APS tries to stem longstanding teacher vacancies

Nov. 7—During her teaching internship at John Baker Elementary School, Eldorado High School student Mia Griswold has a vivid memory of how the kids reacted when they learned it was her birthday.

"They were like, 'Ms. Mia!' And all of the kids surrounded me and hugged me," Griswold said. "One of them even got on top of the other kids to get higher to hug me."

It's moments like that, Griswold said, that make being in the classroom "so special." Even the sight of the hallways being filled with little kids "who don't have that much attitude yet" warms her heart.

Griswold hopes to become a K-12 social worker, but she said she is "not blind" to Albuquerque Public Schools' need for teachers.

"It's so sad to the see the vacancies in the schools," Griswold said.

The Teacher Academy program, an elective APS students can take, is one way the district is trying to close the gap on the number of educator vacancies throughout the state.

Griswold said she always thought she "can make a difference" in the school system.

"That's how my mom raised me," she said, referencing her mother, Cindy, who is a health center assistant at John Baker Elementary School.

'Largest number of vacancies'

The 2024 New Mexico Educator Vacancy Report, authored by researchers at New Mexico State University, said the central region of the state "continues to have the largest number of vacancies" with 337 positions not filled. The central region, as defined in the report, includes not just APS, but also Rio Rancho, Belen, Bernalillo, Estancia, Los Lunas Schools, the Moriarty-Edgewood School District, Mountainair, Pecos, Santa Fe and Vaughn public schools.

A review of the current and previous report shows that APS, New Mexico's largest school district, saw teacher vacancies increase for the third straight year.

APS had 210 vacancies as of Sept. 9, when the vacancy report count was taken. That figure is up from 197 the year before and 159 in 2022, according to the reports.

The number of vacancies in the report may change over time since they are based on the teacher vacancies that are examined when the authors of the report begin to review the postings on the job sites for each district, said Rachel Boren, director of NMSU's Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center (SOAR).

Data provided by APS shows its educator vacancies total 415.5 — much higher than the SOAR report, which said the data do not include state charter schools or private schools.

A breakdown of vacancies by positions shows only 37 teacher vacancies. Some vacancies were in the single digits — educational diagnosticians (nine), counselors (eight), instructional/transitional coaches (five), administrators, including principals and assistant principals (one), emotional behavior/support providers (.5) and interventionalists (no vacancies).

APS's greatest number of vacancies includes educational/instructional assistants (188) and special education teachers (137), which Antonio Gonzales, deputy superintendent of leadership and learning for APS, touched on in a Journal interview.

"Those two areas continue to be a concern and, I think, it's fair to say has been for the last several years," Gonzales said.

Educational assistants, particularly those who work in special education, make up the most open positions listed on the APS jobs web page as of Wednesday.

At a statewide level, the SOAR report seems to echo APS' challenges. Special education teachers were among "the highest need" with 280 vacancies, which account for 38% of all teacher vacancies. Elementary teachers jobs were the second largest total, with 179, or 24% of all teacher vacancies.

Although APS has a greater need for certain positions over others, Gonzales noted some positions are well-staffed. APS high schools have fewer than 10 teacher vacancies, he said, "which is, quite frankly, unprecedented for a large urban district nationwide." By the Journal's count, APS only had seven high school teacher vacancies as of Nov. 7.

During an interview with the Journal on Wednesday, Jamie Escobedo, a longtime APS employee and Eldorado High School teacher who leads the Teacher Academy that includes Griswold, noted her school's need for a New Mexico history and government teacher.

Even though Eldorado is not hurting for teachers, Escobedo recognized the need for more of them and discussed why she thought vacancies are so high.

"I think people realize it's a hard profession," she said. "It's not just teaching; it's all the other aspects of teaching — making sure kids are fed, safe and have what they need to learn."

Other reasons for the vacancies might be the pay and even the perception the public has about their duties, she said.

"I feel like a lot of times, when kids tell other people that they're going into education, they ask, 'Why?' Like it's a bad thing that kids are going into education," Escobedo said, "and I think that sometimes scares them away."

Vacancies' impact on schools

Griswold said the teacher vacancy issue once impacted her ability to learn. When her teacher did not return from maternity leave, a permanent substitute was installed, which led to disarray in the classroom.

"When you went into class, you were on your phone or on your computer just watching videos, watching movies and there was no actual learning going on," Griswold said. "As someone who loves to learn ... I saw it as a very negative thing."

She also saw students skipping class or taking naps in class because they don't take a substitute teacher seriously.

"Nothing's being done. It's a free period," Griswold said.

Eldorado also needs two educational assistants and one classroom helper, according to a job postings webpage.

Escobedo said teacher vacancies in subjects like math might mean students don't get the foundational learning they need that will help them in higher-level courses.

"It's almost like a domino effect," she said.

Actions to address vacancies

What steps is APS taking to address the vacancies?

Gonzales cited several initiatives, including the Teacher Academy elective for high schoolers.

"(It's a) powerful example of how we're promoting the teaching profession in our own community," he said. "We know our students relate to individuals who have a common set of experiences. We can't think of a better way to help connect those experiences than growing our own teachers from within our community."

Gonzales also mentioned a teacher residency program, which aims to give aspiring teachers a stipend of at least $35,000 to spend a year in a classroom alongside experienced teachers to better prepare them for their own careers. In January, the U.S. Department of Education awarded an $8 million, five-year grant to the state's Public Education Department to bolster the program.

For APS, the teacher residencies program "has really fostered a 'grow our own' model," Gonzales said.

"We are not sitting back waiting for applicants, necessarily. We are building and growing applicants because we recognize what the data is saying," he said.

APS is also providing incentives like tuition reimbursement for teaching assistants to encourage them to earn their teaching license, Gonzales said.