The standard rebuttal to teacher shortage claims is a national one: Aggregate supply, measured against aggregate demand, looks roughly balanced. But most of those layoffs are driven by enrollment declines, expiring pandemic relief funds or district budget cuts, not by a sudden surplus of qualified teachers. Ninety percent of teacher demand is driven by attrition, and about two-thirds of teachers leave for reasons other than retirement. Without mentors and peers who understand the struggle, many new teachers leave before they have a chance to succeed. Today, he said, his school district has six teachers from the same program that prepared him.