School districts find success in hiring teachers ahead of school year
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Local school districts say they have hired more teachers ahead of the start of the school year after some districts dealt with staffing shortages last year.
Officials with Columbia Public Schools and the Jefferson City School District said the districts have both have been able to bring on at least 100 new teachers each.
Last summer, both districts were struggling to hire and retain staff amid the pandemic.
Columbia Public Schools welcomed 188 new teachers to the district last week for its induction workshops.
CPS Spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark says the district often looks to hire 300 teachers annually and that the district's teacher retention this year was above average.
Columbia public schools had a student to teacher ratio of 16:1 in the 2020-2021 school year. The district's annual report shows that ratio was 13:1 in 2019-2020.
The Jefferson City Schol District has hired around 100 new teachers and held trainings this week.
Both districts are still hiring for various positions. The Jefferson City School District currently has 52 job openings on its website.
"We're always looking for good people, so I'd encourage them to look at our website at jcschools.us," Superintendent Bryan McGraw said.
CPS has filled all of its teacher positions, but is currently looking to hire learning specialists, paraprofessional positions, custodial staff and some part-time learning positions. The openings are posted on the district's website.
The Jefferson City School District starts school Monday and CPS starts Tuesday.
