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Schools may scramble for teachers Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Central Point teacher Karen Weiseth, left, discusses her profession with Southern Oregon University student Sidney Rambo, who hopes to become a teacher in the district this fall. A new program will pair mentors such as Weiseth with beginning teachers in an effort to keep the new teachers on the job. Pay, benefits fail to keep up with real world By DAMIAN MANN Despite recent staff cuts at Jackson County schools, education officials warn that lower-than-average wages and the increasing cost of health insurance could lead to an eventual teacher shortage. "The tale will be told in the next three years as we get more and more teachers retiring," said Mike McEachern, an Oregon Education Association Uniserv consultant. "I do see a teacher shortage as a potential crisis." With Jackson County teachers averaging $39,000 annually compared to the statewide average of $45,000, local districts will have a hard time attracting and retaining new people, he believes. Mentors aim to attract, keep new teachers CENTRAL POINT - A pilot project to attract and keep new teachers will start next fall at the Central Point School District. In a rare collaboration between a union and a school district, the project will provide mentors to about 10 new recruits during their first year to help them overcome the hurdles they encounter in the classroom. This $35,000 program, funded by the Oregon Education Association, will set up a support group for new teachers as a way of encouraging them to stay in Central Point schools. "I don't know if I have any fears about becoming a teacher, but it would be great to have a confidante and have someone to bounce ideas off," said Medford resident Sidney Rambo, who will graduate this summer from Southern Oregon University. She has applied for a teaching position in Central Point and hopes to be hired this fall. Rambo believes that the mentor program will play a vital role in helping new teachers build confidence. The mentor teachers will each receive $800 in compensation for taking the new recruits under their wings and for logging more hours as part of the project. Karen Weiseth, president of the Central Point Education Association, said the hope is that the state will adopt a similar project for all schools. Many districts have independently created similar mentoring projects, but have financed them on their own. Rogue River School District gives mentor teachers $500 annually to help out the new recruits. The Medford School District gives new teachers 20 hours of classroom management before they begin teaching at local schools. Although the district doesn't have a mentoring program, it does have peer coaches who offer assistance to new teachers. If districts can't find enough teachers, McEachern said schools could face crowded classrooms. The state could also start issuing emergency credentials - similar to the situation in California - to alleviate the shortage problem. Jackson County has a large number of teachers at or near retirement age who will be replaced by younger teachers in the next few years. But about 50 percent of new teachers nationwide leave the profession in the first five years because of job dissatisfaction, low wages and stress, McEachern said. Recognizing the potential problem, the Oregon Education Association will finance a pilot mentoring program in the Central Point School District in an attempt to make the transition into teaching easier. "We hope the program will help in attracting and retaining beginning teachers," said Karen Weiseth, president of the Central Point Education Association. School districts, faced with budget problems, are barely able to give teachers a cost-of-living increase each year, much less raise salaries to compete with state levels. Throughout the country, educators have found that people have chosen higher-paying professions over teaching. "Many people look at the teaching profession and say, 'Why should I do that if they don't pay?' " said Weiseth. A mentoring program could help partially compensate for the lower pay scale in Jackson County by making it as easy as possible for teachers to become comfortable in their new profession. The theory is that if the teachers are comfortable and feel supported, they will choose to stay. The Legislature is also considering Senate Bill 250, which would create a similar program statewide in an effort to reduce the number of teachers who leave the profession. Educators anticipate that a nationwide shortage of teachers will eventually hit Oregon. Other states already have been forced to offer signing bonuses, down payments on houses and moving costs to entice teachers into their schools. The American Federation of Teachers recently said the average teacher salary in the 1999-2000 school year was $41,820 in the United States, up 3.2 percent from the previous year but just short of the 3.4 inflation rate. AFT said the rise in salary was among the smallest in 40 years. "The teacher shortage plaguing school districts nationwide will not abate unless salaries improve," AFT President Sandra Feldman said. "Better wages aren't the only way to retain and recruit teachers, but they sure make a difference." But with local school districts experiencing financial problems, it is unlikely that Jackson County salaries will increase dramatically unless the state pours more money into education. Local districts have not begun to feel the impact of the teacher shortage and have actually reduced staffing levels this year because of budget constraints. "I think definitely that if wages don't keep pace with inflation and significant amounts of a salary go to health insurance, the potential new hires are going to consider other districts," said McEachern. Currently, schools have little trouble finding applicants, and special education and bilingual teachers are more difficult to find. Charles Hellman, superintendent of Rogue River School District, said, "There is always a challenge to have an adequate pool of special ed, math or science teachers to choose from." But his district has had no difficulty finding qualified candidates for an open math and counseling position. Rogue River has also created its own mentoring program, Hellman said. Kathy McCollum, director of elementary education, said the Medford School District has instituted a number of programs that provide support to new teachers. As a result, only 10 percent of new teachers leave the district within the first three years, she said. Larry Austin, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education, said this state has been hit with teacher shortages in the past and expects more problems in the future as people hit retirement age. But it will not be an easy situation for schools to sort out. "School districts, so preoccupied with planning for the short term, have a hard time looking into the future," said Austin. "School districts also just don't have the right resources to take on this kind of planning." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.