NEWBERG SCHOOLS WORKING OVERTIME TO FILL OPEN TEACHER VACANCIES
More than half of all public schools in the country reported being understaffed at the start of the 2022-23 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics
NEWBERG, Oregon (February 23, 2023) – Recent teaching and staff vacancies in the Newberg School District have brought a renewed focus on a problem vexing educators everywhere: Good help is still very difficult to find.
The issue of teaching vacancies and a shortage of qualified candidates to fill them, is not a challenge faced only in the Newberg Schools. National statistics show that Newberg’s dilemma, while difficult and certainly stressful, is a familiar one for schools nationwide.* This predicament is requiring school human resource administrators to get creative in solving this unprecedented surge in teacher vacancies.
*More than half of all public schools in the U.S. reported that they were understaffed at the start of the 2022-23 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the research arm of the Education Department. Of the schools surveyed, 69% reported their primary challenge was too few teacher candidates applying for open positions.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN ON TEACHER SHORTAGES
“It is unfair, and possibly dishonest, to say that it's only happening here in Newberg.,” Dr. Stephen Phillips, Newberg Superintendent, reported to the district’s Board of Directors at its February meeting. In his remarks to the Board, he said he had received a letter from a district resident which was critical of the way the district has handled its teacher shortage.
“It is our reality as it is many other districts’ realities that we are having a hard time finding great quality people.” Dr. Phillips said.. “I don't think pointing fingers and laying blame here is the solution. I think being positive, and promoting our district is the solution. We are grateful for the staff who stayed. We need to focus on them and be grateful for them.”
“The majority of public schools are starting the new school year feeling understaffed, particularly in areas like special education, transportation, and mental health,” National Center for Education Statistics Commissioner Peggy Carr said. “And while many schools say that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more challenging to fill positions, 20 percent of schools say that they were already understaffed before the pandemic began.”
“These data points are critical,” she said, “for understanding challenges our public schools are facing, allowing policymakers to provide timely assistance to help our students and educators in areas where it is needed.”
In Newberg schools, there was significant turnover from staffing levels of the 2021-2022 school year. Coupled with a change in leadership in the superintendent’s office and other key administrative changes, district personnel officials were scrambling to fill open positions even as the 2022-2023 school year began.
Across the nation, special education and math teaching positions continue to be among the most difficult positions to fill - 78% and 75% of schools reporting that it was either “very” or “somewhat difficult,” respectively, to hire fully certified teachers in those areas. The most difficult non-teaching staff positions to fill were transportation staff and custodial staff, with 94% and 84% of schools reporting it was either “very” or “somewhat difficult” to hire staff in these areas, respectively.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona called the teacher shortage a “crisis of respect” and said no one should be surprised to see the pipeline of educators drying up given how little teachers are compensated for the work they do.
He added that their average weekly wages have increased just $29 after adjusting for inflation since 1996.
“If we’re serious about addressing the teacher shortage issues, we must first address the teacher respect issue,” he told US News and World Report. “That means first and foremost paying our teachers a livable wage.”
According to a USA Today analysis of the current national teacher shortage, every school system is getting creative. Among some of the tactics:
- Nevada students started school in August 2022 with a shortage of over 1400 Teachers.
- Florida is recruiting military Veterans to teach without a license to help the Teacher shortage and Polk County has hired 60 international Teachers.
- Georgia is attempting to recruit retired Teachers – with little success
- New Jersey is implementing a pilot program to allow individuals with workforce experience to pursue a Teaching Certificate even if the candidates don’t have the grades or higher education requirements
- Texas’ rural school districts are implementing a 4-day school week to alleviate the Teacher shortage. Houston, TX had at one time this year more than 2200 teaching vacancies.
- New York City announced new investments into its education system to help remedy the teacher shortage. From large incentives to recruit retired educators and those who left the profession to accelerating the teacher certification process and providing school districts with billions in funding.
- Daly City, California is offering affordable housing to their Teachers with greatly reduced rent prices
- School districts across the country are planning to spend billions on staff retention, attrition, bonuses, and pay increases.
To help fill vacancies, “Districts and states across the U.S. are experimenting to address stubborn vacancies, establishing or expanding programs that remove some of the hoops people traditionally have to jump through to become a teacher,” USA Today wrote on January 22, 2023.
The pipeline of incoming educators continues to dwindle, a trend it has been on for many years. College programs report that teacher education enrollments are down by more than a third between 2008 and 2019. The teaching disciplines which saw the steepest drops in fields are ones that are in the greatest demand: math, science, bilingual education, and special education.
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