A South Dakota task force study has found that almost half of future teachers that graduate from South Dakota colleges leave the state after graduating. And state schools are already short on teachers.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force presented its report Wednesday on the status of South Dakota schools. The report found the large number of new educators leaving the state and 240 classrooms started the 2014-2015 school year without a teacher. Rob Monson is the Executive Director of School Administrators of South Dakota. He says finding teachers can be a real problem.
“But I tell you, in talking and visiting with superintendents and data gathering that I have done. It’s a struggle in many districts, not just in the rural districts, to find quality teachers and just a teacher in a lot of instances. You know the data that we collect and the people we talk to and here from know it’s a big challenge to find teachers in a lot of districts,” says Monson.
Monson says he was encouraged by the discussion at the Blue Ribbon Task Force and looks forward to future meetings. He says one thing that could keep teachers here is increasing teacher pay.