Texas Teachers Are Getting Fed Up With Low Pay and Little Support

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Texas Teacher Shortage May Mean A Four Day School Week

One school in Texas is ready to implement a four-day school week for 2023- 24 because of teacher and staff shortages.

Are shorter school weeks for Texas students the best answer?

Trending right now on Texas news outlets and throughout the nation is Jasper Texas Independent School District's lamented decision to shorten the school week due to " teacher and teacher retention shortages," for all grade levels K through 12.

In the Jasper ISD Facebook post, which you can read in detail below, JISD offers enthusiastically that the majority of parents and teachers approved.

ABC reported in their coverage of the Texas shortage that, "According to a study conducted last year by the American Federation of Teachers with the Rand Corporation, one in four teachers were thinking about quitting their job by the end of the school year" in 2021. Teachers were also more likely to report experiencing regular job-related stress and symptoms of depression than the general population, according to the study. The study also offers that the top stressors for teachers included "Stressful working conditions included a mismatch between actual and preferred mode of instruction, lack of administrator and technical support."

Let's talk about the " mismatch between the actual and preferred modes of instruction" in Texas.

Texas teachers have expressed for multiple years that teaching for them has changed dramatically since Texas went to STARRS testing. Many teachers feel that they are teaching to a test and not to students as pressure mounts for students to pass STARRS for advancement.

According to the JISD Facebook post, 64 percent of student parents agreed that a four-day school week would be a good solution, and over 80 percent of teachers at JISD agreed. That being said, JISD also increased retention incentives for the 2022-2023 school year as well.

Many questions remain.

What will this mean for working parents in Jasper?

Will this be the next trend for Texas schools? Nationally?

How can we better support our Texas teachers before quite frankly, we lose them all?

Let us know what you think in the comments section of our Facebook pages or share your thoughts on all our station apps. 

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