Paul principal explains emergency hires amidst teacher shortage
One Magic Valley school is desperate in finding qualified teachers for the 2019-2020 school year.
According to school officials, Paul Elementary School is facing a emergency hiring situation. The school is looking to fill two more teaching positions.
"I need to have people that have an AA degree and are willing to work for one year and hopefully be ready for student teaching the following year, in order for me to maintain them," said Ellen Austin, principal of Paul Elementary School.
Austin said the school has had trouble finding teachers in the past, but particularly this year it has been more of a challenge.
"We have been having a decline on qualified candidates and that's why we have been using the state authorization where we can actually hire candidates that have bachelor's degrees and are willing to take either the ABCTE test (American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence) or they can enter now in a program at CSI (College of Southern Idaho). " Austin said.
Austin understands that there's a teacher shortage going on statewide but believes that people might now truly know the type of roles teachers play in education.
"I think a lot of people are just afraid to step in," Austin said. "They don't realize how rewarding it is. When you don't know the absolutely wonderful things of being a teacher makes you a little bit leery."
The Minidoka School District offers a mentorship program to give new teachers the tools and resources to succeed in their first year.
Elissa Evans, a instructional coach at the elementary school and former teacher with more than 20 years of experience, said it could be a challenge recruiting new teachers in rural communities.
"And I will tell you that the best community atmosphere are these smaller places," Evans said. "You get to know the parents really well, you get to know the families and the kids and that makes a huge difference."
The school is looking at all the options available to fill the teaching positions before school starts. Austin said they have even tried to recruit teachers from Utah, Colorado and Nevada.
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