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pandemic as teacher completion programs have been diminishing by 31% since 2012, according to publicnewsservice.org.

Some teachers believe there’s many factors. English teacher Elizabeth Menne said she believes the reason for the teacher shortage is the disrespect associated with teaching. Menne said she thinks teachers became tired of

COVID-19

Since the pandemic, the education system has been out of the ordinary. In the fall of 2020, the North Kansas City School District gave its teachers a choice to teach in person, teach virtually, or retire early. This gave teachers a lot to think about for their future.

English teacher Shane Sandau said he believes it was hard after the crisis because teachers were learning how to return to the classroom.

For social studies teacher Matthew Reynolds, COVID-19 affected him socially when trying to re-enter the classroom and assist the kids who were developmentally behind on how to behave.

the feeling of not being compensated for their work and not being treated with respect.

“Sometimes I feel like the people that are still here that aren’t leaving are getting held accountable for the people that are leaving, you know, and so it just makes me sad,” principal Molly Smith, Ed.D., said.

A survey conducted in May 2022 by the74million.org, a nonprofit news organization covering America’s education system, found that more than 80% of public school teachers saw “stunted behavioral and socio-emotional development” in their students because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The same survey found an increase in student and teacher absences from years previous to pandemic years.

“It’s more than just a career. It’s more than just standing in front of the board,” English teacher Lisa Elder said. “It’s all about these young people and helping them, just shaping them.”

Salary

Salaries are a big factor in the teacher shortage as well. To offset the shortage for this year in Missouri, teachers who are recent retirees were given the choice to come back to teach and keep their entire retirement salary and a teacher salary on top of that, this was made possible by the HB 2114 law.

The law allows retirees who are receiving benefits from the Public School Retirement System to work full-time for up to two years for a public school covered by the same retirement system, if the school is in need of certified teachers or non-certified employees. This bill was sponsored by Republican Sen. Rusty Black in order for surrounding school districts to help other school districts suffering from the teacher shortage.

Math teacher Philip Gegen learned about this bill last August after retiring in May. Gegen re- ceived a call from the North Kansas City Schools office informing him of the program allowing retirees to return to teaching, and was offered a job. Gegen said he feels the bill is helpful not just locally but nationally.

“It’s been a real challenge after the COVID pandemic to kind of get everybody on track, teachers and students,” Gegen said. “I think we’ve just all had trouble getting back to ‘normal’ and part of that has been, has been a lot of people that have left the teaching profession.”

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When hiring teachers during this shortage, Smith said she doesn’t have a different criteria, but a smaller pool of candidates. Smith said she looks for people who are willing to put the work in.

“It’s hard and it’s time consuming and I mean, even when I talk to some of my friends they’re like ‘oh you get summers off’ and like not really,” Smith said. “It’s just I don’t think people have a good understanding of really what goes into it.” www.kcur.org dropped by 25% www.pbs.org

What keeps teachers going are their relationships with the kids.

English and AVID teacher Kalie Jones said she feels like the worst part of the job is also the best. Jones said she never knows what type of day she’s going to have because she caters to the amount of energy her students have.

“It can be hard, but the fun little interactions in the hallway or the conversations that we have during class just really getting to know them; that’s the most fun thing about the job,” Jones said.

For Reynolds, the relationship built with the students and watching them grow in academics and as people are what drives him to continue.

A difficult aspect of the job for teachers can be keeping students motivated. Sandau said a challenge for him is seeing students with potential and trying to help them reach it.

“You feel a connection to the people around you and you want people to succeed and there’s a lot of obligations that you have as a teacher in education, and sometimes it’s hard to decide which, which tasks to put first and which obligation to have is your highest priority,” Sandau said.

For more teacher thoughts, watch The Axe report at: