Image Credits: New York Post
Los Angeles Unified School Districts and schools across California are currently facing a staff shortage. Regrettably, our very own Huntington Park High School is one of the affected schools.
Within our campus, certain classrooms lack a vital element for creating a learning environment for students – a teacher.
On our campus, we have classrooms filled with students under the supervision of substitute teachers who may or may not be instructing students and utilizing school hours effectively. Science classrooms in particular are facing what may be a significant setback as they make up the majority of classrooms that need a qualified teacher.
To fill these vacant teacher positions, interviews are conducted regularly by the HPHS administration. However, numerous things stand in the way of their being new teachers here at HP.
“There’s so many things you have to go through before you can even teach at a high school,” states Magnet Coordinator, Mr. Carcamo.
An incoming faculty member must undergo many examinations like being fingerprinted to make sure they have a clean record, being tested for TB, having to do a mock interview with district members, and so on to be approved by the district which in itself can be a very long process. Additionally, hiring new teachers during the middle of the school year is extremely challenging as most are already employed or waiting for the next school year to start.
Currently, there have been no newly hired teachers. To address the issue, some of the current HP faculty, including teachers in the magnet program, have been asked if they can take on an extra period to assist the larger community school of HP. This is to prevent an excessive number of students from being without a qualified teacher in their classrooms. However, not all teachers can take on an additional period.
Those who can work with the substitute teachers and provide them with access to the materials they are teaching in their classes, ensuring that students do not fall behind. Mr. Carcamo explains, “The science teachers from the larger school provide the lesson plans to the substitute teachers.”
The absence of full-time, well-qualified teachers in certain classrooms is not a result of campus administration’s ignorance,
but rather a consequence of the unfortunate timing and situation that the LA Unified School District is facing.
Written by Staff Writer, Katherine Castellanos