GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As students and teachers head back to school, there’s a looming issue that’s affecting many aspects of the education system – staffing shortages. It’s being felt all across the country, and it’s forcing many districts to get creative.
“Just about every sector of employers are struggling with staffing, and schools are no different,” Dave Rodgers, asst. superintendent for HR and legal services with Kent ISD, said. “As people-based organizations, certainly we rely on proper staffing to provide the classrooms, the programs, the services that our families and students deserve. Where those staffing levels fall short at times, it can become challenging to maintain the level of quality programs and services that our students deserve and that we're committed to.”
“In Muskegon County right now, we have right around 130 school openings. Then you throw in some bus drivers and things, that's a little bit more,” Kelly Powers, associate superintendent for human services with Muskegon Area ISD, said. “For the first time in my career, and I've been in the human resources side of this for quite a few years now, we're competing not just with other schools and other counties, we're competing with other businesses and other industries within our county.”
Across the country, there’s an overwhelming shortage of teachers, bus drivers, food service workers and the list goes on. To mitigate these issues, some districts, like Kent ISD, have started teacher academies where students are training to become teachers.
“It provides an early pathway for high school students in the area to pursue and actively progress toward careers in education, and specifically teaching,” Rodgers said. “We've got some great data for those that have been through that first cohort. That's really promising, and we're looking to grow that program.”
Other districts are taking a different approach, by ramping up their recruiting efforts. Muskegon Area ISD recently hosted a job fair, hoping to fill some of the vacancies.
“We're constantly recruiting. It's a never-ending cycle,” Powers said. “Anybody who has really 60 credits or more, an Associate’s degree, Bachelor's degree, etc., talk to your school and give me a call. We can help you if you want to become a sub. There are so many other jobs that we have, whether it's food service or maintenance, so many different components to the education machine, and we offer fantastic training for anyone who wants to get involved. We still have great benefits, we have good salaries, we have retirement options. There's a lot of things that schools still provide.”
Jackson County ISD recently made headlines for offering teachers a $10,000 sign on bonus and student loan forgiveness. There’s also new legislation that Powers said might help incentivize people and help with the ongoing staffing issues.
“One of the things coming out is for those going into education, student teachers. There's discussion that the state will offer stipends to help student teachers,” Powers said. “And there's some new retirement legislation. In the past, retirees were limited as to what they could earn as a retiree. That has changed, and so there are going to be efforts to see if we can get some of those folks back in to help on a temporary basis.”
Part-time and full-time jobs are available, and districts are offering competitive pay. Powers said the best way to help with staffing issues is simply by getting involved.
“I've been in education, this is my 33rd year, and what a great profession and great opportunity to serve kids, and today I get to serve a lot of adults. It's been fantastic,” Powers said. “We're all recruiting the same pool of candidates, but we offer good stuff, and we offer kids which is awesome.”
To view the job openings in Kent ISD, click here. To see what’s available in Muskegon Area ISD, click here.
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