KANSAS CITY, MO (KMOX) - A record number of school districts in the United States are facing a teacher shortage. That's according to school administration software company Frontline Education. A Missouri teacher who spent more than four decades in education says a lot has changed in her profession.
Shirley Hansell tells KMBZ, one of the biggest challenges in recent years has been behavior and discipline. "When I first started teaching I got parents involvement and that was usually a success."
Hansel says she feels respect for teachers in the classroom has diminished and parents are less likely to support disciplinary measures. "If I would call a parent with a problem the parent would take care of it, and there were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. That didn't occur later on."
The Frontline Education survey found that two thirds of the districts it surveyed has vacant teaching positions. The hardest positions for districts to fill right now are in special education. Recruiting substitute teachers is a close second.
In Missouri, teacher salaries are among some of the lowest in the nation. That means some districts in the state have to work harder to recruit. "Enticing to some teachers is a four-day schedule or work week, rather than a five day work week," says) Todd Fuller, spokesperson for the Missouri State Teachers Association. Other incentives include combining sick and personal leave, and streamlining the process for alternative certification.
Fuller says districts in neighboring states are still able to lure some Missouri teachers to cross borders, "they're willing to drive that extra 30 to 40 minutes, sometimes up to an hour if the salary is competitive." He says Missouri hasn’t seen a drastically high number of teachers leave the profession, but says the challenge right now is filling very specific positions.
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