Video: Wanted Educators

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NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) — When parents send their kids to school, they’d like to think their child is receiving a good education from a certified teacher.

However, as the numbers show that’s not always the case.

The never ending cycle of hiring a new teacher, then having that teacher leave within a few years can be demoralizing.
“In order for our children or any child to have a fighting chance at success, there has to be a teacher in the mix,” Noxubee County School Superintendent Dr. Kevin Jones said.

Noxubee County School Superintendent Dr. Kevin Jones said, unfortunately, it can be difficult for many schools in Mississippi to keep good teachers.

“One prime factor is the location. Districts that are high poverty automatically have a hard time attracting and retaining teachers,” Jones said.

Low income schools like Noxubee County, continue to run into this problem.

“The supplement that we provide in addition to what the Mississippi department of Education says we have to pay teachers, does not match some of our surrounding area constituents who offer more, and people, they’re gonna go where the money is,” Jones said.

Jones says new teacher hires typically stay around for 2 or 3 years before leaving to go elsewhere.

“It affects morale, that affects our academics with children, because you’ve gotten used to a person and that person knows what to do, how to do it, and now they’re gone, so the cycle repeats itself,” he said.

The schools then turn to inexperienced or unlicensed teachers to fill the vacant position.

According to the Mississippi department of education..17 percent of teachers in Mississippi are inappropriately licensed.

“We find that most teachers don’t travel outside of their community to look for a teaching job. They have family and they stay where their families are,” Dr. Monica Riley of M.U.W. said.

Jones says his school is in a Critical Shortage District, when means it has a difficult time finding new teachers once old ones retire.

“We rely heavily on our sister Districts to send us applicants that they may not be able to fill. We rely heavily on the Mississippi Department of Education, teacher center, and then we’re doing some out of the box thinking,” Jones said.

Retaining teachers is a challenge that administrators will continue to face.
Jones says Math and science are the hardest teaching positions to fill.

Other local areas that are affected with teacher shortages include, Atala County, Coffeeville, Houston, Montgomery County, New Albany, and Pontotoc City.