How Teacher Vacancies Affect Students

Vacancies in classrooms are hindering students' progress as they are not receiving proper instruction without a teacher. 

The end of summer is when students get their class schedules. But as students look at theirs, sometimes there is a class that has a vacancy; this already tells students that they will be behind in that class if they don’t get a teacher soon.

After each school year, some teachers may find better opportunities or retire in the summer. This causes empty spots that the school must fill before the start of the school year. Often, these spots are filled in time, but as the year passes, more teachers are leaving. This results in a significant increase in the percentage of vacant positions within the school. This causes students to fall behind in comparison to their peers with qualified teachers.

“It doesn’t do well for me in the long run, especially when finals come up,” senior Amaury Maria said. “Also, seeing how far the other classes with teachers are ahead of us on books and with work.”

The vacancies do not just affect some students, but students throughout the whole school. Many students’ learning progress is affected by the lack of permanent teachers in the classroom, especially in core subjects like English, for example.

“My learning progress without a teacher has really stalled without having a teacher,” senior Kaylee Cason said. “Being in a class with no teacher has caused my learning progress to decrease as the year moves on without a teacher.”

The classes without a teacher are at a serious disadvantage because the students must work harder to take initiative and master the content. This is especially noticeable as the school year progresses, when students are already learning more in their classes with full-time teachers.

“My main concern is the test at the end of the year, and if we are even going to be prepared,” senior Dante Blunt said. “This is especially seen as the other classes that have teachers are already a couple of units into the curriculum.”

Students are noticing the effect of the vacant spots throughout the school, as all their friends have multiple hours of homework a night and are learning faster. This concern has been stated by many of the students who do not have teachers.

“Getting a teacher is very important to me as I do not want to go through my whole senior year without a teacher,” Cason added. “Having a teacher will also help many of the students in the vacant classes to raise their test scores.”