During a public meeting this week, the recruitment of teachers and other personnel amid a nationwide teacher shortage prompted a flurry of questions to Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 administrators.
With teachers of color particularly hard to recruit in a district with an overwhelmingly large minority student body, one person wanted to know if administrators were looking in Africa. The district has hired educators from other countries for several years.
Superintendent Theresa Plascencia did not rule out the possibility of looking in Africa. She said there is currently a pipeline from Puerto Rico, Spain and the Philippines. Other nations can be explored, she said.
“Can we consider Africa? Absolutely,” Plascencia said. “We’re not there yet.”
Questions about recruitment directed at Plascencia and two other District 60 administrators dominated a Waukegan Township town hall Wednesday at the Patricia Jones Center in Waukegan, giving people a closer look at the city’s public schools.
Supervisor Marc Jones said he wants to give the community an opportunity to learn about important issues facing the schools. A town hall meeting last winter involved a discussion of the future of Vista Medical Center East.
When hiring teachers from other countries, Plascencia said there are obstacles that must be overcome. In a district with a large Hispanic population, Puerto Rico was a good place to start, she said.
“They’re American citizens,” Plascencia said. “They have no problem moving here. We hired a number of Filipino teachers. They said they know of other teachers there who wanted to come here.”
Flanked by Eduardo Cesario, the district’s deputy superintendent of academic support and programs, and LeBaron Moten, the district’s deputy superintendent for operations support and programs, Plascencia discussed issues and took questions from the audience.
After talking about the district’s new strategic plan, called “Destination 2828,” and recruitment, Jones opened the floor for questions before other topics were discussed. Nearly all the questions were about hiring teachers and staff until the event ended 90 minutes later.
Admitting recruitment and retention of teachers is a challenge in Waukegan and other area school districts, Plascencia said a major step was taken in January when teacher pay was raised 20% in a new contract. More is being done.
“We have to recruit and retain,” she said. “It’s difficult to find teachers of color who want to be in the profession, especially in math, science and special education. Our goal is to have a qualified teacher in every classroom.”
Both Cesario and Moten talked about the district’s “grow your own” program, where paraprofessionals who are already in a district classroom receive assistance to get the education and training they need to become licensed teachers.
“We give the paraprofessionals the opportunity to take the next step,” Cesario said. “We make sure they get licensed and a bilingual endorsement. Some stay a year, and others remain. We think the new teacher contract will help with retention.”
Moten said providing mentorship from more experienced teachers to the newer ones is another way to build rapport and a comfortable situation as a newer teacher adjusts to the school and profession.
“It’s very helpful with the day-to-day dynamic,” Moten said. “They need to know not just what’s going on in the classroom, but in the school.”
Anthony McIntyre, the founder of Waukegan’s Antmound Foundation, wanted to know what the district was doing to ensure a good example is set for students by their elders in the district. Plascencia said those in authority had to set an example.
“We all need to hold ourselves accountable,” she said. “Every time we speak, we are role models. We have to use diplomacy. If something doesn’t work, we have to go another direction.”
Recruiting goes beyond hiring and retaining teachers. Moten said maintenance workers and bus drivers are part of the mix as well. A holistic approach is taken to the entire personnel situation.
“Recruitment’s the first step,” Moten said. “Another focus is retention.”
