CONNECTICUT, USA — With a new school year right around the corner, Connecticut school districts still struggle to fill several teacher positions and other staff openings.
“There is a wide variation in terms of staffing," said Patrice McCarthy, Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education. "Districts are in some cases still trying to fill vacancies and we know we have a significant number of shortage areas, so districts have been very active in building a pipeline so they have a more diverse population of educators available in our schools,”
Educations leaders in Connecticut said while the pandemic exacerbated issues with recruitment and retention, the challenges have existed for years.
"Frankly, it's been building for a good ten years where I don't believe we have, as a whole in America, Connecticut included, treated our teachers with the honor and respect they deserve,” said Fran Rabinowitz, Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.
Positions that have been especially hard to fill include math and science teachers, speech and language, special education, substitute teachers and mental health professionals.
Staffing challenges are especially evident in city and rural areas.
“I’m going to be totally upfront here: I think in the rural areas, they’re not able to pay the salaries in many cases that other districts can, so they’re not competitive in salaries," said Rabinowitz. "I think in the urban districts, they’re somewhat competitive but not quite competitive as their suburban counterparts and the working conditions are tougher."
Education leaders pointed to several factors fueling the shortages, including people leaving the field for jobs that pay more, early retirement and burnout.
“We are all human beings, and many of us have been impacted at a very deep and personal level; some of us are still struggling through losses and grief and thinking about how to redefine our way of work, and all change requires that we sit and work through [the] discomfort," said Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez. "So teachers have layers and layers to try to work through in the classroom, in the context of the pandemic, and now add the mental health component of students – it is a lot."
According to the National Education Association, New York ranks the highest in average teacher salaries, and Mississippi ranks last in pay for the last school year.
In Connecticut, the average salary is almost $80,000, ranking fifth in the nation. The average starting salary is about $47,000, ranking tenth in the nation.
The national average teacher salary is just over $66,000.
A survey done earlier this year by the National Education Association found that 55% of educators polled are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than they had planned.
--
Angelo Bavaro is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at abavaro@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.