‘We need solutions’: Brenda Cassellius calls for federal overhaul to address ‘critical’ shortage of teachers

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius is calling on the federal government to take a range of actions to address the ‘critical’ shortage of teachers and staff in schools. 

In a Thursday op-ed published in the Washington Post, the outgoing superintendent referenced how the “intense staffing challenges” Boston has experienced over the past several years were made more difficult by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and pointed to the attention she garnered for acting as a substitute teacher last month on a day when over 1,000 staff members were out.

Cassellius wrote that the issues with staffing both in Boston and nationally go beyond the pandemic. 

“In Boston, we have consistently had a 20 percent job-vacancy rate since the summer in our food and nutrition services department,” she said. “We have been short more than 100 bus monitors and approximately 30 bus drivers on any given day. And that’s in addition to teacher and other staff absences that can erode children’s learning experiences. The pandemic has accelerated our staffing challenges, but this concerning trend has been at our doorstep for the better part of a decade. Fewer recent college graduates are choosing teaching, and a 2021 survey showed that nearly one-third of America’s teachers were thinking about leaving teaching earlier than they’d planned.”

Cassellius urged federal and state governments to step in.

“We need solutions to school staffing that go beyond what any one city or state can provide,” she said.

Any roadmap for recovery must include plans for modernizing schools with up-to-date HVAC system, she wrote.

She said it also needs to provide resources to address the “urgent mental health crisis” students are facing.

“Our teachers and other staff need help, but most important, our students are depending on us,” she said. “They get one chance for a solid education. For their sake, we must map a way forward that draws more people to education careers and keeps good teachers in the classroom.”

To address the “exodus of exhausted teachers” from the profession, the superintendent said retention bonuses should be offered to reward educators for staying in public schools and to “build a deeper bench of young teachers.”

In addition, Cassellius called on the federal Education Department to create a national teacher licensing system, which would create high, uniform standards across the states and also allow teachers to “easily transfer their credentials” if they move. 

“We need to recognize that choosing a career in teaching is as important as joining the military; both are critical to our national security and economic sustainability,” Cassellius wrote in the Post. “We should offer free college tuition to students who commit to public education careers and loan forgiveness to current teachers who remain in the profession for 10 years. Let’s also set a national minimum starting salary for teachers of $75,000 per year. And let’s eliminate fees for teacher’s licenses, tests and fingerprinting.”

The Boston superintendent, who came to Massachusetts three years ago from Minnesota where she served as commissioner of education, announced on Monday that she is stepping down from her position at the end of June. Neither Cassellius nor Mayor Michelle Wu have detailed the reason for her departure. 

“Nothing is pushing me out the door,” the superintendent said on Tuesday. 

Wu has said she did not ask the superintendent to step down. The change in district leadership is a familiar cycle in Boston; Cassellius’s successor will be the district’s sixth superintendent in just over 15 years.

Dialynn Dwyer

Dialynn Dwyer is a reporter and editor at Boston.com, covering breaking and local news across Boston and New England.

 

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com