近距离内射合集

During her teaching internship at John Baker Elementary School, Eldorado High School student Mia Griswold has a vivid memory of how the kids reacted when they learned it was her birthday.

鈥淭hey were like, 鈥楳s. Mia!鈥� And all of the kids surrounded me and hugged me,鈥� Griswold said. 鈥淥ne of them even got on top of the other kids to get higher to hug me.鈥�

It鈥檚 moments like that, Griswold said, that make being in the classroom 鈥渟o special.鈥� Even the sight of the hallways being filled with little kids 鈥渨ho don鈥檛 have that much attitude yet鈥� warms her heart.

Griswold hopes to become a K-12 social worker, but she said she is 鈥渘ot blind鈥� to Albuquerque Public Schools鈥� need for teachers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so sad to the see the vacancies in the schools,鈥� Griswold said.

The Teacher Academy program, an elective APS students can take, is one way the district is trying to close the gap on the number of educator vacancies throughout the state.

Griswold said she always thought she 鈥渃an make a difference鈥� in the school system.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 how my mom raised me,鈥� she said, referencing her mother, Cindy, who is a health center assistant at John Baker Elementary School.

鈥楲argest number of vacancies鈥�

The 2024 New Mexico Educator Vacancy Report, authored by researchers at New Mexico State University, said the central region of the state 鈥渃ontinues to have the largest number of vacancies鈥� with 337 positions not filled. The central region, as defined in the report, includes not just APS, but also Rio Rancho, Belen, Bernalillo, Estancia, Los Lunas Schools, the Moriarty-Edgewood School District, Mountainair, Pecos, Santa Fe and Vaughn public schools.

A review of the current and previous report shows that APS, New Mexico鈥檚 largest school district, saw teacher vacancies increase for the third straight year.

APS had 210 vacancies as of Sept. 9, when the vacancy report count was taken. That figure is up from 197 the year before and 159 in 2022, according to the reports.

The number of vacancies in the report may change over time since they are based on the teacher vacancies that are examined when the authors of the report begin to review the postings on the job sites for each district, said Rachel Boren, director of 近距离内射合集鈥檚 Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center (SOAR).

Data provided by APS shows its educator vacancies total 415.5 鈥� much higher than the SOAR report, which said the data do not include state charter schools or private schools.

A breakdown of vacancies by positions shows only 37 teacher vacancies. Some vacancies were in the single digits 鈥� educational diagnosticians (nine), counselors (eight), instructional/transitional coaches (five), administrators, including principals and assistant principals (one), emotional behavior/support providers (.5) and interventionalists (no vacancies).

APS鈥檚 greatest number of vacancies includes educational/instructional assistants (188) and special education teachers (137), which Antonio Gonzales, deputy superintendent of leadership and learning for APS, touched on in a Journal interview.

鈥淭hose two areas continue to be a concern and, I think, it鈥檚 fair to say has been for the last several years,鈥� Gonzales said.

Educational assistants, particularly those who work in special education, make up the most open positions listed on the APS jobs web page as of Wednesday.

At a statewide level, the SOAR report seems to echo APS鈥� challenges. Special education teachers were among 鈥渢he highest need鈥� with 280 vacancies, which account for 38% of all teacher vacancies. Elementary teachers jobs were the second largest total, with 179, or 24% of all teacher vacancies.

Although APS has a greater need for certain positions over others, Gonzales noted some positions are well-staffed. APS high schools have fewer than 10 teacher vacancies, he said, 鈥渨hich is, quite frankly, unprecedented for a large urban district nationwide.鈥� By the Journal鈥檚 count, APS only had seven high school teacher vacancies as of Nov. 7.

During an interview with the Journal on Wednesday, Jamie Escobedo, a longtime APS employee and Eldorado High School teacher who leads the Teacher Academy that includes Griswold, noted her school鈥檚 need for a New Mexico history and government teacher.

Even though Eldorado is not hurting for teachers, Escobedo recognized the need for more of them and discussed why she thought vacancies are so high.

鈥淚 think people realize it鈥檚 a hard profession,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just teaching; it鈥檚 all the other aspects of teaching 鈥� making sure kids are fed, safe and have what they need to learn.鈥�

Other reasons for the vacancies might be the pay and even the perception the public has about their duties, she said.

鈥淚 feel like a lot of times, when kids tell other people that they鈥檙e going into education, they ask, 鈥榃hy?鈥� Like it鈥檚 a bad thing that kids are going into education,鈥� Escobedo said, 鈥渁nd I think that sometimes scares them away.鈥�

Vacancies鈥� impact on schools

Griswold said the teacher vacancy issue once impacted her ability to learn. When her teacher did not return from maternity leave, a permanent substitute was installed, which led to disarray in the classroom.

鈥淲hen you went into class, you were on your phone or on your computer just watching videos, watching movies and there was no actual learning going on,鈥� Griswold said. 鈥淎s someone who loves to learn ... I saw it as a very negative thing.鈥�

She also saw students skipping class or taking naps in class because they don鈥檛 take a substitute teacher seriously.

鈥淣othing鈥檚 being done. It鈥檚 a free period,鈥� Griswold said.

Eldorado also needs two educational assistants and one classroom helper, according to a job postings webpage.

Escobedo said teacher vacancies in subjects like math might mean students don鈥檛 get the foundational learning they need that will help them in higher-level courses.

鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like a domino effect,鈥� she said.

Actions to address vacancies

What steps is APS taking to address the vacancies?

Gonzales cited several initiatives, including the Teacher Academy elective for high schoolers.

鈥�(It鈥檚 a) powerful example of how we鈥檙e promoting the teaching profession in our own community,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e know our students relate to individuals who have a common set of experiences. We can鈥檛 think of a better way to help connect those experiences than growing our own teachers from within our community.鈥�

Gonzales also mentioned a teacher residency program, which aims to give aspiring teachers a stipend of at least $35,000 to spend a year in a classroom alongside experienced teachers to better prepare them for their own careers. In January, the U.S. Department of Education awarded an $8 million, five-year grant to the state鈥檚 Public Education Department to bolster the program.

For APS, the teacher residencies program 鈥渉as really fostered a 鈥榞row our own鈥� model,鈥� Gonzales said.

鈥淲e are not sitting back waiting for applicants, necessarily. We are building and growing applicants because we recognize what the data is saying,鈥� he said.

APS is also providing incentives like tuition reimbursement for teaching assistants to encourage them to earn their teaching license, Gonzales said.