HELP WANTED | Educators ‘stretched, but not breaking’ amid Valley school staffing shortage
[Editor’s note: This is the first of our multipart series “Help Wanted,” in which Mahoning Matters will review labor shortages in Mahoning County’s top employment sectors, focusing on jobs that are difficult to fill, have high turnover or are otherwise in high demand. Nationwide, 4.3 million people quit their jobs in December 2021 alone, according to federal data. This first report focuses on education; others will focus on manufacturing, health care and other sectors. Have something to say about local employment rates or in-demand jobs? Email us at news@mahoningmatters.com or call us toll-free at 888-655-1012.]
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Teachers union leaders say the coronavirus pandemic has left educators stretched thin and burned out and contributed to record shortages, specifically for substitute teachers and special education aides.
“I’ve had 32 resignations, just in [substitute teachers], and it’s out of about 150 of those positions,” said Traci Hostetler, superintendent of the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio. “If 21% of my staff resign, that leaves a giant hole for us.”
The educational service center provides substitute teachers to eight school districts in Mahoning County. Those 32 resignations happened just during the 2020-21 school year, she said.
Although the pandemic has made it more difficult to fill substitute and special education aide positions, this challenge is not new to educators, Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association teachers union, said during a media briefing in January.
More than 548,000 substitute teachers were employed in 2012. That number dropped to 480,000 in 2019 and nearly 415,000 in 2020, Pringle said.
In the Mahoning Valley, there were about 3,200 fewer workers in the education and health services sector in December, compared with two years prior, when employment in that sector was at a 10-year high, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Pringle said experts now forecast annual shortfalls of more than 100,000 teachers nationwide, due to low pay, stress and working conditions made more challenging by COVID-19.
“The burden of virtual teaching, the loss of loved ones, mental health challenges. … All of it has intensified these shortages — especially for substitutes and teachers,” she said.
Fifty-five percent of the 3,600 union teachers polled for the NEA in January 2022 by a Democratic research firm said they are more likely to leave their jobs or retire sooner than planned because of COVID-19.
Only 28% of educators polled in July 2020 said they were more likely to leave or retire sooner, the survey reported.
Some Boardman Local Schools teachers have resigned in the middle of the school year due to pandemic-related burnout and stress, Superintendent Tim Saxton said.
“Usually people will finish their contract, and I’ve never had that. … Educators don’t do that,” he said. “They may retire early, but leave in the middle of the year. … I’ve never seen that [before].”
Saxton said he along with other school district employees have filled in for classrooms without available teachers or substitutes.
“We were so short on substitutes. … [the director of instruction] and myself went into [a special education] classroom and subbed for the day,” he said. “Our director of operations served in the cafeteria lines serving food, and you just do what you have to do.”
Saxton said the teachers who stay are spread thin. While they’re educating their own students, they’re also trying to cover other classrooms that have no teacher or substitute.
“I compliment our staff because every day there’s a shortage of subs. … They’re stretched, but not breaking,” he said.
Public school teachers are in a similar spot nationwide, Pringle said.
“There are literally not enough staff to keep schools open,” she said. “This is the tragic consequence of decades of underfunding education and short-changing students.”
Pringle said in the short-term, more investments are needed in at-home COVID-19 testing and masks at an equitable and consistent level.
“It means using the critical resources given to states through the American Rescue Plan to address mental health and decrease stress among our educators,” she said. “[It means] investing in infrastructure that keeps our teachers and students safe in the classroom.”
Now taking applications
Craig Hockenberry, Poland Local Schools superintendent, said school officials are doing everything they can to recruit and retain new professionals.
“It’s keeping you up at night,” he said. “We’re doing a lot more than I’ve ever seen in other districts I’ve ever been in. We’re doing a lot to really sell the teaching [and] education profession.”
Rather than focusing on academics or curriculum, Hockenberry said the staffing shortages are now forcing officials to just focus on meeting the most critical needs.
“Every issue has been about: ‘How we are going to feed the kids? Get them to school? Cover the students that are special ed that have to have services.’ … It’s just that, every day,” he said.
The ESC of Eastern Ohio has set a teacher job fair for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 30 at its offices, 7320 N. Palmyra Road, Canfield, behind the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center.
Sixteen local school districts are expected to recruit at the event. They’re seeking recent and upcoming education graduates, credentialed teachers, substitute teachers or substitute candidates.
Hostetler told Mahoning Matters school districts in the county have raised the substitute teacher pay rate from $100 to $110 per day to compensate for the shortfall. That pay rate started Jan. 18, according to a Facebook post.
The following school districts currently pay $110 per day for substitute teachers:
- Austintown Local Schools;
- Boardman Local Schools;
- Campbell City Schools;
- Canfield Local Schools;
- Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio;
- Mahoning County Career and Technical Center;
- Poland Local Schools;
- Struthers City Schools.