With the new school year upon us, the national teacher shortage is affecting schools all across Delmarva. Some schools are hurting more than others. In Virginia, Accomack county still has 10 openings. In Delaware, the Seaford school district has 17 slots to fill, and in Delmar, there are 18 vacancies. In Maryland, Somerset is still looking to fill 4% of their staff. However, there are some counties and districts that are managing the shortage well.
Caroline County only has one slot left to fill after hiring 39 new educators. According to Dr. Derek Simmons, Caroline County's superintendent, a big part of that was promoting their teaching philosophy.
"We've tried to work hard at sharing our vision for what our school system is," said Dr. Simmons. "And trying to create that family feel and create that environment where folks want to come here."
In Worcester County, there isn't a single vacancy left. Dr. Dwayne Abt, the assistant superintendent for Worcester County, attributes their success to early recruitment.
"We do a lot of early hires, so folks in their junior year, we know they're coming out and if we have a spot for them, and if they fit our county, we hire them up," said Dr. Abt.
That recruiting can start earlier than you might expect.
"Identifying those kids really early, high school, even as early as middle school, that have a passion for teaching, that's where I believe Worcester County and some of these smaller counties on the Eastern Shore will benefit in the future," said Dr. Abt.
For Accomack County, the hiring process wasn't as smooth, yet, according to Superintendent Warren Holland, the county hired 60 new teachers before the start of this year. Also according to Holland, they were able to do so by hiring a lot of international teachers from the Philippines, Columbia, and Jamaica. The county also had to ask some of the current teachers to work all day without a planning period.
The new school year will force many school districts to be creative in terms of how they deal with this shortage. The unfortunate reality is, there will be some classrooms that are empty.