County schools still short 200 teachers

Most of the vacancies are in special education classes

‘‘It’s a concern not just for us in this county, but regionally and nationally,” said Hathaway Beck, a former substitute teacher for Prince George’s special education classes. ‘‘Special ed teachers are the ones that we’re all looking for. ... It’s definitely a calling. It’s not something that you just one day decide to do.”

Ninety-eight percent of the nation’s largest school districts suffer with ongoing special education teacher shortages, according to a study released by the Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education, a partnership between Johns Hopkins University and the University of Florida.

With more than 134,000 students, Prince George’s is the second largest district in Maryland and the seventeenth largest school district in the country.

Prince George’s schools unveiled a $300,000 ad campaign in June that targeted highly qualified teachers from across the country through job Web sites, teacher trade magazines and other media. The school system has filled more than 1,000 open spots since then, but still has about 200 remaining, said Randy Thornton, director of Human Resources for county public schools.

‘‘However, we will have a teacher in every classroom on the first day of school,” said Thornton, who added that substitutes would be used in classrooms without full-time teachers.

The school system held job fairs this spring and summer where recruiters aimed at bringing in more experienced, qualified substitutes.

A new requirement could put better substitute teachers in Prince George’s schools this year, said Kim Bagley, a human resources specialist with the school system. Substitutes must now have at least 60 college credits. Previously, only a high school diploma was required.

Hathaway Beck said she was pleased with the ad campaign’s short-term results, but expected better long-term gains.

‘‘I’m happy with the initiative ... but time will tell what type of dividends it pays,” she said. ‘‘It’s really too new to call it a victory.”

The school year will also start with more than a dozen parent liaison positions, full-time facilitators for parent-administrator relations, open, but those are expected to be filled early in the school year, according to Kelly Alexander, who is in charge of the county parent liaison program.

Alexander said the school system was bombarded with resumes earlier this summer when more than 800 county residents applied for liaison positions. She said some applicants were hired and later turned down the position or were not approved by principals.

‘‘We’re working as fast as we can,” Alexander said.

The $2.7 million liaison program is an initiative pushed by Superintendent John E. Deasy over the last year to improve parental involvement in county schools. Parent liaisons will be charged with serving as a go-between for parents, teachers and administrators, helping parents understand classroom policy and disciplinary measures, among other issues.

Deasy and the school board originally planned for a three-year phase-in period for the liaison program. The plans were accelerated this year since officials believe they are critical to establishing community links to schools.

Alexander said all 24 high schools and 32 middle schools had a liaison. Twelve elementary schools did not have a parent liaison in place as of Monday, Alexander said. About one out of three county schools had a liaison last year.

Alexander said schools with large Spanish-speaking populations will also have an ESOL parent liaison, who will foster communication between parents who only speak Spanish and English-speaking administrators.

The program has been criticized by some who believe liaisons have not adequately reached out to parents.

‘‘There seems to be no oversight to keep track of this program. On paper, it’s exciting, but it’s not operating as it should ... and our parents are losing out,” said Sandra Pruitt, an education activist who has a child at Ernest Everett Just Middle School in Mitchellville.

E-mail Dennis Carter at dcarter@gazette.net.