Without COVID waiver for licensure exams, teachers in ‘critical shortage areas’ are struggling again to get certified

Jennifer Allen has wanted to be a teacher since high school. She admired her social studies and English teachers especially. After four years studying elementary education at Delta State University and a full-time teaching position in a local district her senior year, she felt she had cleared all the important hurdles to becoming a certified teacher in Mississippi.Skylar Ball poses for a photograph as part of her graduation festivities at Blue Mountain Christian University, May 8, 2024, in Blue