(OVERLAND PARK, KS) – The national teacher shortage’s impact on local schools was the subject of a forum held last night by Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District – Kansas) and attended by over 100 educators, parents, students, and elected officials. The forum took place at Westridge Middle School in Overland Park.

"I took office in January of 1999 and since then have visited 65 schools throughout the Third District. What I found in every school were dedicated teachers and administrators who are committed to teaching children," said Moore.

"What we face now is a shortage of qualified teachers that is approaching a critical level in Kansas and nationwide. As current teachers retire or go into other professions, it is important that we do a better job recruiting and training the next generation of teachers, as well as encouraging current teachers to continue to teach," said Moore.

Published reports indicate that Kansas schools have 512 teaching vacancies this year, with 125 districts currently unable to fill their teaching rosters.

As a possible solution, Moore cited his bill that would forgive up to $10,000 in student loans for people who teach for five years in low-income areas, as special education teachers, or in areas identified as having a teacher shortage.

Moore moderated a panel discussion by area education professionals focusing on the impact of the teacher shortage on local schools and what can be done to help alleviate the shortage.

According to the panel, many area schools are currently facing a shortage of teachers.

"When we opened our doors today we had to close to 40 teacher vacancies," said Linda Murray, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel for the Kansas City, Kansas School District. She said that the Kansas City, Kansas School District’s teacher shortage partially stems from negative perceptions of urban school districts

"The children that we have in our district are viewed by many as those who need the most. These are the children whose test scores are probably the lowest in the state, but they don’t have the best-qualified teachers," she said.

In addition to mentoring programs and increased recruitment efforts, Murray said Kansas City, Kansas schools have started an innovative program that offers scholarships to current high school seniors who pledge to return to the district as teachers. The program currently includes 15 to 20 students that the district is assisting with college tuition.

And it’s not just urban schools that are facing teacher shortages.

"I started doing H.R. [human resources] work in 1994, and I’ve got to tell you, it was a lot easier in 1994," said Jim Payne, Executive Director of Human Resources for the Blue Valley School District.

"New teachers are only part of the issue. One thing we have to address is the limited supply of teachers," said Payne. He said Blue Valley Schools, like schools statewide, have had a particularly difficult time recruiting teachers in specialty areas, including high school math & science, industrial technology, special education, and foreign languages.

Payne said that new teachers are especially vulnerable for retention problems and to combat this Blue Valley has implemented a new teacher program that includes peer assistance where mentors are paired with first-year teachers to assist those teachers as they begin their careers.

The panel agreed that a substantial problem is that many certified teachers are leaving the profession for other lines of work.

"In Kansas, we graduated 1,900 teacher candidates over this past year. It is not a shortage of teachers with certificates, it is a shortage of people who choose to go into the profession," said Sue Gamble, member of the Kansas State Board of Education.

"There are a lot of things we can do, but people have more choices out there for professions, particularly women. When I was growing up, as a woman you could be a teacher or you could be a nurse. That’s not true any longer and we’re going to have to face that reality," said Gamble.

"There are enough certified or formerly certified teachers in the United States to fill every teaching vacancy in the country if – and that’s a big flashing "if" – if they chose to teach," said Dr. Angela Lumpkin, Dean of the University of Kansas School of Education.

Lumpkin said research has shown that the teacher drop-out rate could be reduced by 2/3 if new teachers are given additional support, including mentors and additional planning time, as well as pay that is commensurate with both education and responsibility.

"Statistics show us that 10% of veteran teachers retire each year. And to make matters worse 30% of teachers entering the profession leave after three years," said Lisa Elliott, Shawnee Mission National Education Association President. Elliott said that Kansas fares a little better than the national average, with 30% of new teachers leaving after five years.

Moore’s teacher recruitment and retention bill is H.R. 687. For more information on this or other issues, please visit http://www.house.gov/moore/ .