Dr. Seuss summed up the essence of school in a few famous words: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
For the past few years, though, school districts across the state and country have had trouble finding teachers to guide kids to all the places they could go.
“The genesis of (the teacher shortage) was people were choosing not to go into the field of education,” says
Bay City Public Schools Superintendent Stephen Bigelow. “There are various reasons for why that may have been, but public education for many years was under a lot of criticism and it just became a field where people were not interested in going into.”
A lack of teachers, even for a short time, echoes across a student’s entire time in the K-12 system.
“If learning is compromised in one grade, then they are already farther behind in the next grade,” says Mike Kelly, a member of the
Bay City Board of Education. “It’s a vicious cycle that can follow the students until they graduate if other intervention tactics are not implemented.”
That’s why educators are taking steps to resolve the shortage, making a career in Bay City schools both appealing and financially rewarding.
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Leaders in the Bay City Public Schools are taking steps to attract and retain talented teachers in this area.
Grow Your Own program
An example of this is the
Grow Your Own program, which is a state-funded, district-implemented program that focuses on creating new teachers by getting college scholarships to school support staff who display the potential to be successful teachers.
Kelly points out that the district is competing with the private sector. Often private sector jobs pay higher wages, making it easier to pay back student loans.
“I think that there are more opportunities outside of education than there have ever been, and more opportunities to make more money than you can make as a teacher. So that is a major disincentive to go into education as a career,” Kelly says.
“Add to that the seemingly unchecked rate of college tuition increases, student loans, and a required unpaid internship as a student teacher, those factors often make potential teachers consider a different career choice.”
The Grow Your Own program combats those factors, offering teachers higher pay and increased bonuses. The goal is to attract new teachers and retain veteran teachers.
Districts face an especially tough time recruiting qualified teachers in specialty areas such as foreign languages or high-level math and science classes, Bigelow says.
“Here in Bay City, we have prioritized compensation and we are proud of a new contract that we approved with the Bay City Education Association giving our teachers a very competitive salary not just regionally, but on a statewide basis,” Kelly says.
“We’ve also implemented a signing bonus for new teachers in certain high-demand subject areas.”
Recreational and community diversity attract talent to this area
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Graphic courtesy of Bay City Public Schools
Money alone isn’t enough to resolve the shortage. People decide where to work based on a host of factors including how much they like where they’ll live.
In that arena, Bay County shines.
“I think that Bay County, and Bay City in particular, are diamonds in the rough,” Bigelow says.
“We have so much to offer in this area that people may not be aware of. This area has a lot going on between Bay City, Saginaw, and Midland. Anything you’re looking for is here.”
Diversity could be another reason to launch a career in this area.
“The demographics across the Bay City Public Schools vary widely and the socio-economic status that we serve also varies greatly,” Kelly adds.
“These same factors are what makes Bay City a district where teachers have a tremendous amount of pride in student success and a district that teachers seek out because they know that they will have an opportunity to be important influences on these students.”
Retaining talent builds stability
Attracting talent is the first step in addressing the teacher shortage, while convincing them to stay in the district is the key to long-term stability. That’s where retention bonuses can help.
“We want to create an environment in which it’s difficult to leave,” Bigelow says.
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Graphic courtesy of Bay City Public Schools
The good news in the shortage is that the people who choose a career in education do so for the right reasons, Kelly says. There is no substitute for loyalty and passion for teaching when it comes to forging positive relationships with students and providing the best possible education.
“With the decline in teachers coming out of our colleges, we are seeing more and more people go into the profession because they are deeply passionate about education. Those are the teachers that we are bringing to our schools,” Kelly says.
For a list of open positions, visit the district’s online application portal