School districts under state control see more teacher vacancies – spectrumlocalnews.com

School districts under state control see more teacher vacancies  spectrumlocalnews.com

More than 1,000 teachers at Fort Worth Independent School District left the district by the end of last school year. TEXAS — More than 1,000 teachers at Fort Worth Independent School District left the district by the end of last school year, giving district leaders an uphill battle to fill those vacancies as the new school year begins. It’s a significant increase compared to past school years. As the state weighs whether to take over more struggling districts, it could shadow future faculty retention problems for school districts under the hand of the state. Of the 1,000 teachers who resigned, 963 of them put in their notice between March and June toward the end of last school year, around the same time the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced who was on the new state-appointed board.

“Everyone was worried about that,” said Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata. Spectrum News sat down with Licata just before the start of his first full school year leading Fort Worth ISD. “I don’t think I’ve ever opened up a school year in any of my roles worrying about teacher vacancies,” said Licata. “It’s hard to find great teachers.” The district, now overseen by the TEA, experienced a 72% increase in teachers leaving between this March and June compared to the same time frame