NATION STRUGGLES TO FIND TEACHERS by Janina R. Williams
A new web site focusing on education and employment says districts nationwide
are struggling with how to fill countless teaching spots.
According
to Debrah Vilchis, the vice president of the technology division at Fishman
Public Relations Inc. for "schooljobs.com", school districts
are sending people to job fairs and placing advertisements in newspapers,
but the shortage still exists.
This
is not the situation in Central Illinois. According to John Hedeman, the
principal and director at University High School, there is not a shortage
of teachers. Still, the pool of applicants has gotten smaller over the
last two or three years. "In any case, high quality teachers are
still filling the positions necessary," Hedeman said.
Shortages
of educators are most apparent from kindergarten through 12th grade, said
Mark Schulman, the co-founder of schooljobs.com. He said both private
and public schools are experiencing a problem with a lack of educators.
Schools
have been forced to double up on teachers, Vilchis said. Instead of 20
students in a classroom, there are now 40 students in a classroom in some
areas.
In
January 2000, The Urban Teacher Challenge Report released by Recruiting
New Teachers Inc., stated "almost 100 percent of the nation's major
urban school districts have an urgent need for teachers in at least one
high-need subject area. Special education, science, math and bilingual
teachers are needed." An underestimated 2 million slots remain unfilled
before the coming school year, according to schooljobs.com. This might
be due to the rising enrollment and aging teaching force, a schooljobs.com
press release said.
According
to the U.S. Department of Education, by the year 2006 America will need
to educate almost 3 million more children than today. The government is
currently distributing funds that total over $1.3 billion for the 2000-2001
school year to support new teacher recruitment.
Vilchis
thinks there are two reasons why there is a problem recruiting educators.
First, school districts experiencing shortages do not know how to recruit
individuals, and college graduates are finding employment that is economically
favorable. Second, there are not enough people in the job market looking
for employment in education. According to Schulman, there are not enough
people majoring in education.
“The
field of education is much less glamorous than other occupations, and
qualified individuals are having a hard time finding work,” Schulman
said. “This is because people do not know which jobs exist.”
Finding
effective and inexpensive ways to advertise for educators can be difficult,
Schulman said. This is why Hedeman advertises through the University,
regional newspapers, other publications and the Internet. Schooljobs.com
markets opportunities by offering an inexpensive website to those who
wish to utilize its resources.
Published in the Daily Illini, Champaign, IL.
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