Waterbury Public Schools is one of the districts in Connecticut with multiple open teaching positions. It has approximately 100 teacher openings, with 60 of those in special education.
“In Waterbury, we started to see that exodus of teachers out of our district before the pandemic, which has made it so much worse now after it. Before the pandemic, unfortunately, our teachers saw a lot of pay freezes, salary freezes. And during that time leading up to the pandemic, our teachers were taking jobs in neighboring districts for quite a bit more money,” Kevin Egan, an elementary school teacher in Waterbury for 25 years and the president of the Waterbury Teacher’s Association, said.
There were roughly nine salary freezes in the last 20 years, according to Egan. But during their most recent contract negotiations in December, the district agreed to build up some salary steps for teachers and that’s allowed the number of vacancies to drop from more than 200 to 100.
The district is aggressively seeking ways to fill the remaining positions, including special education, according to Verna Ruffin, the district’s superintendent.
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“The fact that we have 60 special education teachers short, there's no way to be able to deny that that is an issue,” said Ruffin.
Waterbury Public Schools works with colleges in-state and out-of-state, year-round, to recruit more teachers. But, there are fewer people going into the profession and all the districts are competing for those candidates, according to Rufifn.
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The district also offers current staff opportunities to continue their education or get their special education certification, by paying for the courses through Waterbury U.
The district also recognizes special education teachers need more support, Ruffin said.
“Waterbury is committed to providing those supports, whether it's a coach or a mentor, or someone to work side by side with them, or additional resources in their classroom. I think we've come to realize that it's not a matter of just hiring people, but how you support them with the resources they need to be successful,” said Ruffin.
One of Waterbury’s newest special education teachers is Persis Miller. She brings 26 years of special ed experience from her time teaching in New York City.
“I'm excited. I'm here. I'm willing to learn and help the children because most of all, that's the reason why we're here,” said Miller.
The district is also trying to plant that desire to teach in students in high school through a program called Educator Rising where they talk about the potential of becoming a teacher. They then offer opportunities for students to return with an associate’s degree and help in the classrooms. Waterbury also offers a new apprenticeship program.
Egan said he is hopeful that recent salary step increases and better health benefits will start to attract younger people into the profession.
“I've always felt that teaching is one of the most gratifying professions that any individual could take part in. It still is. It's just, we have to see some equity, and rewarding our professionals and getting our certified staff to a spot where you can earn a decent fair pay,” said Egan.
