BALTIMORE — The great resignation continues to hit various professions, so far, this year at least 4.3 million people quit their jobs.
This has greatly impacted schools as they scramble to find teachers before the fall. Baltimore City Public Schools say they are doing their best to overcome the teacher shortage.
This year, BCPSS posted about 1,300 vacancies and they still have about 600 of those spots to fill.
However, this isn't just a Baltimore problem, the teacher shortage is happening across the United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 44 percent of public schools have teaching vacancies.
"We have people in the queue already, but we are still looking for more staff, and continuing to hold job fairs, we have a substitute teacher hiring fair tomorrow. From 10 a.m. - 2p.m. at Waverly Elementary School, said Alison Perkins-Cohen, Chief of Staff for Baltimore City Schools.
The public school system says fall classes begin next month and although they would like to hire permanent teachers, their plan B is to rely on their substitute teachers.
"The long term subs, we are really working with those individuals. We're calling them individually, and trying to make sure we're getting as many of those folks signed up and ready to meet our students needs as possible, said Perkins-Cohen.
However, people want to know, besides competitive pay, what are city schools doing to create a better and safer environment for teachers?
"We've done things like trying to create more wellness afternoons for teachers. It's about making sure that we're giving teachers a break. Teaching in this environment right now is really challenging and we want to make sure we're giving our teachers time for a break," said Perkins-Cohen.
Some people aren't surprised by the shortage and believe city schools need to do more than just offering a competitive pay.
"I understand why some teachers are quitting. It's too much pressure and its a lot to handle with the kids. It can be overwhelming," said Neil Rivera, a Baltimore resident.
The public school district says their job postings also feature new positions in science and art that they weren't able to fund before.
The Substitute Teacher Hiring Fair will be held on Tuesday, July 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Waverly Elementary/Middle School located at 3400 Ellerslie Avenue in Baltimore. For more information, clickhere.
