Over the past two years, the pandemic has hammered American schools
and accentuated the staffing shortages. They're facing its lead to
enormous problems with teacher morale, burnout, school closures and
learning losses.
And teaching shortages have been particularly acute this year during
surges of the virus. I'm not nervous looks at that problem and the
larger state of teachers, emotional health
Districts around the country have struggled with staffing shortages
of all kinds, including a lack of substitute teachers and support
for special education. This winter, New Mexico became the first state
to activate the national Guard to help fill in and teach at schools.
Even though the pandemic has eased considerably. There were more
than 50 National Guard troops working as substitutes.
Across 27 school districts in the state. This week. We spoke with
school staff about this unusual arrangement. I am Dr Cindy. Since
I am the superintendent, Estancia Municipal schools, we are a small
school district 542 kids.
We're located about an hour's southeast of Albuquerque. I'm Simon
Hammond and I'm with the sixth 15th Transportation Battalion in Santa
Fe, New Mexico, and for four weeks in January, I was stationed at
Aztec Middle School.
Has taken in Mexico teaching math, some Navajo language and biology.
My name is Adrian Flavin, Gwen and I teach English.
And college success that sanitary PSA High School in Santa Teresa
New Mexico, which borders El Paso, Texas. Um, I've been teaching
in education for 17 years across the nation, not just a new Mexico
education systems are realizing a shortage of staffing and it's been
happening pre covid it'll when we got our National Guardsmen in January.
It was some just in time helps that we needed. We all received text
messages from our unit Readiness offices. And, uh, we're just like,
Oh, man. It was just loaded messaging backs and forwards. Everyone
in the unit like government. They're really going to do this really
going to send us to a school and skies are crazy. When we first heard
that the National Guard we're going to be has to be substitutes.
Obviously, some teachers are very apprehensive. You know, it was
something out of a dystopian novel. This is just a substitute with
a different
Different attire on
Uh, Lieutenant Colonel Corona takes lesson plans form reviews them
the night before she is very well prepared. She is fully licensed,
Qualified background checked, so she just She just does a phenomenal
job, And it allows us to provide that continuity and consistency
for our kids and person. Students were interesting at the beginning.
I mean, you walked in and your uniform and it was there was a lot
of like.
Okay, kind of faces when they were just like I am. They're sending
the army and but they had lots of questions that we were able to
get through discussions with the students pretty quickly in the first
couple of days, and I think that you know, calm everybody down. They
realized we were
Just like my status substitute teachers they had coming in, and everyone
was able to relax a little bit. It was a great idea and a great solution
to a very challenging problems. Teachers are a little reluctant that
the guardsmen come on campus with uniforms, but
You know that almost helped because it commanded respect. Uh, kids
were kind of in awe of them. And, um they were very disciplined and
helpful that difference that one person can make on your campus when
you're struggling as profound that ability to have another set of
hands and a person who's committed to our kids.
When we're out of hands were how to support made all the difference
in our in our community and in our school, The students were great.
I think the parents are really supportive, like teachers at the schools
were just fantastic and helping us.
Um, I think you know when we left. We got this huge. Thank you. Card
from the students every everyone in the school and signed it. It
just felt like we, you know, had a bit of relationship with the students.
Now. While some states use National Guard to backfill in other ways,
like school bus drivers, New Mexico appears to be the only state
to use them in the classroom. Teacher shortages are an issue around
the country.
Becky Pringle is the president of the National Education Association,
which represents three million educators. It is the largest labor
union in the country. Becky Pringle, Welcome to the news hour. Thanks
for making the time I just want to get your reaction.
To what we just saw and heard their teaching staff and guard troops
clearly making the best of the situation. But if we see another surge
if shortages worsened, do you see more states doing that? It's good
to be with you. I'm not as I listened to the educators and the superintendent.
Talk about the fact that this is not a new problem. This is chronic,
and we've been seeing the The rise in educators. Shortages are teachers,
nurses, counselors, bus drivers, food service workers, all of them
For almost a decade and a half. And so we've been with sounding that
alarm. But as with everything else, Covid-19 exacerbated that with
the increased number of educators who were leaving the profession.
As well as the overwhelmed the lack of educators in the classrooms.
So we're not surprised that there are people like Governor Luhan
Grisham, who were looking at short term solutions, which we know
are absolutely essential to fill those gaps. But we have to be looking
long term because this issue is not going away and it will worsen
if we don't do something about it. Well, let's talk about what teachers
are going through because you asked your members how they're doing.
And here are some highlights from the result of your winter survey
of the teachers surveyed about 74% they had had to fill in for colleagues
or take other duties due to staff shortages. 90% said they were feeling
burned out and that it was a serious problem. 55% said they plan
to leave their jobs sooner than planned because of the pandemic.
Becky Pringle. That was in the winter, right? We were in the middle
of this massive omicron surge. Do those numbers get better as the
pandemic numbers get better? I'm not. I just was in Kentucky and
I was hearing the same kinds of stories from those educators as I
heard from the educators in New Mexico when I joined them for their
rally.
And what they're saying to us is that while they need immediate,
we need to address the immediate concerns and fill those gaps right
now what they are looking for as long term solutions from respect
of them as professionals, professional rights and autonomy and what
Governor Luhan Grisham did. March March 1st as a matter of fact,
after the Legislature voted
With every member of the Legislature, whichever party they were in
voting in favor of raising teacher's salaries, And not only did they
raise teacher's salaries, but other educators salaries as well because
they know that for them to solve this problem, long term, they've
got to invest in their educators. They've got to listen to the concerns
that they've had for years.
And they've got to make those changes. Long term. So let me ask you
about what's happening in Minneapolis right now, where the teachers
are on strike, asking for better pay and better benefits, and the
district basically says, Look, Enrollment is down. And so our budgets
schools have been closed there for three weeks. How much longer do
you think they'll stay closed?
And we know that our local affiliate Msft, the Minneapolis Federation
of Teachers, is working very, very hard, and by the way, it's not
only our teachers and support staff to
Who are fighting to make sure that they have saved and secure schools,
and we know that they are working with the reality that the school
district has, and the state has had a surplus.
As well as the American rescue plan money that has come to the school
district. What they are asking is that they use that money to ensure
they have smaller class sizes and that they can attract and retain
educators. So our students get the quality education they deserve.
So funding seems to be at the heart of a lot of this and the question
A lot of people have is Congress in those three covid relief bills
basically gave out $190 billion for public and private schools, most
of which it appears have made their way to school districts. So did
any of that go towards any of these concerns. Absolutely. We have
seen in those school districts where
Educators and the unions and parents and students. Administrators
are working together. They have developed a collaborative plan that
is making use of the of those funds and we've seen them use them
to help to hire nurses, counselors, which we know we need and mental
health experts. We've seen them, use them to partner with organizations
within the community. We've also seen them use use those funds.
To begin the steps to build community schools so that we can support
our students. We could support that whole student with all of the
needs that they they have. We have had to continue to fight to make
sure that those funds where are used in the manner that they are
intended so that we can provide more educators, more resources more
supports for our students.
That is Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association.