Shortage of male teachers in U.S. persists

Chris Saltalamacchio had all female teachers at his Long Island, New York, elementary school until he reached the fifth grade. “I was kind of freaked out about the idea of having a male teacher,” he remembers. So Saltalamacchio could understand why one of the first–graders he now teaches at Cecil Manor Elementary School in Elkton, Md., had her mom call the school office this summer after she saw his name on her class assignment. Nationally, only about 16% of public elementary school teachers are men, according to 2004 figures from the National Center for Education Statistics. Read about the shortage of male teachers at The News Journal's website.