LAUSD Experiences Teacher Shortages After Online Learning
January 19, 2023
Updated on Thursday, January 19, 2022 at 10:42 a.m. since December print issue was distributed
Post-Covid pandemic, school teachers’ mental health and overall well-being have received more mainstream attention. Largely due to the ongoing national teacher shortage and other issues such as teacher burnout, which were only amplified because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The consequences of this have only become more apparent. A teacher survey from United Teachers Los Angeles, the teacher labor union of LAUSD. showed that nearly 70% of teachers have considered “leaving their profession altogether” and “do not believe LAUSD values their working conditions or their students’ working conditions”.
Despite this development, LAUSD has reportedly made strides in filling vacant staff positions beginning the summer of 2022 with 2,100 staff vacancies and filling about 700. The new hires include fully credentialed teachers.
Coordinator Jennifer Barnhill, who is involved with UTLA, was critical towards the current state of LAUSD, mentioning the approximately 20% pay cut that educators face compared to others that have their same education level in different professions and how “in LAUSD it’s even worse than that, because we are paid less than our neighboring distircts”
To help respond to these issues, UTLA has been in negotiations with district staff relations, negotiating for “reduced class sizes,” “more staff on campus,” and a “significant pay raise.”
Barnhill believes that these changes would help towards issues such as teacher burnout, “reducing the general workload that school sites experience” and keeping LAUSD at level with neighboring districts. She said these changes “would help make our jobs easier to do and help make students, you know, be better served”
In light of these issues that LAUSD teachers face, first year teacher Samantha Cline is still optimistic. “It’s a profession where you feel compelled to give all your time. And there’s always something to do something to grade, something to make, something to plan, which can be really overwhelming” “I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones so far and that hasn’t been the case for me. But I recognize that it is definitely the case for other people I know.”
Assistant principal Mariana Kayichian said “teachers overall after the pandemic have a bigger job than usual” and are “kind of first line for student support, not just academically but emotionally.” Part of her role as Assistant Principal is knowing which teachers need to be hired.
She also works with a team of people to “provide different opportunities for teachers” having different activities such as workshops and bi-weekly lunches. Kayichian wants to make sure that “teachers, especially new teachers are priority for Venice High School.”
“Teaching is hard. It’s always been, especially nowadays. Now there’s just a little bit more added onto that.”
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Marco Antonio Pedraza • Aug 21, 2023 at 7:48 PM
Soy Geógrafo graduado en la ULA Mérida Venezuela y vivo acá. Tengo experiencia educativa cómo Teacher Geography por más de 20 años tal vez les serviría mis servicios cómo Profesor.
Hablo Algo de Inglés, Italiano y Francés.
Atte.
Licenciado Marco Pedraza
Leonard Segal • Jan 27, 2023 at 12:22 PM
Great article! We don’t have a shortage of teachers. We have a shortage of teachers willing to work under these working conditions with substandard pay, overcrowded classrooms, testing taking time away from teaching, and a lack of resources for teachers.
I was in a meeting room full of teachers and they asked the teacher’s in the room, “how many of you would retire today if you could?” and every hand went up.
This is an unacceptable status quo!
And if we want to change it, we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing.
We need to give teachers more of a voice in our union and more agency to teach to the students not to the tests in their classrooms.
We need a curriculum that is more relevant to the lives of our students and professional development that is more relevant to the specific careers of our educators.
And we need to employ the latest technology including AI artificial intelligence to empower our teachers and our students to build great careers and lives and not be vulnerable to changing economic forces.
I agree with Assistant principal Mariana Kayichian that teachers are the first line of support emotionally and otherwise for students. I agree we need to give new teachers the resources, training, curriculum and pay necessary to make their jobs enjoyable and careers successful.
That’s why I, Leonard Segal, am running to be the next president of UTLA. with the United Team For Change slate of competent experienced candidates.
I’ve taught for 27 years so I can make a difference in young people’s lives and now I want to make a difference in the lives of people like the great teachers interviewed in this article. Thank you to all of our educators, school site employees and other stakeholders who make public education what it is today. You all make me proud to be in this great profession.
Leonard Segal