TYLER, Texas — Better working conditions, better pay and better training. That’s what teachers across Texas want.
Teachers could see some of those improvements thanks to a new state report that came out Friday.
In March of last year, Gov. Greg Abbott created the Teacher Vacancy Task Force.
It’s made up of teachers and school administrators. The goal is to improve teacher retention and recruitment in the Lone Star State. For the past year, this task force has met every month.
Each school year, teachers welcome a new batch of students. And each school year, teachers struggle with the same issues inside and outside of the classroom.
"You can really see the teacher voice coming through, and the things that were reported," said Texas American Federation of Teachers President Zeph Capo.
He said the changes teachers are calling for are clear in the new report from the Teacher Vacancy Task Force.
"You can see the well-being issues, you can see the additional compensation beyond just dollars," Capo said.
According to this report, teacher salaries have not been adjusted to keep up with inflation. Texas is currently ranked 28th in the nation for average teacher salary leading teachers to pick up extra jobs around campus.
"In so many of our rural school districts you're not just the teacher. You literally are the bus driver as well, the coach, so many other things that you have to do just to make ends meet," Capo said.
School districts are trying to do their part. A long list of local school districts recently approved switching to a four-day school week, one of them being Rains ISD.
"One of the things that we struggle with is being able to pay our teachers. So we were looking for a creative way to entice retention and recruitment of teachers," said Rains ISD Superintendent Jennifer Johnson.
Capo said a four-day school week could cause more problems than solutions.
"It cannot be just a simplistic 'Hey, everybody's going to be off on this day of the week," said Capo. "It's got to be really thoughtful and strategic about how that time is going to be used and how they think through the potential pitfalls and address those needs."
The task force is also calling for better training for new teachers and more professional development opportunities.
"Those experienced teachers should be compensated for taking on the additional role of helping their novice teacher succeed," Capo said.
Though there is a lot of work still to be done, Capo said this report is a sign of hope.
For a more in-depth look into the report, click HERE.