Teachers New and Few: How the District is Dealing with Shortages

By Amya King

News Feature Editor

October 2022

Illustration by Janicza Rosas Nunez

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, nationwide teacher shortages have been at an all time high. Schools, such as Beloit Memorial, are being affected by the short staff phenomenon now more than ever.

For instance, the math department is currently understaffed by three teachers. One of these positions was being covered by a long-term substitute teacher, Darin Dunphy, who was licensed to teach English. When he left, assistant principal Ken Davis stepped in.

"I feel upset because right as I was starting to understand the work, he left," said freshman Stefany Zamora. "As much as Mr. Dunphy was strict, I was beginning to understand what he was teaching."

This shortage is caused, in part, by trends in career choices. According to a Pew Research article on teacher shortages, college students are straying away from the education field.

The path to becoming a teacher is not easy. In order to get an education degree, students need a student teaching semester.

First year English teacher Sage Green addressed how student teachers aren't paid despite all the work they do in the classroom.

"This makes it harder for education majors to succeed because they are expected to teach for free on top of paying their own tuition."

Teacher shortages have led to staff members having to sub for other classes during their prep time when teachers are gone.

Tim Rockhold, one of the new social studies teachers, stated, "The shortage makes it hard for teachers to maintain planning and prep time."

Rockhold added that lack of teachers makes it harder for students and staff to make connections as the more teachers there are, the larger pool there is for students to meet a teacher that they can tether with.

One reason for the shortage is, quite simply, low pay.

According to Sylvia A. Allegreto, a research associate who was interviewed in the Washington Post’s article on teacher shortages, “Surveys report that some college students would like to go into teaching but say the pay is too low and falling behind more and more compared to that of other professions they could choose.”

Christopher LaBrie, a business teacher, disclosed that teacher salaries are relatively flat compared to inflation. He is worried that in three to four years, as the general cost of living increases, fewer people will want to become teachers as the pay would start to become unsustainable.

This has been an ongoing trend. As stated in an article in The Hill, "…teachers’ weekly wages have remained relatively flat for the past 25 years."

Due to inflation, teacher wages not growing would inevitably bar people from becoming teachers because they are not earning enough to live comfortably and not nearly enough to match the work they have to do in and out of the classroom.

To confront this, the district provides new teachers with mentors. This program provides new teachers with an opportunity to work with and learn from experienced educators for their first three years. The hope is that the mentor-mentee program can make teachers confident in their abilities, as well as support them in a way that help them feel less overwhelmed.

According to Stella Lehane, an English teacher with three years of experience in Beloit, the mentor-mentee program has given her the opportunity to learn from more experienced teachers. Even little things such as asking how to work technology or how to plan around curriculum yearly have positively affected her workplace environment.

Similarly, Green also is a mentee of this program. She stated that having a mentor has allowed her to ask questions and receive encouraging feedback, which played an important role in her adapting to the school.

In addition, the district offers a scholarship to draw in educators, the Grow Your Own Scholarship, a program funded by Beloit teachers and administrators. It helps fund high school graduates who are passionate about becoming teachers and want to return to the Beloit School District after college to pursue those dreams.

According to the Beloit Daily News, Evelyn Cortes-Rodriguez, a current teacher at Todd Elementary, was passionate about teaching when she was in high school. Due to the Grow Your Own Scholarship, she was able to pursue her education degree with less difficulty.

Cortes-Rodriguez stated, “I feel like it’s a really good opportunity for them because they [get] to go to college and then come back here and teach—it is mind blowing.”

Another way the district is supporting students who want to go into education is through early college credit programs.

Rachel Shepherd, an education teacher, gives students an opportunity to earn 15 college credits while in high school. Shepard offers many classes such as Child Development, Foundations of Education, and Early Childhood one, two and three.

Students who take any of these education programs have the opportunity to learn and gain credits from Blackhawk and UW Whitewater as well as gain some assistant teaching experience. Some students, like senior Azariea Roby, have taken all of the courses on offer.

This early exposure to the education field has been fundamental for students who are struggling financially as they can gain college credits at a low price. It also benefits students who want early experience so they can start being teachers as soon as possible after graduation.

Furthermore, the district announced a salary agreement earlier this year that is aimed to keep experienced teachers as well as gain new teachers by providing a higher base salary that grows over time.

When it comes to student teachers not being paid, Deb Prowse, who organizes career planning, proposed the idea that, ¨Student teachers should be paid a decent amount as well as work year-round rather than one semester.¨

She believes that by doing this, more people would want to go through the education field as well as gain more of the overall experience from student teaching to help them have a smooth transition into full time employment.

The most immediate solution to the teacher shortage, though, is getting young people excited about teaching. For senior Emma Pentecost, that happened through a course she took last year called Early Childhood Education, She had never thought of teaching as a career option until she gained experience from teaching kindergarteners first hand. She described the experience as life changing.

She said, “Teachers chose this job to make a difference in kids’ lives.”