Across the country another school year has begun — or will start within the next few weeks — but a growing crisis, especially in rural areas, is teacher shortages, with some school districts struggling to fill positions in time for the first day of school.
In McDowell County, West Virginia — one of the poorest counties in a poor state — there are still about a dozen full-time teaching positions that have to be filled before the first day of school on Aug. 18, reports the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. School Supt. Nelson Spencer, who said about 40 teachers resigned over the summer, said "substitutes may be the board’s best option."
Many school districts in Nebraska started school today with positions still not filled, reports Nebraska Radio Network. Ted Hillman, superintendent for the Boyd and Lynch school district, told the network, “The Nebraska legislature and local schools have worked hard to maintain what they feel are attractive beginning salaries, especially for young people, to come to Nebraska, but it’s no secret, the folks in Iowa will pay better, the folks in Minnesota will pay better.”
Perhaps, but Willmar Public Schools in Minnestota are struggling to fill about a dozen openings with school starting in less than two weeks, Linda Vanerwerf reports for the West Central Tribune. The problem isn't just isolated to Willmar, but throughout the state. "In a letter to the Minnesota Department of Education early this year, the federal government acknowledged teacher shortages in the state in a long list of specialties, including agricultural education, mathematics, sciences, career-related training, many areas of special education, reading, English as a second language, and world languages and cultures."
Rural districts in Arizona are also facing shortages, and it's a trend that could continue for years, Steve Shadley reports for KJZZ 91.5. Katie Rogerson of Tucson Values Teachers, a group that asked more than 1,400 teachers in southern Arizona if they expect to still be teaching in five years, told Shadley, "27 percent are saying they are not likely to be teaching, and then you’ve got an additional 37 percent say they aren’t sure. So, when you combine those two you are looking at well over 60 percent and that’s really shocking.”
In McDowell County, West Virginia — one of the poorest counties in a poor state — there are still about a dozen full-time teaching positions that have to be filled before the first day of school on Aug. 18, reports the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. School Supt. Nelson Spencer, who said about 40 teachers resigned over the summer, said "substitutes may be the board’s best option."
Many school districts in Nebraska started school today with positions still not filled, reports Nebraska Radio Network. Ted Hillman, superintendent for the Boyd and Lynch school district, told the network, “The Nebraska legislature and local schools have worked hard to maintain what they feel are attractive beginning salaries, especially for young people, to come to Nebraska, but it’s no secret, the folks in Iowa will pay better, the folks in Minnesota will pay better.”
Perhaps, but Willmar Public Schools in Minnestota are struggling to fill about a dozen openings with school starting in less than two weeks, Linda Vanerwerf reports for the West Central Tribune. The problem isn't just isolated to Willmar, but throughout the state. "In a letter to the Minnesota Department of Education early this year, the federal government acknowledged teacher shortages in the state in a long list of specialties, including agricultural education, mathematics, sciences, career-related training, many areas of special education, reading, English as a second language, and world languages and cultures."
Rural districts in Arizona are also facing shortages, and it's a trend that could continue for years, Steve Shadley reports for KJZZ 91.5. Katie Rogerson of Tucson Values Teachers, a group that asked more than 1,400 teachers in southern Arizona if they expect to still be teaching in five years, told Shadley, "27 percent are saying they are not likely to be teaching, and then you’ve got an additional 37 percent say they aren’t sure. So, when you combine those two you are looking at well over 60 percent and that’s really shocking.”
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