NORWALK, Conn. — Teacher shortages are being reported nationwide, but some Norwalk-specific issues are contributing to the problem here, according to Norwalk Federation of Teachers President Mary Yordon.
“School staffing shortages predate COVID and some link it to an increasingly unrewarding profession,” wrote Yordon.
Norwalk Public Schools has had “significant (staff) turnover in the last 18 months,” Chief Financial Officer Thomas Hamilton said Tuesday.
“Almost all districts in the state are experiencing teacher shortages,” Brenda Wilcox Williams, NPS Chief of Staff and Communications, said in mid-November. “Like other districts throughout Connecticut, many of our vacancies are in critical shortage subject areas, such as math, science, bilingual and special education. We’re fortunate that our vacancies are much lower than some other districts, although we are currently recruiting to fill 70 vacancies.”
A review of BoE agendas online shows:
From May 1 to Nov. 30 2019 there were:
- 34 non-administrative resignations
- 23 non-administrative retirements
From May 1 to Nov. 30 2021 there were:
- 78 non-administrative resignations
- 18 non-administrative retirements
“There are many elements that contribute to staffing shortages. It is complex, with some trends particular to Norwalk, some statewide, some national,” Yordon said in an email.
She continued:
- “There is a general greying of our population with many teachers reaching retirement age.
- “Teachers will generally stay in positions where they feel supported by administrator and colleague relationships, and where there is reasonable pathway to be successful with students in terms of identified, achievable roles and responsibilities.
- “COVID risks last year caused many experienced teachers with chronic but well-managed health concerns to retire or resign prior to their previously anticipated dates. Fears of transmission have interfered with the well-established patterns of cycling in recent retirees to fill substitute positions, and interfered with the pool of other substitutes and volunteers who help out in schools.”
But, there are changes in the profession itself, leading to the shortage, she said.
- “School staffing shortages predate COVID and some link it to an increasingly unrewarding profession. For example, there is an increase in scripted, timed ‘boxed’ lessons, along with evaluation and accountability measures that are shown to be highly unreliable and time-consuming but persist. Also, a graduate with a Masters degree can often earn more and work in a less stressful environment than teaching, so it is hard to attract newer teachers to the profession. There is much work to be done to re-establish teaching as a rewarding profession that allows for a reasonable work-life balance.”
And then, there are local issues, according to Yordon.
- “In Norwalk, in particular, we have faced several years with high turnover in important roles at Central Office. This year we also have new resources, programs, schedules, roles, and several big initiatives that are being implemented all at once, and COVID. We are all new teachers again this year, figuring out the pacing and units, who to call, where to find the slides for this unit, how to best create a needed report, what the new supervisor’s name is and what he or she cares about most. People report that they are leaving the district to find other districts that operate with more stability, better workloads, more support, and a less negative way of operating.
- “Our recent survey of members had a good level of response. Only about 22% of respondents agreed that the district cares about retaining capable employees. Three quarters reported that they are completely overwhelmed by the amount of work necessary to be successful. And our success means student success, which is what our focus is and needs to be each and every day. We believe that students are best served by school staffing that is experienced, qualified, and able to efficiently and effectively provide instruction and services. The Norwalk Federation of Teachers continues to work collaboratively with the district and other bargaining units to identify and implement creative solutions to alleviate the shortages while still maintaining quality of service.”
NancyOnNorwalk asked Norwalk Superintendent of Schools Alexandra Estrella for a response Tuesday. She said Wilcox Williams would reply.
“We agree with Mary that there are many elements that contribute to staffing shortage,” Wilcox Williams wrote Wednesday. “Based on our HR exit interviews, teachers cite both personal and professional reasons when they decide to retire or move on, and Covid has changed the equation considerably for many people. That is part of a state and nationwide trend, not exclusive to Norwalk.”
There are many news stories attributing teacher shortages to COVID.
“Demand for teachers is drastically outpacing supply. Many teachers are retiring or quitting the profession due to pandemic-era stress, and universities aren’t minting new ones fast enough,” Axios wrote Nov. 15.
“Public schools have for years contended with a shortage of educators. But the pandemic has made the problem more acute, as the stress of teaching during the coronavirus has spurred many in the profession to resign or retire,” CBS News reported Nov. 12.
For Norwalk-specific issues, Wilcox Williams said NPS is “not seeing is departures attributed to district supports put in place to help teachers improve their pedagogy.”
Pedagogy refers to “the method of how teachers teach, in theory and in practice,” TopHat states.
Wilcox Williams continued:
- “In past years, teachers and staff have typically requested that the district provide more support to schools, as well as additional professional learning. The reorganization in Central Office was targeted specifically to align district resources to better support schools.
- “For that reason, our Central Office administrators spend more of their day in schools. That includes the superintendent, who visits schools on a weekly basis to make sure school principals, assistant principals, and curriculum and instruction site directors have the support they need to work effectively.
- “Our instructional coaches have been going through their own professional development so that they are prepared to support teachers in implementing curriculum materials. These include Illustrative Math, which has been adopted previously and is now being rolled out. Our prior reading program had expired and materials were no longer available, so updated tools had to be introduced to support literacy.
- “Another area we have been focused on recently is planning. We want to make sure teachers are ready to support all students in our diverse learning population. As a result, we have been holding workshops throughout the district where curriculum staff and special education service providers support teachers in planning. Voluntary clinics are also available in the afternoon for those who want to ask additional questions or clarify information. The feedback thus far has been very positive.”
Frontline Education states that there’s been a teacher shortage for years, and it’s been made worse by the pandemic. A survey of almost 1,200 school and district leaders across the country “paints a grim picture.”
“Teacher shortages are most common in urban school systems, with 75% of districts in cities of any size reporting shortages. In comparison, 65% of rural districts reported shortages, along with 60% of suburban districts,” Frontline states. “… {A} true solution will require incredible shifts on a national level in how education is funded and perceived.”
But FiveThirtyEight states that the shortage is not as bad as predicted.
While “Surveys from unions and education-research groups have warned that anywhere from one-fourth to more than half of U.S. educators were considering a career change,” recent stats “suggest that while some districts are reporting significant faculty shortages, the country overall is not facing a sudden teacher shortage,” the website states in a Nov. 12 story. “Any staffing shortages for full-time K-12 teachers appear far less severe and widespread than those for support staff like substitute teachers, bus drivers and paraprofessionals, who are paid less and encounter more job instability.”
Leave a Reply
You must Register or Login to post a comment.