Monday, July 25, 2022
Doing double
Courtesy of Mattie J Awtrey
Mattie J Awtrey, a human development and family science major, is one of many Oklahoma State students who have to work two jobs to make a living.
The struggle student teachers are facing “When I found out that student teachers were getting a stipend, there was a giant load taken off of my back,” Blankenship said. Ellen Slater “This will not change O’Colly Contributor the way that student teaching works. (Student-teachers) will not be putting in extra work now because of the stipend, as even before the pay it mirUntil this year, a sturored a full-time, actual job,” dent-teacher at an Oklahoma Blankenship said, “the stipend public school put in 40 hours a does not change anything, but week in the classroom exis considerate of Oklahoma’s change for a $0 paycheck. Department of Education to Amy Blankenship give us.” spends her mornings and afterThe Oklahoma State noons in the classroom at Will Department of Education pays Rogers Elementary School in for the Paid Student Teaching Stillwater and then switches Initiative with federal relief uniforms to become a barista dollars. It started in the 2021 at the local coffee chain, Aspen school year and is planned Coffee, after the school day. to continue through the 2023 Blankenship is a senior elschool year. Student teachementary education major at ers can be paid up to $3,250. Oklahoma State University The student-teachers will be who student-taught last semes- paid the first $1,625 of that at ter before the stipend was put the beginning of their student in place. teacher semester. They will be Blankenship said she rewarded the same amount a has to take on both of the jobs, second time if they take a job considering the student-teach- at an Oklahoma public school ing one is unpaid. She also post graduation. pays for college and supports Student-teachers are herself, so she has to work a typically upperclass education lot to be able to afford student- majors, and this is a part of teaching. the degree requirement. Un“I would not have like other noneducation stuthe time to work as much as dents, they are expected to do I needed to because I would many of the same tasks a paid be at school during the day, teacher does, such as comevery day,” Blankenship said. mute to school and stay for the
whole day. The student-teachers get the second half of the stipend if they take a teaching job at an Oklahoma public school after graduation, but some student-teachers, including Blankenship, do not see this as worth it, for the $1,625 stipend would not match the salaries they would receive in other states. This part of the initiative is to encourage these future teachers to stay in Oklahoma because there is a lack of teachers. The average teacher in Oklahoma earns $40,000 a year. Two hours down I-35, the pay is $57,000. To put it simply, Texas teachers are, on average, earning 40% more than Oklahoma teachers. This is why many students decide to jump ship after they receive their diplomas. Borders define money in public education. With the lack of teachers in Oklahoma and the ongoing pandemic, there is a substitute teacher shortage as well. Many towns in Oklahoma have signs posted advertising the need for substitute teachers. Oklahoma State University students who have not graduated are stepping into these roles in Stillwater, which is similar to many other towns in Oklahoma. The supply and demand of teachers and substitutes do
not match, and the Oklahoma government is trying to find solutions, such as state employees filling substitute teacher roles. This was announced Jan. 18 in an executive order from Gov. Kevin Stitt. There is also an emergency teacher certification in the state, allowing people who traditionally would not be automatically eligible to pursue teaching. Barry Fuxa, the public relations and communications coordinator for Stillwater Public Schools, said he recognizes the importance of teachers being trained in education. Although Fuxa said it is great there are people who are willing to step into these roles without education degrees and it is appreciated, it is important these positions are also being filled with teachers who studied education. He said he thinks the new initiative will help encourage these spots to be filled with people with the matching degree. “This way we can have teachers that have that education degree background that is so important to have,” Fuxa said. “You cannot just walk into a classroom and have the skills that you need. When I was going through this as an undergrad, I thought, ‘Wow, this is not as easy as people think.’ I think that it is great that it will allow more
people to pursue the traditional education degree.” Fuxa has been with Stillwater Public Schools since 2019, starting right before the pandemic, so this is not the first change he has seen as his time in public education. Rather this is one of the many changes that have come from the long string of events that the pandemic has had on the school system. Stillwater Public Schools have 56 student teachers, with many of them coming from Oklahoma State University. Fuxa said the district would take students from other places as well. The student-teachers help with K-12. They receive a placement at the beginning of the school year. The Oklahoma State Department of Education is using $12.75 million in federal relief money to support this. Oklahoma’s Paid Student Teaching Initiative is a part of the larger production that is the Ready Together Oklahoma: An Action Plan for Supporting Student Teachers Through the Pandemic and Beyond. Last year, Oklahoma ranked 42nd in the nation for education, correlating with the teacher and substitute shortage that these districts are facing. See Double on 5