Earning a high school diploma, let alone a college degree, once seemed like an unattainable goal to Reyna Gómez Tippetts. Growing up in Mexico, she lived with her single mother in a shack with a dirt floor and cardboard walls. There was little time to dream.

But dream she did. Tippetts came to the United States at age 20, securing a part-time custodial job at Lone Star College's East Aldine campus. It would be the beginning of a remarkable educational journey—and a testament to the human spirit.

 

Divine Justice Hilliard, 24, was in college when she participated in a program designed for single parents. While the effort provided assistance for campus housing and childcare for her now elementary-school-aged child, she graduated with almost $70,000 in student loan debt. 

Now, with the end of the U.S. student debt repayment pause, people like Hilliard who parented while in college say they cannot afford to prioritize paying their loans back.

 

Last year’s back-to-school headlines were dominated by concerns about teacher shortages. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict that, without meaningful policy changes, staffing challenges will continue to undermine U.S. education and shortchange the country’s students. 

As it turns out, the future of the teaching workforce may depend on where you live. A new state-by-state analysis offers important insight.