One idea to fix teacher shortage: Nurture homegrown ones

Lonnie Fletcher, 16, did not used to take school all that seriously. That is, until AP world history teacher Vince Long came along.

Not only did Long encourage Fletcher to start taking school more seriously, but he also drove Fletcher toward a passion for education. Now Fletcher plans to study biomedical engineering and become an AP biology teacher.

Fletcher is one of the 50 students at Canyon Springs High School who are part of the Homegrown Teacher Program. The program was launched by the Silver State Education Foundation and supported by $258,000 grant from the city of North Las Vegas. It aims to address Nevada’s teacher shortage — a problem most acute in North Las Vegas — by supporting local students in their effort to become educators.

“The teacher shortage is one of the most-pressing challenges that we face, not just here in North Las Vegas, but across Nevada,” North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown told the crowd at the program’s official launch Wednesday morning. “The homegrown teacher program is more than just a solution to a problem. It’s an opportunity for our students to see a future for themselves in education and give back to the community that raised them.”

The Clark County School District started this year with over 1,000 vacancies. The last time it filled all positions was 1994, according to Jeffrey Geihs, CEO of the Silver State Education Foundation and executive director of the Nevada Association of School Administrators.

Homegrown

Speakers addressed the fact that the district often recruits from other places and other countries, which means the recruits often leave sooner. Supporters hope that a homegrown program will cultivate people who will stay in Clark County.

“Students that were raised here, born here, grew up here, have a way of giving back through becoming educators right here in their own community. They already have their roots here. They have ties here,” Goynes-Brown told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Quintria Jemison, 16, wants to be a teacher because she loves helping her two younger siblings.

“I like to teach them little things,” she said, adding that she often teaches them how to pronounce words they will hear in videos, and they get very excited.

“It’s nice to be able to have a bunch of motivation and people help with my journey,” said Jayla Knuckles, 17. She especially appreciates the ability to take classes at UNLV during high school. She plans to continue learning to be a teacher at UNLV after graduation.

As part of the program, Knuckles said she has learned about programs teachers use, as well as strategies and communication skills.

Region I Associate Superintendent Louis Markouzis, who also serves as chairman of the Silver State Educational Foundation, praised the students who were part of the program.

“Being a teacher was the best job I ever had,” Markouzis said. “Being a child of Greek immigrants, not knowing how to speak English as a child until I went to kindergarten, it was teachers that shaped my life.”

Long-term substitutes

Many positions are filled by long-term substitutes who do not have the same content knowledge as licensed educators, Geihs said. At one school, Geihs said of the 18 science positions, only one was filled by a licensed science teacher. The rest were long-term substitutes who were only “a chapter ahead of the kids,” Geihs said. In other places, substitutes who do not speak Spanish are teaching Spanish courses, according to Geihs.

In one school, a professional magician works as a long-term substitute, according to North Las Vegas City Councilman Isaac Barron, who serves as an appointed CCSD trustee. Although Barron said the magician is a wonderful person, he said the school needs a licensed teacher.

“This represents a really good synergy between a city that understands what its priorities are, and an outside organization to make it all happen. So I’m really proud of this,” Barron said.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.