Dr. Mark Penny, superintendent of Lincoln County R-III in Troy, Missouri, believes every student can find success in public education, no matter their circumstance.
The largest teachers union in the state — representing 39,000 public educators and school staff — says it is seeing a large number of educators who are considering leaving the profession because of low pay, staffing shortages, work load and safety issues — all problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 4,400 teaching positions need to be filled statewide, according to the Florida Department of Education's last count in September. That's double the amount of pre-pandemic openings.
Teachers make an average state salary of $58,000 a year. Several teachers tell News 3 Reporter Antoinette DelBel that even with a 10% raise spread out over two years that the General Assembly passed last session, that isn’t enough to keep up with inflation.
At the moment, school districts are essentially sitting on a gold mine to spend at their discretion, as long as it's used to provide relief in an area that was impacted as a result of the pandemic. But while most suffered some sort of toll—whether in student academics, staffing, or mental health—they've been slow to spend these funds.
Grambling State University’s Call Me MiSTER program and Brothers Empowered to Teach (BE2T) are organizations that recruit and train men of color to become teachers, with the hopes of increasing the number of Black male teachers in U.S. public schools.
"We're actually calling 2024-25 'the bloodletting,'" said Dr. Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. "Public education has not seen a right-sizing, fiscal cliff, whatever you want to call it, of this magnitude at any time in the past, including the last recession. I think it's going to be quite shocking."
In U.S. News' list of the top 100 "Best Jobs," you won't find an education-related job in the top 50. You will, however, find mental health support staff.
The pandemic continues to put a strain on teachers. Many educators tell News 3 they’re putting in extra hours and are burnt out which goes hand-in-hand with the teacher shortage.
