AUSTIN, Texas — Growing safety threats, the looming battle over school vouchers and a teacher shortage – these are uncertain times in Texas schools. This month, KVUE welcomes back Judy Maggio for an in-depth series of reports called “Our Schools in Crisis.”
More Texas teachers are quitting their jobs than ever before, and fewer people are entering the profession to replace them.
Once considered a noble calling, many educators now say teaching is a high-stress job with low pay, long hours and, often, a lack of respect. It’s no wonder many veteran teachers are leaving, and replacing them is a challenge.
So, where can we find tomorrow’s teachers?
We begin at Huston-Tillotson University, where one classroom serves as a brotherhood of scholars – their buttoned-up dress code as distinctive as their collective ambition.
“The African American Male Teacher Initiative is a scholarship here in Huston-Tillotson for aspiring Black males who intend on teaching,” said Anthony Fairly, the director of the initiative.
The program is funded by Apple and provides a generous scholarship to attract more Black men into a profession where they are rarely seen.
Less than 2% of U.S. educators look like students in the classrooms. According to research, when Black children are taught by Black teachers, they’re more likely to graduate high school and consider college.
Growing up with a single mom, Jaylen Spence knows firsthand the importance of Black male role models.
“Because I did have a mentor … my senior year, and he definitely opened my eyes up to the point where, ‘This is the type of lifestyle that I wanted to live … This is what I want to become,'” Spence said. “So I would definitely want to follow into his footsteps as an educator.”
One goal of Huston-Tillotson’s teaching initiative is returning brand new teachers to the communities where they grew up. Spence is substitute teaching at his alma mater, Del Valle High School.
“As a Black man coming from the east side [of] Austin, Texas … [the] poorer side, I understand where you are coming from,” Spence said. “I’m here to guide you to success.”
“And so, they are planting the seed, allowing the student to grow and flourish but come back to their original community and be an educator,” Fairly said. “They’re familiar with it … They know the layout, they know the students, the communities, the neighborhoods. But their familiarity allows others to say, ‘Maybe I can do that.'”
Cultivating new teachers from the community is also a strategy in place in Hays CISD. The district, south of Austin, is growing at a breakneck pace, with at least 1,000 new students each year, so teachers are in high demand.
“It’s a competition among the school districts because there’s a limited pool,” Hays CISD Superintendent Dr. Eric Wright said.
Wright said the district prioritizes paying teachers a competitive rate and is pulling out all the stops to retain and recruit them.
“We have employee housing that we [have] ventured into now, and we have employee day care. So we’re trying to be creative and kind of control that ourselves,” Wright said. “But our school board has also made it a priority to make sure that we’re one of the top paying districts around.”
RELATED: ‘So much on your plate’ | What is driving Texas teachers out of the classroom?
This is Part 2 of KVUE’s multi-part “Our Schools in Crisis” series. Watch Part 1 here.
Next Monday and Tuesday on KVUE News at 6, Judy Maggio will take a close look at the controversy over school vouchers in Texas – one of the most contentious issues among teachers, parents and lawmakers and likely to be a top priority in the upcoming legislative session.