A growing number of North Dakota students 'waiting for a teacher'

Forum file photo By Robin Huebner Today at 5:01 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? BISMARCK — North Dakota’s head of public instruction said the state is experiencing critical shortages in elementary and special education teachers. A voluntary “unfilled positions survey” drew responses from just over a quarter of the state’s school districts, yet identified more than 250 vacant positions, said State Superintendent Levi Bachmeier. ADVERTISEMENT Elementary teachers accounted for 30% of those unfilled positions, while special education teachers accounted for 20%, according to a Department of Public Instruction news release. "Behind every one of these numbers is a classroom of North Dakota students waiting for a teacher," Bachmeier said in the release. John Porter, who assists individual districts and groups of districts in southeastern North Dakota with staffing special education positions, calls it an "an incredible shortage" that makes for an annual struggle. “You’re constantly feeling like you're in the process of recruiting special ed teachers… it is that big of a need,” he said. Larger districts, including Fargo Public Schools and West Fargo Public Schools, report a handful of vacant positions, with various solutions. Fargo has one teacher opening each at the elementary and middle school levels and one special education opening at the high school level. The vacancies are being covered by certified, long-term substitutes, a district spokesperson said. In West Fargo, there are three open teaching positions in the elementary and middle school levels, a district spokesperson said. For special education, West Fargo has a total of five open positions; one in elementary and two each for middle and high school. ADVERTISEMENT Some are filled with day-call and on-staff subs and others with long-term subs, the spokesperson said. At Central Cass Public School District in Casselton, an English teaching position has gone unfilled for several years. Superintendent Morgan Forness said they’ve had to restructure schedules to accommodate. They’re also short one special ed teacher at the middle and high school. A bigger issue, he said, involves support staff. “We have four unfilled paraprofessional positions. We, like every district, can't find enough bus drivers or custodial staff… you continue to just get by with what you can find,” Forness said. At the Kindred Public School District, 25 miles southwest of Fargo, Superintendent Mike Kolness said all licensed teaching positions are filled. With the close proximity to Fargo-Moorhead, Kindred is usually able to find experienced educators who want to teach outside of the metro area, he said. ADVERTISEMENT But like Central Cass, Kindred also struggles to fill support positions. “Paraprofessionals, I don't know if we've ever been at 100% in the three plus years that I've been at Kindred,” Kolness said. When it comes to bus drivers, Kindred teachers are covering five of the district’s eight bus routes. In navigating shortages and staffing for special education positions, larger districts often have their own special ed units. For smaller districts, Porter is a resource as co-director of two multi-district consortiums: Rural Cass Special Education, serving Central Cass, Northern Cass, Kindred and Mapleton; and South Valley Special Education, serving Fairmount, Hankinson, Lidgerwood, Sergeant Central, North Sergeant, Milnor, Wyndmere, Fort Ransom, Lisbon, Enderlin and Richland. Porter also assists in his role as executive director of the South East Education Cooperative, or SEEC, based in Fargo. He said the state and the North Dakota University System have many programs designed to entice people to pursue special education roles, which include teachers, para educators, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists. ADVERTISEMENT Forness said the pool of applicants for all teaching positions, however, has been dwindling for years. In addition, fewer people are making a career of teaching, and there’s been a large number of retirements in recent years. The field of special education is faced with misconceptions, Porter said. Some believe all special ed teachers must deal with problematic student behavior, which is not always the case. There’s also a belief in the private sector that teaching doesn’t pay well, Porter said, adding that would change if people studied the pay structure and health and retirement benefits for teachers. Regardless, he said he still supports higher pay for all teachers. Forness is happy about Bachmeier’s recent acknowledgment of teacher pay challenges in a legislative proposal to give teachers an annual bonus based on 10% of the earnings from the Common Schools Trust Fund. The proposed stipend would start at $3,400 per teacher. “I think we have to address all factors that are affecting the teacher shortage, and teacher pay is definitely one of them,” Forness said. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags FARGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS WEST FARGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS KINDRED VIKINGS NORTHERN CASS JAGUARS EDUCATION LEVI BACHMEIER SPECIAL EDUCATION By Robin Huebner Huebner is a 35+ year veteran of broadcast and print journalism in Fargo-Moorhead. 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