By Gil McClanahan
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LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky. (WCHS/WVAH) — Summer vacation is quickly coming to an end for some Kentucky students.
Wednesday the school year begins in several districts, including Lawrence County. On Tuesday morning, teachers and staff had a pep rally because Wednesday morning another school year begins.
It’s a year that begins with a challenge – the county is starting the year with a teacher shortage.
“Ten years ago, 12 years ago in talking with former superintendents, you may have 10 to 15 applicants for an elementary teacher,” Lawrence Conty School Superintendent Robbie Fletcher said. “Now we are blessed to have three, at the most five.”
Since the first of the year, nearly 5,000 open positions have been listed on the Kentucky Educator Placement Service. Some of the critical shortage areas in Eastern Kentucky include English, communications, foreign languages, mathematics and science.
“We posted a biology position that we never got an applicant,” Fletcher said.
To deal with the shortage, Fletcher said, some teachers get certified in other areas. Plus, community members have been getting certified to teach. Still, some schools will begin the school year with substitute teachers.
“We’re asking to do lesson plans. We’re asking to teach units that is not their field,” Fletcher said.
Lawrence County teacher Darrell Combs talked about some of the challenges.
“We’re to incorporate technology at this level, as opposed to using a smartboard or with just using the calculator and so forth,” Combs said. “When it gets to this level, that’s something I need to get more comfortable with myself.”
Fletcher said when a teacher is hired, he or she will continue what the substitute was teaching, with hopefully little interruption in the learning process.