Proximity to Emporia State University’s Teachers College makes the national teacher shortage a little less worrisome for the Emporia school district. The ESU presence, however, only takes the edge off the problem, it does not solve it.
“Being in a town where there is a college is an advantage to us still,” said M. Theresa Davidson, assistant superintendent of personnel for the Emporia school district. “Some of our ESU graduates look to stay here, and what also attracts some applicants is that they can work on a master’s degree, additional credit hours.”
Davidson said that she has noticed that the number of teacher candidates looking for positions has diminished.
The reduction in the number of new teachers comes as an increasing number of baby boomers are finishing their careers in education.
“I remember a few years ago going to career fairs and the candidates were begging for interviews, and now it’s reversed. It’s the recruiters who are begging for interviews,” she said. “... I think we continue to get some good candidates, but the numbers are not as great as they were in past years.”
As a result, the district is looking at new ways to attract and hire new teachers.
“Competition is such that we’re scrambling to make sure we can hire earlier and in some cases looking at students during their student teaching — or even prior to their student teaching, if they get high recommendations from supervising teachers at universities,” Davidson said.
The district offers a bonus for teachers who, knowing they plan to retire at the end of the year, notify the district well in advance of the end of the school year.
“If they do let us know before Oct. 1, there is a $1,000 bonus for notification,” Davidson said. For each month after that date, the notification is reduced by $250 through January.
An early retirement benefit offered by the district, in addition to the cash bonus, still may be had if notification is made before Feb. 1.
“There are no incentives at that point, but that’s the last day they can still retire and get early retirement benefits from the school district,” she said.
And the earlier the notification, the more time administrators have available to search for new teachers.
The Emporia district as of this week had been notified of nine openings that would be created at the end of the school year.
“I’m not in panic mode at this time,” she said, mentioning that she already has attended a number of career fairs to look for potential candidates.
The shortage extends to administrators, as well as teachers.
“As we have administrators retiring, we have some new young candidates that are hoping to get that first job, but the number of candidates with experience we’re finding is not as great,” she said.
Davidson said that because of changes made by the state in its retirement earnings policies, retired teachers can be hired under certain conditions without affecting their retirement status.
“If we can entice them back into the district, they can now earn up to $20,000,” Davidson said, “so we’re able to take advantage of those retirees.”
Some school districts have gone outside the country to find teachers to fill positions. Wichita school district officials recently announced plans to go to the Philippines in search of qualified teachers. The local district has not needed to consider that drastic action.
“Of course, we’re always looking for teachers who can speak another language,” Davidson said.
The Teachers from Spain program offers an opportunity to bring in Spanish language teachers, and the North Lyon County school district is taking part in that program.
Superintendent Steve Mollach said that Lola Toledo is teaching Spanish at Northern Heights High School. The district is not yet experiencing problems in finding good teachers to replace those who are leaving.
Southern Lyon County Superintendent Mike Argabright said that the district has not yet received any notifications of retirements or resignations. The district needed to hire four teachers for the current year, and some already had been hired when he became superintendent on July 1.
“We have our vacancies filled but the pool of teachers to choose from has significantly dropped. That does create some problems,” Argabright said. “In some cases we have one or two applicants for one positions ... and it’s going to get worse in all areas.”
While school districts worry about the ability to hire new teachers, the growing shortage has created a boon for graduates who have just received their teaching certificates.
Rebecca Brosemer, a new teacher who graduated in December, sees her early graduation as a bonus that gives her more career options.
Brosemer had spent a three-semester process working in classrooms as an intern.
“You’ll get more and more involved in what goes on in the classroom,” she said. “There are not many other colleges that I’m aware of that do a slow progression, where you’re in the classroom full-time.”
The experience helped her better prepare for working in an elementary school classroom and gave her an opportunity to consider the best professional route for her to take.
“I think December graduates almost have an advantage in getting jobs over May graduates,” Brosemer said.
With fewer candidates in the pool, December graduates have opportunities to fill full-time teaching positions that have come open because of illness, spouses accepting jobs out of town, and other reasons that arise unexpectedly.
“You’re able to get those fresh-out-of-the-box teachers like me, get them in the field and get those positions filled and not have to worry about finding long-term substitutes or taking classes out,” she said. “There are plenty of job openings starting in January.”
But choice for this semester would be to substitute teach, even though she also has sent out a couple of job applications for full-time teaching jobs.
Substitute teaching would give her the luxury of time to try out classrooms in different schools and simultaneously hone her classroom management skills.
“You’re going to get to see what kind of classroom you want to have,” she said. “If you graduate in May, you only get to see a few different classrooms. I find that substitute teaching is going to be more valuable to me in the long run than if I were to get a (full-time) job.”
The national teacher shortage also has provided some choices Brosemer might not have had 10 years ago. As she attended career fairs, she saw representatives from a number of other states, as far away as Tennessee.
“So, Emporia State graduates aren’t just limited to Kansas,” she said.