School staff shortages are reaching a crisis in Iowa

While the pandemic has held our attention for months, there is another crisis unfolding that will have long lasting impacts. We need to recognize the burden we have placed on our public schools. Our school staff has been asked to do too much and with too little support from the community. They are stressed. They are overworked. They are exhausted. They are facing constant pressures about curriculum, books, masks and how to recover pandemic learning losses. They are near a breaking point and too many of them are leaving the profession.

As of Jan. 3, there were 128 full time teaching positions left unfilled in Iowa. Add the support positions that are also vacant and that number swells to 290. Those vacancies impact an enormous number of students.

These challenges will impact our future in many ways: a decrease in the number of people entering the profession and a subsequent drop in educational quality. Without a high quality teacher in every classroom, our students leave school less prepared for whatever is next in their lives. Public schools provide our students with important skills but our staff provides the human connections which make all learning possible.

We need leaders who understand the value of our schools and use their power to support that work. The Iowa legislative session is underway. Remind the governor and your elected officials that now, more than ever, our public schools need their support.

Patty Walsh

Cedar Rapids