National teacher shortage hits Weymouth schools

WEYMOUTH – After starting the school year with more than a dozen open positions, school administrators say the district is close to filling all remaining vacancies.

Superintendent Robert Wargo told the school committee that the district started the school year with more than a dozen open positions, mostly at Weymouth High School and Chapman Middle School.

“This is not new news, but it is tough finding qualified educators out there right now,” Wargo said. “We will continue down that path to ensure kids have the right people in front of them, but not all of our positions are filled.”

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Across the country, two-thirds of public school superintendents say overall vacancies are higher this year than last, according to a survey by the American Association of School Administrators.

The association said COVID-19 exacerbated an existing shortage of educators, many of whom left the field due to the stress of the pandemic. Districts also added positions to meet the growing needs of students, therefore increasing the demand for educators.

In Weymouth, Wargo said the district has filled many positions since the start of the year, including support and teaching jobs.

Substitute teachers are covering two open teaching jobs at the high school. Wargo said the substitutes are given daily lesson plans so students are following the curriculum and starting to dig into the content of the course.

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He said ensuring students at least have proper supervision and are safe is the top priority.

"Is it the best solution? No. Is the solution we have right now? Yes," he said. "It's not something we’re thrilled about, but it's the nature of the beast and that's where we find ourselves."

At Chapman Middle School, Wargo said a special education aide and an education support role were still unfilled as of last week.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Weymouth works to fill open school jobs at middle and high schools