Week Five

Last week I helped Bekah Peters again. It is the time of the year in which new teachers are being sought out. This year, I think they are looking harder for elementary teachers because the new elementary school is close to being available for use. I helped her make recruitment packets for possible new employees. The packet consisted of a front and back cover, a summary of school policies, plans for the future, and one of the superintendent’s cards. There are a lot of packets to be done; I couldn’t really see Neosho gaining that many new teachers. They will have to stock an entire elementary, though, so I guess I should look at it that way. I was very surprised to get a gift certificate from Kristi. She wrote me a little note saying that she was very appreciative of all the organizing I had done. It was nice to know that I was helping the office in some way. Hopefully, I can continue to make a little difference in their office.
I asked my mom how successful the recruitment packets were and she said that there were usually only two or three teachers gained through this process. It seems like a lot of trouble for the potential yield of teachers. I could be wrong; two or three new teachers could be a desirable number of new teachers for the school district. However, if they are going to restock a new elementary school, they will need a few more teachers signed up. Besides the recruitment packets, the school advertises in the paper and has a website with job openings on it. Apparently, they usually receive applications from several teachers shopping around for a job. Collectively, they have managed to stay sufficiently staffed; that is, I haven’t heard of too many shortages.
I know that they seem to have trouble keeping new science teachers on staff. There are old fogies who have been there since my dad went to the high school, and I don’t think they will leave until they retire. However, younger science teachers come and go within a couple of years. The science department in Neosho schools could do with a facelift. That is why it is very good that there are new labs being built in the high school.
I don’t think that too many of the other departments at the high school are struggling for teachers. The rest of the departments are filled with people who have been there for several years. I am not sure how Neosho’s pay is when compared with other school districts, but they have managed to keep several of their teachers for a couple of decades. The school has been making a lot of changes within the last few years, and it will be interesting to see how many of these older teachers begin retirement.
My sister is a junior at the school right now, and she hasn’t said too much about the changes the high school is making. It could be that she is used to it and accepts the change as an everyday thing.