At MSSU career fair, teacher shortage on everyone's mind

Feb. 22—For future teachers and school district recruiters at Wednesday's Missouri Southern State University's Education Career Fair, the Missouri teacher shortage was a central concern. Both had their own ideas on how to address the shortage, but all had hope for the future.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education data shows that 40.5% of Missouri teachers are leaving their school districts after three years. The Institute of Education Sciences, a research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, estimates that half of all public schools in the country had an average of three teacher vacancies in the 2020-21 school year.

Also, Missouri ranks 50th in the nation for the average teacher starting salary, paying new educators an average of $33,234, according to the National Education Association.

The fair is hosted annually by MSSU Career Services, in partnership with the Teacher Education Academic Department. This was one of the highest-attended recruiting events this year with 46 school districts, said Alex Gandy, director of career services at MSSU. Districts from places such as Parsons, Wichita, Fayetteville, Jefferson City as well as most area school districts set up tables to recruit students and recent graduates.

LaDonna McClain, curriculum director for the McDonald County School District, was at the career fair recruiting in the competitive environment. She said the district had recruited the fair prior to COVID-19, but it's been awhile since they've been back. She was excited to get back into the arena and actively talk to students about her district.

"There's some struggles in different areas in trying to fill positions," McClain said. "These things are important for that because we get to go out and see the students who are coming through, talk to them and try to get some of these positions filled."

COVID-19 and online learning was tough for students and teachers, McClain said, and has led to some of the district shortages. They've also struggled to find teachers in certain areas like special education, math and science.

Teacher salaries have always been a hot topic across the country, McClain said. She knows teachers work hard to go above and beyond, using their own funds and time for their jobs. Her school board is committed to increasing salaries, with a 9% increase over the last three years.

McClain said new teachers are critical to easing the teacher shortage. It's also important to support those teachers once they join a district through things like mentoring programs.

"We love new teachers," McClain said. "We love that they bring new ideas and new thoughts. I think it's important to our profession."

Across the MSSU ballroom, Zach Staples, principal of Sarcoxie Middle High School, which serves students in grades 7 through 12, was also recruiting new teachers. He said his district has been lucky to be able to fill positions. But it has had to get creative in some of their ways to do that, like seeking alternative routes to certification at times.

"We are definitely seeing not as many students come out at career fairs," Staples said. "We're having to work harder and be more creative to find teachers."

Sarcoxie recently implemented a four-day school week, which allows teachers more time with their families and gives teachers who live farther away less travel time.

As a small school, it is not always able to pay as much as the larger districts. The shorter week gives it a distinct advantage to finding quality teachers, Staples said. He expressed concern over discussion in the state Legislature over mandating a five-day school week.

Staples also recognizes new teachers are key to solving the shortage. Another creative recruitment tool is the Future Teachers Association, which identifies and encourages high school students interested in teaching. Additionally, Sarcoxie has a Come Back Kids grant that gives scholarships to students who agree to come back to Sarcoxie to teach. It's key for targeting students who have a tie to the community early in their careers.

"These kids love our school and want to be a teacher there," Staples said. "That's one thing we want to focus on. We've had a number of former students come back who are excellent teachers, who are great for our kids and they understand our community."

Among the students loaded down with informational folders, cups, pens and stress balls was Bridgett Dillingham, a senior at MSSU. She graduates in May and is looking to teach English in high school.

Dillingham said she's focused on student success in her career and is most excited to build a relationship with her students.

As a new teacher, Dillingham said salary doesn't play a huge role in her decision. She came into teaching to give back to her students, rather than the money. A bigger issue for her is strong support from parents and the community, a common concern cited by teachers in the shortage.

"I think the more positive the community support, the better," Dillingham said. "It helps with me being comfortable, with the students being comfortable and with us working together to help the students achieve their goals."

Emily Garcia is a MSSU senior also graduating in May. Currently a student teacher at Carl Junction, she recently accepted a job with the Joplin School District. She attended the career fair to support her friends and talked about her job search.

During her search, Garcia looked for a family atmosphere in a district and a supportive administration. Teacher salary didn't play a major role in her decision, since she expects support from her fiance once they're married. At the same time, she hears from her friends that salary is a concern, and that a pay increase would definitely help with the shortage.

"You are pouring yourself into this profession," Garcia said. "If you go into teaching, it's because you care about the kids, you want to inspire the younger generations. You end up giving so much of yourself to this profession. If you don't get paid enough, sometimes it's not worth it."

Garcia said another key is giving teachers more time during the day for their curriculum, development and grade assignments. At Carl Junction, things like block schedules give teachers opportunities during the school day for those duties so they're not using up their own time.

"I think that's really important, to give teachers that time during the day," Garcia said. "If they don't have that and they're doing stuff at night during their free time, I think that's why a lot of teachers burn out."

With districts trying to find both obvious and creative solutions to the shortage, like pay increases and local recruiting, both recruiters and students expressed hope for the future of the teaching profession.

"I think you're seeing us come out of that arena with a breath of fresh air, trying to get our feet back under us," McClain said. "Hopefully, by doing some of these things, we'll get more students into the districts that we have."