WEST CHESTER — School systems throughout Ohio need to review teacher salaries to ensure equity across the board and find ways to improve work-life balance for those in education, Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said Friday.
Lolli offered those comments at a meeting of educators throughout southwest Ohio hosted by Miami University to talk over ideas to deal with the national teacher shortage. The session was held at Miami’s Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester, Butler County.
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According to new data, 53 percent of U.S. public schools reported feeling understaffed heading into the 2022-23 school year.
“We have a lot of folks who are leaving before retirement,” Julia Indalecio, a Cincinnati Public Schools official, told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis.
“We need people who are thinking outside the box, who are thinking creatively about every individual student and how they learn,” said Indalecio, CPS director of talent, acquisition and talent.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported some reasons behind teacher recruiting and retention challenges:
◊ A negative perception of the teaching profession
◊ School workplace culture
◊ Teacher compensation
Lolli, DPS superintendent since 2018, said high-quality teachers ultimately provide a high-quality education for students.
“If we don’t provide that, we are just increasing the haves and have nots in this country and we will quickly see that we don’t have a workforce, we don’t have people that can do jobs that are necessary in technology, jobs that are necessary in the medical field,” she said.
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Lolli suggests taking a look at teacher salaries statewide and making sure there’s equity across the board and also find ways to improve work-life balance for those in education.
“I think the other thing that we need to do is we need to start rethinking how we do education,” she said.
Leaders mentioned the importance of strengthening the pipeline for students interested in teaching, Middletown City Schools Superintendent Marlon Styles said, and making sure students see themselves represented in education matters, too.
“When it comes to our young men of color, they need to see themselves in the profession people with people who look like them, talk like them, dress like them, have hair that feels exactly the same way that theirs does, representation matters,” he said.
Friday’s meeting was the first of five scheduled regional meetings held throughout Ohio during the end of October to address the teacher shortage, which state officials are calling a statewide crisis. The meetings will include about 100 stakeholders from Pre-K and higher education, local communities, business and industry, and government to generate possibilities for recruiting and retaining quality teachers.
Allison Miller, a 21-year-old student teacher, said it’s tough to see these issues but wants to be part of the solution.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher because I love the idea of inspiring the next generation,” she said. “I care. I know that this is something I’m passionate about.”
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