No teacher shortage in Avoyelles schools this year

There are more certified teachers in Avoyelles Parish classrooms this school year than there have been in many years. The four-day school week is being credited for the improvement in recruiting.

After two weeks into the school year, Avoyelles School District had only one vacant teaching position -- and it was one that was added due to an increase in enrollment at Bunkie Magnet, Superintendent Blaine Dauzat said.

Dauzat said there are only three long-term substitutes in the schools at this time. In the past, the schools opened with 10-15 substitutes filling teacher positions.

“We are in much better shape than in the past,” Dauzat said. He added there are about 260 teachers in the school system.

When the School Board was discussing the change to a four-day school week, one of the expected advantages was in teacher recruitment.

The parish has suffered a teacher shortage over the past several years due to having the state’s lowest teacher salaries.

Another anticipated advantage is to save money on substitute teachers. That has already been shown in the lower number of long-term substitute teachers starting the school year.

TEACHER ABSENTEEISM

The four-day week is supposed to cure the parish’s traditionally high teacher absenteeism problem and thus reduce the cost for substitutes during the year.

Dauzat said it is too early to tell if the new schedule will have an effect on teacher absenteeism.

A report by the online news organization Propublica (propublica.org) found that in a recent school year the Avoyelles School District had 21 percent of its teachers described as “inexperienced” and suffered from “chronic absenteeism” with 36 percent of its teachers missing 10 or more days during the school year.

Both of those negative factors would be addressed if the new work week delivers on attracting experienced, certified teachers and reduces absenteeism.