Rural and urban Kansas areas struggle to find teachers

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A report says rural and urban schools in Kansas area are struggling to fill teaching positions as applicants opt for jobs in suburban locations and fewer college students major in education.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the report was issued by a task force of academics and educators and was presented to the Kansas State Board of Education on Tuesday.

Education commissioner Randy Watson put together a panel in March to analyze recruiting difficulties. Areas that are having a particularly difficult time include southwest Kansas, Wichita and Kansas City.

The report says 40 percent of the 277 teaching vacancies were in southwest Kansas. Vacancies were clustered in Wichita Unified School District 259 and Kansas City Unified School District 500, which are the state's two largest, high-poverty urban districts.

According to the report, northeast and northwest Kansas is attracting teachers from other parts of the state.

The report said school districts in suburban areas were "significantly more likely to fill vacancies with fully qualified personnel" compared to their urban and rural counterparts.

It also said that the number of college students majoring in education has recently fallen, and that data points to retirement being the main reason why teachers leave.

The panel recommended creating a committee to study why teachers are leaving the profession, offering financial incentives to teach in high-demand areas and offering bachelor's degrees in special education instead of requiring potential candidates to complete advanced studies.

Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital Journal Capital.
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The Gayly 7/15/2016 @ 4:20 pm CDT