MACON, Ga. — There has been a teacher shortage state-wide for the past few years, and in Macon-Bibb County, schools are still recruiting for the upcoming school year.
While kids prepare for their first day of school, the Bibb County School District is still moving around some missing puzzle pieces. The pieces? The teachers that actually teach those kids.
“As far as what I’ve heard, there are teacher shortages everywhere,” Demetria "Dee" Thomas, principal at Miller Magnet Middle School, said.
She had been the principal for the past three years and has experienced the teacher shortage firsthand.
“We hear it all the time, about teachers being underpaid and they are because they’re the ones that are out in the trenches every single day,” Thomas said.
Luckily for Thomas, she's almost filled all of her open positions.
“Currently we have 43 teachers here at Miller," Thomas said. "Right now, I am only needing to hire a teacher for English language arts for the sixth grade.”
The Bibb County School District says they're especially short on teachers who specialize in math, science, special education and foreign languages. However, the district couldn't tell us how many teachers they still need.
"In terms of numbers, that changes every day," said Holly Huynh, the Bibb County School District's Talent Management and Acquisitions Coordinator. "It’s kind of a moving target, but we're still looking for teachers at all grade levels and in all content levels.”
Four days before the start of the semester, Thomas told us they're doing their best to support their teachers and staff.
"We do as much as we can to try and make sure that our teachers are taken care of," Thomas said. "We know that their social-emotional well-being is important as well, so I feel like if I can take care of my teachers, then they'll take care of the students."
The solution to the shortage? Waiver teachers. In other words, a teacher who is trained by the district to get their certification.
“Those are first-year teachers who have never been in the classroom before," Thomas said. "So what we do is we get them on a track to get better fast.”
The topic of waiver teachers is something school districts have been doing for quite some time, but due to the shortage, it’s making a comeback. Now, it’s all about sustaining and maintaining.
“Coming into the teaching profession, if you don’t love kids, this is not the job for you," Thomas said. "I want to make sure that we’re bringing in teachers that actually love what they’re going to do.”
If you have that passion, consider applying and filling a position. The schools need their community.
“We hope to involve the community," Huynh said. "Anybody that has a 4-year degree that’s looking to possibly make a career change, we’d love to meet with them.”