner Doctor Jason Glass, roughly 1 out of every 6 Kentucky teachers leaves the education industry every year.

This churn of education professionals has many school districts feeling the stress of a statewide teacher shortage, as some local superintendents say they’ve seen a decline in applicants for teacher positions.

During a summer presentation to the Interim Joint Education Committee, Glass said 72% of the state’s 42,000 full time teachers are at risk of leaving the profession, either because they’re close to retirement, or because they’re in groups that are more likely to quit: early-career teachers and teachers who have returned to the classroom after a break in service.

Here’s more from the Education commissioner about the ongoing teacher shortage.

"You're seeing schools get open, and I would call it some straining or cracks in staffing systems across the state. We're largely seeing schools opening with the staff that they need. But we're seeing on the teaching profession side, fewer options at the point of hiring so that means schools are less able to be choosy about who they're hiring. We're seeing an increased number of emergency certifications, where you're hiring someone that has doesn't have the background and credentials that a traditionally trained teacher would have. Outside of the teaching profession, we're seeing some shortages and transportation and food service and other other sort of hourly positions that work in schools. Those are always a problem when the economy is really strong education in those those types of positions, we lose some some employees to other fields. But we're really feeling it right now," explains Dr. Glass.

You can watch the full In Focus segment in the player above.