As the school year kicks off, the city of Franklin is struggling to fill teacher vacancies, putting a strain on resources and prompting a shift in education.
At the high school, crucial math and science courses have been sidelined due to the unavailability of two teachers for each subject.
Franklin High School’s principal David Levesque said the reasons behind the shortage are a combination of factors.
“I think it’s possibly a combination of students entering the field. It could be because of the pay, and it could be the political climate that people are talking about the way teachers are feeling and the changes that are happening through different areas,” said Levesque, who is president-elect for the state’s Association of School Principals.
Franklin is on the lower end of the scale for starting teacher salary and average teacher pay, according to state data. Smaller districts that don’t pay as well as larger cities and affluent towns, like Concord and Bow, frequently struggle to hire enough teachers to cover all courses, according to a Monitor analysisof teacher turnover data.
Instead of having classes taught at the school, the district is collaborating with Lakes Region Community College through the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS) to ensure students still have access to math and science courses despite the shortage of teachers.
The approach includes both online classes conducted through video with a teacher, as well as occasional in-person sessions
“I think what we’re trying to do is be progressive and look at it in a different way and how we can have students earn some college credits,” said Levesque. “And also when they go to school, they will be saving a bunch of money at the end of the day.”
At the same time, the school district is actively engaged in the recruitment of new teachers to mitigate the shortages.
Meanwhile, the shortage of three classroom teachers at the middle school necessitates a different approach — larger class sizes.
The current average class size of under 20 is set to rise to around 24.
“So [class sizes] are still within state’s standards requirements that are minimum standards requirements but just a little bit larger than what we’d like to see,” said Daniel LeGallo superintendent of SAU 18.
In contrast to some school districts across the state experiencing similar vacancies, the impact on the Franklin School District has been more severe.
John Stark Regional High School, for instance, has managed to navigate the situation relatively smoothly, as they have one open position for a high school math teacher without any disruptions to their schedule.
“We do have a couple of teacher openings but nothing that will affect our schedule,” said John Stark Principal Gary Dempsey. “We are in good shape.”
To address concerns from parents regarding the new approach to teaching math and science courses, the Franklin school district will hold a meeting on Tuesday.
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