School districts across the nation continue to struggle to attract and hire new teachers. In its October 2023 survey of public school teachers, the National Center of Education Statistics, a federal data-collection agency for the Department of Education, found that 86 percent of public school districts struggled to hire enough teachers to meet their personnel needs at the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
Due to the lack of teachers, some teachers are teaching classes without the proper certification. The national survey found that the most difficult subjects to staff were special education, science and foreign languages.
A primary reason for the lack of teacher candidates, the NCES survey revealed, was low teacher salaries. It’s an issue that hits close to home for Austin ISD teachers because teachers in districts outside of Austin get paid more than those in AISD. On average, teachers in AISD make around $4,650 per month, as opposed to those in Eanes ISD who make about $5,416. This figure does not include taxes and other pay deductions that reduce take-home pay.
The district reported this summer that it had eliminated the teacher shortage that had beset AISD schools in the recent past. The Austin Chronicle reported last February that Austin ISD lost over 2,000 teachers in 2022, nearly double the amount of teachers who left in 2021. The Chronicle further cited recent surveys to claim that nearly 70% of the current AISD teachers are considering leaving teaching at year’s end. Like the national survey, teacher pays was cited as a primary reason for teacher discontent.
It’s an incredibly taxing, demanding job that doesn’t compensate you for the amount of hours you work.
— English teacher James Hutcheson
Principal Andy Baxa knows of AISD’s struggle to hire new faculty for its schools from firsthand experience.
“AISD hasn’t always been as competitive as the surrounding districts, which made it more difficult to attract quality teaching candidates to our school and district,” Baxa said. “There is a little bit of a higher pay for new teachers than veteran teachers,” Baxa said. “But overall the pay will equal out over time.”
English teacher James Hutcheson agrees with the national survey that a main reason for teacher shortages is due to the lack of pay. Statewide, the average teacher salary falls below the average yearly salary for all workers in Texas.
“It’s an incredibly taxing, demanding job that doesn’t compensate you for the amount of hours you work,” Hutcheson said.
On average, teachers work between 54 and 72 hours per week. This includes during school hours, after hours and at home.
“If you look up the definition of career, it will tell you: ‘An occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress,’” Hutcheson said. “Being a teacher doesn’t match the definition of a career. It’s true that it’s an occupation during a person’s life, but teaching doesn’t bring in opportunities for progress.”
Some teachers at McCallum are teaching a class for which they don’t have proper certification. Teachers have to go through years training and a lot of college in order to be hired in the subject they want.
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Shield reporter Emerson Merritt asked then lone superintendent finalist Matias Segura how the district planned to solve staffing shortages in the special education department at the superintendent forum at Marshall Middle School on Jan. 20. Video by AISD.tv.
Normally, AISD teaching candidates get certified in their subjects in college and then undergo multiple rounds of interviews to be hired.
According to Baxa, however, AISD allows administrators to hire those with “industry or extensive background experience” in specific subjects. Every teacher at McCallum who doesn’t have the proper certification for what they are teaching is in an alternative program to get them properly certified.
In order to become an administrator, Baxa first gained experience as an AISD teacher.
We view teaching as a noble calling or profession because we knew it would have a positive impact on future generations.
— principal Andy Baxa
“I had a unique hiring process while becoming a teacher,” Baxa said. “I was a student teacher at McCallum, and the teacher I was helping decided to leave the profession. She really looked at it as an opportunity to train me to take her spot.”
In Baxa’s experience, there are many pros and cons to coming into a career as a teacher. Since being a teacher isn’t a high-paying job, those who enter the profession must find benefits in other aspects of the job.
“There were a lot of times when teachers knew they weren’t going to be the most high-paid position,” Baxa said.
Despite the challenges that come with being a teacher, however, many still view the work as rewarding.
“We view teaching as a noble calling or profession because we knew it would have a positive impact on future generations,” Baxa said.
“Teachers help us learn about goals which then lead us to major professions. Our society doesn’t function if we do not have an educated workforce and educated citizens.”
According to Baxa, the teacher shortage is not a cause for drastic changes in how education is offered to Texans.
“We need to continue to educate the public,” he said. “It does not need to be privatized.”
![With the AISD rank and GPA discrepancies, some students had significant changes to their stats. College and career counselor Camille Nix worked with students to appeal their college decisions if they got rejected from schools depending on their previous stats before getting updated. Students worked with Nix to update schools on their new stats in order to fully get their appropriate decisions. “Those who already were accepted [won’t be affected], but it could factor in if a student appeals their initial decision,” Principal Andy Baxa said.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/53674616658_18d367e00f_o-1200x676.jpg)
piper lynch • Apr 17, 2024 at 2:18 pm
This is a great issue to talk about on the Shield because it is a very relevant issue going on right now and is getting worse. I feel like most people don’t know too much about the problem so I like how they showed a lot of evidence and facts to show how this problem has worsened.
Vivian Moore • Apr 12, 2024 at 3:40 pm
I’m glad the Shield covered this issue because it’s something I’ve heard talk about a lot recently. I like the use of quotes to provide the perspective of the people involved.