Teacher openings abound in ECISD
Apr. 15—With 350 current teacher openings, Ector County ISD is aggressively working to fill those spots before August.
"We're towards the middle of April right now and we're in the recruiting time, so we have those vacancies today, but the goal is not to have that many vacancies in August," Superintendent Scott Muri said in his media call Wednesday. "We hope to fill as many of those as we possibly can, but we know the pandemic has, even though it is subsiding, what that is creating is an economy that's a bit more vibrant and folks are finding other opportunities to work in."
He said they anticipate that teacher vacancies may rise, but again, having a large number of vacancies in April is not unusual. "It's having them in August that's going to be a problem, so we're being pretty aggressive with our recruiting strategies to make sure that we can fill as many of those vacancies as we possibly can."
A variety of things cause teachers to leave the profession and burnout is one, Muri said.
"Every year we cycle through teacher positions and other positions in the district. Retirement is part of that. We've seen families come and go in our own community. A spouse may be transferred, so the teacher that's a part of a family unit may be a part of a job transition. There are a variety of reasons that vacancies occur within a school environment. ... It's tough. It has always been difficult to work in the field of education, but the pandemic has really accentuated the challenges that educators face."
He said many of parents now understand that more than they have before "as our moms and dads this year served as 'teachers' in their home with some of their children in the early days of this pandemic. But there are a variety of reasons that folks come in and out of education. Our goal is to hold on to as many of the great teachers as we can and then recruit as many of the great teachers as we can to serve our students," Muri said.
On a separate topic, Muri noted that for the seventh year in a row, ECISD has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.
Now in its 22nd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students, a news release said.
To qualify for the Best Communities designation, ECISD answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.
Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music.
Additionally, the prekindergarten roundup is going on for the remainder of this week at different campuses throughout the district.
"We are thrilled to announce that in August of 2021 not only will we offer prek for 4 year olds, but for the first time we're going to offer prek for 3 year old students. Right now, we're trying to round them all up, so moms and dads if you have a 3 or 4 year old running around your house this is an opportunity that you won't want to miss. Starting next year, we will welcome in our pre-k program 3 year old and 4 year old children," Muri said.
He added that you can visit the ECISD website for more information, or visit any of the locations this week.
"Early education is critically important," he said. "We've learned a lot about that over the last many years as we have studied children. Our brain research tells us that the human brain develops about 80 percent of its capacity between birth and the age of 4, so these early intervention opportunities ... are critically important to their success, not only through public education but in life as well. We encourage all of our families to register and enroll (their) children in the ECISD pre-k programs," Muri said.
Early education has children playing with blocks and manipulatives and offers active stimulation.
"... They're up; they're moving; they're using their hands, their feet, their eyes, their ears, their nose to engage in a lot of different learning activities, but the bonding between mom and dad and child is critically important. That occurs ... early in those years, but all of these experiences are part of creating a healthy child, a successful child and ultimately a successful adult."
The program for 3-year-olds is half day and the 4-year-old program is a full day. In Texas, Muri said, kindergarten and pre-k are not requirements. Children do not need to attend school until first grade.
In its partnership with the YMCA for the 3-year-old program, Muri said there may be some opportunities where half of the child's day could be pre-k and the other half could be some type of child care environment.
"We do know we had over 100 families at each of Monday night's and Tuesday night's gatherings," Muri said. "That's a really healthy response."
He said the district probably won't know how successful the round up was until mid-summer.
"We'll continue to register kids, literally, until the first day of school. Our goal is to bring back many of the children that did not engage in pre-k. We hope to see them in kindergarten this year, and again, those first timers in pre-k we're anxious to bring them aboard. Our environment will be safe. It is safe today. We encourage all of our kids and families to engage in that pre-k opportunity."
