A big problem pressing on so many students and staff is the lack of teachers. Slowly but surely, teachers have been disappearing. If you have been wondering why your favorite teachers are being replaced by subs, it’s because 77% of Texas teachers have considered leaving the profession.

Our district has been trying to find ways to get new teachers or keep the ones they have. The district has tried to focus on the work culture and environment, salary increases, and classroom leadership to try and keep teachers. This problem has affected many schools because of the lack of people that want to sub or teach. It is also affecting the students that need their teachers to learn properly.

With the district trying to raise teachers’ salaries, they decided on including a November bonus of $1,000 for all the staff in the district. They increased the employee insurance benefits by $50 a month, which, to me, sounds like they are choosing to spend money that could be used elsewhere.

The district has also tried some on hands ideas to try to improve teachers’ working conditions. The district has also started conducting “Stay Interviews.” These are interviews held by the board with existing teachers. These “Stay Interviews” will help the district find more specific ways to help retain teachers.

Lastly, the district is giving teachers more time to plan. Teachers normally get three days out of the year to plan and whatever time they have before and after school. So, next year there will be a total of seven teacher workdays instead of the normal three.

Many teachers and staff have agreed that the biggest way to recruit more people to Azle is to keep the current employees. The employees who love their jobs will spread good ideas and experiences to the newcomers.