LOCAL EDUCATION
Over the past decade, the stakes have increased for public school teachers both seasoned and new.
Along with heightened curriculum standards, primary and secondary teachers have also had to cope with decreased funding, closing the long-term academic and social gaps many students still carry from the pandemic and taking on more administrative tasks as the shortage persists.
A survey done by the Texas State Teachers Association over the 20232024 school year reported that 65% of teachers were seriously thinking about leaving the profession and 13% of teachers actually did, according to the Texas Education Agency. When observing the factors contributing to the issue, the pandemic was one of the largest.
“One of the big ones is definitely the COVID pandemic,” Texas State University Educator Preparation Associate Dean Jennifer Porterfield said. “Maybe… [teachers] were unhappy before, and they were really unhappy during; or maybe they just thought that was too much to ask of them, so we did see a lot of teachers leave the field.”
In response to the higher turnover rates, many Texas districts have turned to hiring uncertified teachers to fill these vacancies. Almost 40% of new teachers hired in Texas during the 2023-2024 school year were uncertified. While this may be able to provide a temporary solution, many have argued this has not only contributed to the problem but decreased the quality of the education students are receiving.
Texas State University’s College of Education has graduated 6,377 new certified teachers over the past decade. And this summer, they’re gearing up to provide a program that will offer certification pathways for teaching aides and teachers looking to pivot into bilingual education/ ESL through the state.
The project, Accelerated Development of Aides into Professional Teachers, has been in the works for two to three years, according to Joellen Coryell, TXST College of Education professor. But the proposal finally became reality after a five-year, $2.74 million Augustus F. Hawkins Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education was approved in December of 2024.
The program would focus on funding and mentoring 20 student aides each year from across the state to offer admission into a program that would provide flexible, online courses and help fast-track them to certification.
For the program’s second pathway, Texas State will be pairing with current teachers through the same exclusively online certification program in hopes to provide underserved communities with more support. In addition, instructors would also receive support amid the funding cuts that have affected many public school districts’ ability to accommodate bilingual students.
“I think as an educator, it’s been enriching to work with students that are as diverse across a wide variety of categories,” Coryell said. “It’s important that we can learn from and accommodate students that come from all different walks of life.”
Project ADAPT hopes to provide 185 teachers through its program. The program will work with selected applicants to provide scholarships, student success coaching and mentoring alongside coursework to help cover costs and provide professional input throughout their journey.
The program hopes to serve as a blueprint for other universities throughout the nation and give educators the opportunity to gain more experience and qualifications that could land them jobs with better pay. However, changes aren’t just occurring at a university level. Public school districts are also seeking their own solutions to the problem.
Following turnover rates of over a quarter of the district’s teachers in the 2022-2023 school year, San Marcos CISD’s Board of Trustees has issued a 3% pay increase for all district staff. The district has also discussed other unique possibilities to increase teacher retention, such as moving to a fourday school week as of last year to help lower these numbers.
