CCSD starting school short on teachers

For the first time in his eight years as principal of Mendoza Elementary School, Brenton Lago started summer break with an empty classroom in every grade level at his east valley campus.

Several teachers left Mendoza to retire, work closer to home or move to another state, forcing Lago to attend job fairs, hand out business cards and try to attract highly qualified replacements.

"I've never, in all my years here, had such vacancies," Lago said. "It's very competitive. Like in any business, we're trying to attract the best person for our school."

Ultimately, he hired nine long-term substitute teachers to start school with a full staff on Monday, the first day of class for Clark County School District students.

It's a common practice in the district, which as of Thursday had filled fewer than 1,700 of the estimated 2,600 positions needed to kick off 2015-16 with a licensed teacher at the front of every classroom.

About 782 long-term substitute teachers will help fill the remaining vacancies, though principals may hire more temporary teachers once they get final enrollment numbers over the weekend.

"It's my turn in the universe to have this challenge," Lago said. "And it's up to me to respond to it.

"That the key thing: What's our response, because we still have to educate our kids."

CHALLENGED SCHOOLS HIT HARD

Across Clark County, about 24 percent of all vacancies impact special education, while mandated smaller class sizes and a growing enrollment pushed teacher vacancies at the elementary level to 500, or more than half of the total.

A Review-Journal analysis of district records also revealed that campuses with the highest vacancy rates — seven openings or more as of Aug. 17 — are concentrated in the northeast and east valley, where schools tend to serve a greater share of low-income and minority students.

At Mendoza, near Nellis Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, about 80 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch, while nearly three-quarters of students identify as English language learners.

"Right now, we're working with many of those schools, working on plans to ensure they have full coverage at those sites on the first day of school," said Mike Barton, the district's chief student achievement officer.

"Nothing, in my opinion, beats a fully certified teacher," he added. But "with the long-term substitutes, you also have to make them part of your staff, and we'll do everything in our power to give them all the support necessary."

A former principal, Barton said he expects campus administrators to provide mentors and professional development for each substitute.

The district for the first time also hosted an intense, daylong training session for substitutes to learn from teacher-leaders and prepare for the first day of school. About 500 substitutes participated in that training two weeks ago, according to Staci Vesneske, the district's chief human resources officer.

"A lot of times subs are just thrown into the classroom," Vesneske said. "Our long-term substitutes are well-prepared this year, but we still want to have a licensed teacher in every classroom.

"By supporting (substitutes) at this level, the ultimate hope is it makes them more likely to become a full-time teacher."

SUBSTITUTES AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE

As for the students, it's unclear what impact hundreds of long-term substitutes could have on their academic success.

Dan Goldhaber, director of the Center for Education Data and Research at the University of Washington in Seattle, was unaware of any study that determined whether students perform any better or worse under the direction of a substitute versus a fully certified teacher.

However, Goldhaber noted existing research suggests that, as the district continues its hiring spree throughout the school year, late hires could disrupt a student's learning.

"When people are hired after the school year begins, the students in those classrooms don't do as well," he said. "Now, it's very difficult to tell whether that's because the people who are hired late are less effective and/or because at least for part of the time students are being instructed by long-term substitutes."

The district should welcome a steady stream of candidates in the coming months, as the Nevada Department of Education continues to process applications for teacher licenses.

Applications first must pass a background check through the Nevada Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. But as of last week, the education department had started processing applications received as late as June 29, according to its website.

Vesneske estimated the district was waiting on the results of 90 pending applications.

"Out of 1,600 (new hires), that's not a lot," she said. "Certainly there is a backlog, (but) that's not unusual.

"It happens every August, and my sense is it will all work out."

Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @nealtmorton