Many WASHS students were confused at the beginning of the year due to the number of new teachers in the building. Schools all across the country have been seeing a shortage of educators and there are a number of problems that could be the cause of that. The one reason everyone looked to first is the Coronavirus. According to an NBC article written in June 2021, a poll held by a national teachers’ union said that about 1 in 3 teachers were resigning because of Covid-19. Business Insider also said in July 2021, “According to a survey of 2690 members of the National Education Association in May, 32% said the “pandemic has led them to plan to leave the profession earlier than anticipated.”
Though many people believe that Covid is the leading cause of the decrease in teachers, others believe that one of the main causes is student debt. “Reasons behind the decline are plentiful, but experts said the role played by student debt is among the largest,” NBC also put in their article. It is also said that there has been a decrease in teachers for many years. “More than 270,000 public school teachers are projected to leave the profession between 2016 and 2026,” NBC said. Some teachers are even telling their students not to enter the profession in the first place; according to a poll taken earlier this year, 55% of educators would not want their students to follow in their career paths, an article by Education Week stated in October 2021.
Though many school districts across the nation are having trouble finding educators, the new teachers at WASHS seem to be having a good first year in the building. “The transition from schools was not difficult at all; the students and teachers at WASHS are so welcoming, it made it easy!” said Mrs. Baker, one of the new English teachers. A common problem I noticed among the new teachers that are fresh out of college is that it’s difficult to make lesson plans. Some of them, however, see it as a fun challenge. “The challenge of trying to get students engaged is what makes me excited,” said Ms. Robbins who teaches social studies; she was a student teacher here last year. “I love learning myself so I love getting others excited about learning.”
Some of the new teachers in the building were already familiar with WASHS last year. Some teachers, however, were not. Fortunately, they seemed to get used to the school rather quickly. “WASHS has been relatively easy to adjust to,” wrote Ms. Yealy, a new social studies teacher. “The staff has been very welcoming and helpful. I am confident that any member in this building will help me with any questions that I have.”
One of the most popular new educators at WASHS is the new principal, Dr. McCallum. Dr. McCallum is the former principal of Summitview Elementary; she was there for 4 years before coming to the high school. Most would expect the elementary school to be vastly different from the high school, but according to Dr. McCallum, the only major differences are participating in more activities with students, and helping us here at WASHS with advancing to the next step in our lives after high school. As you can see, the new teachers at WASHS seem to be enjoying their first year here. Let's continue to make them feel as welcome as possible