WAUNAKEE, Wis. — Across Wisconsin, first-year teachers are stepping up to the plate amid a teacher shortage.

Sofia Vandersluis graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the spring. She’s going to be a fourth-grade teacher at Heritage Elementary in Waunakee this year.

“[That age] is really about expanding their interests more so than learning the foundations,” she said. “You get to see a little more of who they are and get to drive their interests forward.”

Like so many people in the field, she has family ties to education.

“My mom was a math teacher in the Milwaukee area,” Vandersluis said. “It’s a really creative, on-your-feet kind of field.”

She said she’s a little nervous to be in charge of her own classroom. However, she said she’s most excited for one thing: her students.

“Meeting my kids, that’s gonna be a really fun part of getting to know them,” she said.

So much of her preparation for the school year has involved sitting on her computer and learning the curriculum.

“I’m really excited in fourth grade to do a lot of our Wisconsin state history stuff,” Vandersluis said. “I think that will be really fun to dive into the state that they all live in and are growing up in, and to learn what Wisconsin is all about.”

However, it’s a tough time to be a teacher. Data shows three quarters of teachers feel they’re underpaid, and some are leaving the field early. There are teacher shortages all over the country, including here in Wisconsin.

That didn’t deter Vandersluis.

“The people I’ve met through my teacher education classes and practicum student teaching placements have really solidified why I think it’s the career for me,” she said. “It’s a really kind profession with people who are trying to make a positive impact on the world.”

According to UW-Madison data, from 2019 to 2020, about 2,600 students were enrolled in the school’s education college. Now, it’s up to those who have graduated to step up and fill the gaps.