Recently, within the Aurora Public Schools district, there has been a lack of teachers entering the profession. This lack of teachers has caused larger issues within the district, like the pressures that long-term teachers feel to stay due to this. This begs the question; is there a correlation between the lack of teachers and student engagement in the classroom, and how is this affecting students who aren’t necessarily college bound?
The Raider Review surveyed randomly selected teachers across the APS district asking about their thoughts on this topic. Teachers from all departments from 5 different schools in APS; Rangeview, Gateway, Aurora Central, and Vista Peak, were asked their opinions on current news regarding new APS curriculums as well as pay within the industry. 81.8% of the data claims that their schools have suffered from a lack of teachers or substitutes.
When asked if the lack of teachers or substitutes affects students’ interest in learnable topics, many teachers, like Julia Lopez Whitehall, a science teacher from William Smith High School, claimed there is a correlation. “Students that I’m exposed to everyday feel that being connected with their teacher is important. A lot of students that I have talked to have said things like “well I don’t like that teacher, so I won’t do their work”.
The survey conducted not only proved that the lack of long-term teachers in the APS affected students’ learning but also affected the pressures that long-term teachers felt about staying in their position. Without another prospering long-term teacher to take the place of one that is leaving, it results in a multitude of short-term teachers that ultimately have less impact on their students’ lives. When asked how close teachers feel towards their students many teachers claim that on a scale of 1-5, five being very close, 45.5% of the teachers answered a 3, with only 18.2% of the teachers saying that they were very close with their students.
Furthermore, 72.7% of the teachers stated that they have been teaching for over 10 years, yet only 36.4% of teachers have been in the APS district for 10 or more years. This means that the turnover rate in the APS district is 36.3% on a long-term basis.
“Lack of teachers and subs lead to larger class sizes which can impact student learning. Lack of available subs also mean that teachers are required to cover classes which leads to less plan time which can impact student learning.” One teacher from Vista Peak Preparatory claimed.
The Superintendent of the Aurora Public Schools district, Michael Giles Jr., claims that due to the fact finding process the district will have to undergo, in order for budgets to be increased, it also delays salary increases by 40 days, “A judgment from the fact finding process will likely be resolved by mid-November. Because fact finding is not binding… the district will have to return to the bargaining process thereafter. Then, the AEA (Aurora Education Association) and the Board of Education will have to subsequently approve the changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. After that, it will take administrative staff at least 40 days to implement the salary increase in Oracle. I want to be clear that district leaders had asked for fact finding to begin this summer, but counsel representing AEA leadership stated that they would not be available during summer break and asked to wait until after the school year started.”
The overall delays that the district faces, regarding budget fixes, has resulted in unresolved pressures that long-term teachers face regarding their career, and whether or not they stay in a certain district. When asked if fair pay was a factor in the pressures that long-term teachers face when choosing to stay or leave a district, Mildred Mejia Calix, an Honors Spanish Literature 1 & 2 teacher at Rangeview High School, claims “Teachers focus on the education of students and the district must focus on paying teachers fair salaries equitably and based on years of experience.”
While Scott Hasbrouck, an English and CLDE teacher at Gateway High School, claims “Teacher retention is mostly dependent on the relationship with administration. If teachers feel appreciated, they want to stay. Our district’s current attitude toward teacher pay does not show such appreciation. The superintendent and school board are more concerned with attracting new teachers than retaining experienced ones.”
“Two of my colleagues left the profession last year to pursue better pay with better benefits… It feels like teachers don’t feel bad about not overworking themselves as they usually do because of the lack of fair pay.” One science teacher from Rangeview stated. This idea is further proven by APS’ Superintendent who stated, “One of the main reasons we have been unable to reach an agreement is that we must raise our starting teacher salaries in order to attract new teachers. District leaders proposed increasing teacher pay in steps 1-3 by $10,100. Our current starting salary is $46,894 while the starting salary in the Cherry Creek School District is $58,710.” in a recent email to APS educators.
With the lack of teachers within the schools themselves, as well as the lack of fair pay across the district, where does this leave students? How are schools meeting the needs of students who are college bound and those who aren’t without those interpersonal teacher-student connections?
Rangeview’s student body president, Isabella Gallegos, argues “Our teachers are such an essential piece of our success in school and if they are unable to perform at their best for us because of the pay discrepancy, we as students, are suffering. It lowers expectations, standards, and overall quality of education on a student level. Our teachers are not showing up in our learning environments happy or excited to learn… if we gave our teachers what they deserved, learning would improve on all levels for all students.”
Clearly, the lack of teachers in the district is affecting APS’ students in a multitude of ways. Many teachers throughout the district claim that there are resources for students who aren’t college bound, but some claim that there aren’t enough elective choices within schools. Due to high demand, electives fill quickly, and anyone that joins the school in the middle of a grading term may be left with the short end of the stick.
Many of these teachers also claim that the district should do more for these students, like implementing programs that focus more on the needs of those students. The lack of fair pay for teachers in the district has set off a chain reaction that will only continue to affect the environment within schools. American school systems already have so much to deal with regarding safety and education standards, the lack of pay can only add to the stress of a teacher’s job.
The lack of teachers within the APS school district is already alarming to the learning and development of students. What would happen if the absence of educators were to spread across other districts or states, and how would this affect the overall development of students’ learning and development across the nation? The issues that educators and students face within the APS district is just a sample of the overall problem across the nation. If this continues, where does it leave the credibility of the American school system?
