teacher shortage

A new poll from St. Louis University and YouGov found support for increased funding for some education initiatives but growing discontent with public schools in Missouri.

Independence que por mucho, es el distrito más grande en Missouri que ha tomado la decisión de hacer el cambio a una semana escolar más corta, dejando preguntas para las familias acerca de lo que pueden esperar.

Independence is by far the largest district in Missouri to make the switch to a shorter school week, leaving questions for families about what they can expect.

Natianna Ohmart, an English teacher at William Chrisman High School, said the tax levy's passage would take financial pressure off her strained budget.

To help solve Missouri's shortage of school staff, Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation last week that allows educators to work full-time for a district without losing their retirement benefits. The law also affects positions like bus drivers and janitors.

Some Missouri school districts have turned to a 2016 state law that empowers them to file charges against teachers who break their employment contracts. The process can lead to the suspension of a teacher’s license. Other school districts have used the law to impose financial penalties as high as $10,000.

Missouri pays its teachers some of the lowest salaries in the nation, and many educators are leaving the profession.

The Missouri legislative session is more than halfway done, and many different bills affecting schools are making their way through the capitol.

Teachers at Kansas City Public Schools will soon be paid the highest starting salaries in the region — but just by a smidge. The school board approved a new union contract in the middle of a widespread teacher shortage that's making districts across the region compete to recruit and retain educators.

Superintendent Brent Yeager, who oversees the second-largest school district in Kansas, told state lawmakers that a major reason for resignations among teachers was the negative portrayals of educators as unprofessional and unworthy of respect.

Nearly 100 teachers at the Ewing Marion Kauffman School are unionizing in an effort to reduce teacher turnover and raise their pay. If they win recognition, they will be only the second charter school in Missouri to unionize.

Missouri's average teacher salaries are among the worst in the U.S. Last year, a temporary solution raised pay for some teachers. This year, educators are asking for a permanent increase.