By Noelle Kronberg
EAGLE TIMES EDUCATION WRITER
Vermont and New Hampshire rank at the bottom of all 50 states in terms of teacher shortages, according to a recent report from Scholarooo, an organization that connects students with scholarship and collects data on U.S. schools.
The Scholaroo report uses the ratio of teachers to students enrolled in public schools to quantify the shortages list. Despite this report, most schools in the Twin Valley region have opened or will open with unfilled positions.
School administrators and teachers have had to get creative with staffing, with schools in the area taking various approaches. Some have opted to increase class sizes, combine grades, temporarily eliminate course offerings, rely on substitutes, offer online classes, and/or adopt special provisions for non-educators to become educators.
Claremont School District has a total of 30 open positions posted on SchoolSpring, many soliciting paraprofessionals. Additionally, there are everal teacher positions available at all grade levels.
Bluff Elementary School developed a plan to combine students in multiple grades to reduce the need for two of their open teacher positions without increasing class sizes. Claremont Middle School has contracted with VLACS, the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School in Exeter, to provide in-school, but online, math and science classes to 7th and 8th graders.
Newport School District has 13 open positions listed on SchoolSpring. Earlier this summer, Superintendent Donna Magoon put in a request for a local critical shortage, allowing the district to hire one of their paraprofessionals as a classroom teacher.
Fall Mountain Regional School District has 29 positions posted on their website, 17 of them paraprofessional openings. They also have middle school subject area teaching positions, Spanish, and special education positions open.
Across the river, Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union still has four open positions posted and one of those postings is for multiple support staff paraprofessionals. The others are for a pre-K teacher, middle school interventionist, and high school health.
Springfield, Vt. has 41 postings on SchoolSpring, with many of those likewise for paraprofessionals. Like many other districts, Springfield has additional posts for substitute teachers, both long-term certified positions, and daily substitutes.
Three new teachers at Union Street School in Springfield moved to the area from states much lower on Scholaroo’s ranking. One teacher coming from Ohio, ranked 43 on the list, and two other come from Florida, which ranked 46.
Smaller schools, such as Lempster, Cornish, and Weathersfield, and private schools, such as Claremont Christian Academy and Mid Vermont Christian School, have entered or are entering the 2023-2024 school year with unfilled positions, as well.
“Bad working conditions and low salary are among the factors contributing to the shortage of teachers,” the Scholaroo report reads.
The trend in less teachers entering the profession as veteran teachers retire has been steady for years, however, the New Hampshire Department of Education has noted an increase in teachers getting licensed or renewing their license in the state.
The National Education Association lists New Hampshire as number 33 in the nation for starting salary for teachers and number 20 for average salary. Vermont ranks number 25 for starting salary and 19 for average salary. Using a large number of metrics, Scholaroo has Vermont ranked as the 22nd best state to teach in and New Hampshire as 27.
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