WATERTOWN – In Watertown, Massachusetts, 42 new teachers sat for a new teacher orientation inside the Hosmer Elementary School Monday.
In a time when hiring teachers and filling staff positions is difficult, that feels like a great success – one the Watertown superintendent credits to the city investing in its school system.
“We are in brand new buildings,” Dr. Deanne Galdston explained. “All of our elementary schools are basically brand new. We have a new high school on deck that’s going to be opening up next spring. We worked very cooperatively with our teachers’ union and we have a very fair and good contract right now.”
Nearly 4,800 openings for teachers in Massachusetts
Dr. Galdston recognizes that her school district is in a unique position among a teacher shortage.
Research shows 35% of teachers say they’re “fairly likely” to leave the profession in the next two years. A search on SchoolSpring, which lists open school jobs nationwide, reveals nearly 4,800 openings for teachers in Massachusetts, and nearly 1,000 openings for support staff.
Challenge to retain staff
In Revere, teachers are actively in bargaining sessions with the district for an overdue contract that they feel is presenting an even greater challenge to retaining staff.
“We bring in brand new teachers, we train them, and then they leave us for someplace better like Watertown or like Everett or Chelsea,” sixth grade science teacher Andrea Aeschlimann explained. “We are still losing.”
In particular, they say a lack of reasonable parental leave policy causes them to lose educators to bigger cities. For Michelle Ervin, her English as a Second Language is starting the year a teacher short, meaning three 80 minute periods per day without a teacher for a group of students. “It’s like when you break your femur, you can’t just put a Band-Aid on it and fix it,” she said. “We are broken. There’s a broken system and we can’t just keep putting Band-Aids on it.”
“Nothing better than being a teacher”
Back in Watertown, Superintendent Galdston believes long term retention starts with the state’s youngest citizens: those who may be considering teaching as a career.
“People in college I think are wondering if they want to be teachers. There was a feeling out there during the pandemic, that you know teaching is hard… And it is, it’s always hard,” she said. “We just need to make sure we are encouraging people to be teachers. There’s nothing better than being a teacher.”
