Teacher Vacancies Hit 3-Year Low in Palm Beach County, Fla.

Jul. 21–Palm Beach County schools need only 187 teachers to fill all their teaching vacancies for the new school year.

That’s the lowest number of openings this close to the start of school in three years. School officials credit a flurry of job fairs and an increasingly stable teaching force.

“We are constantly clearing applicants,” teacher recruitment director Wallis Sherman said. “Turnover is not as great as in the past. People are staying.”

The 187 openings, out of 11,596 positions, mostly are in special education and reading, subjects considered “critical shortage” that require special certification.

The district needed about 500 new teachers for the next school year, which begins Aug. 10. Recruiters have traveled nationwide and even to other countries to find the personnel. About 5 percent of teachers left the county’s schools last year, the same rate as Broward County and the state.

Recruiters consider the lowered vacancy rate an accomplishment because the state requires a gradual reduction in class sizes each year through 2010. Average class size in kindergarten through second grade will be 22, down from 25 last year. Upper elementary classes will drop from 29 to 26.

These reductions force the hiring of more teachers. But the need may have been greater last year, when Palm Beach County opened seven new schools, compared with only three this year. Beginning teachers earn $33,331, compared with $33,275 in Miami-Dade and $34,000 in Broward. The average state teacher salary is $31,467.

Although there is a constant need for new teachers in fast-growing South Florida, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects job growth for teachers nationally to rise more slowly than in the past, because of aging Baby Boomer children.

There is a national teacher shortage in some subjects, such as chemistry, physics, bilingual education and vocational subjects, but sufficient numbers in elementary school, physical education and social studies, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004-05 edition.

With a national shortage of teachers in key subject areas and fierce statewide competition to hire the best employees, the School District said it has worked hard not only to recruit teachers but to keep them. Six support teachers worked with 340 new teachers last year to provide feedback and solve problems, said Cheryl Hires, a staff-development specialist for the district.

The strategy apparently has worked. Even schools near Lake Okeechobee, where geographical isolation discourages many teacher candidates, report few openings.

“I have no vacancies,” said Lavoise Smith, principal of K. E. Cunningham/Canal Point Elementary School in Canal Point. “I haven’t had a lot of teachers leaving.”

Teacher Apryl Showers-Graniso said one of the keys to her successful first year last year was support by fellow teachers and her principal.

“Dealing with kids every day is not an easy thing,” said Showers-Graniso, who taught first grade at Indian Pines Elementary west of Lantana and taught in Broward County for 12 years. “But if you do your job, everyone is professional to you. I was treated well and there was not much turnover.”

The district held a job fair on Monday and hired 57 teachers. Over the past few months, the district has held several fairs, where teachers interview potential candidates and can hire ones they like on the spot.

The district recently began e-mailing principals with lists of teacher candidates who have been cleared for work in the district. This new system has expedited the hiring process, principals say.

Diane Conley, principal of Greenacres Elementary, said she needs a first-grade teacher but expects to find one before school starts.

“I went to the job fair but didn’t find a match,” Conley said. “I’d rather start with a sub than hire someone who isn’t a great teacher.”

Bobbi Armenti, principal of Coral Reef Elementary west of Lake Worth, said she still has several teacher vacancies.

“You always get a little nervous when it’s so close to school starting,” Armenti said. “But I know there are a lot of good people out there.”

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