Teacher Shortage

The Lemuel Teal Middle School, originally Lehigh Acres Middle, will reopen after its closure in 2021. Amanecer Elementary School, above at right, will be the county’s first primary center with Cambridge curriculum.

Education

Lee schools virtual recruitment fair seeks to fill 400 openings, 80 at two new Lehigh Acres sites

Gwendolyn Salata

The School District of Lee County is hosting a virtual recruitment fair Monday to fill several positions for the 2023-24 school year, including staff for two new schools.From 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., the district will be seeking to fill 400 teacher positions, 80 of which will operate new locations in Lehigh Acres.

Governor Ron DeSantis announces proposals for the 2023 Florida legislative session aimed at recruiting retired veterans and first responders to teach in classrooms at a press conference, Aug. 16 in New Port Richey

Teacher shortage may put military veterans in classrooms

Mike Walcher

Military veterans could qualify for temporary teaching certificates in public schools in Florida. A new law is attempting to provide ways to ease the teacher shortage.

Southwest Florida school districts struggle with teacher shortages as new school year approaches

Samantha Romero

The Collier County Public School District is seeing a critical teacher shortage with just two weeks left for teachers to report to school. The district has about 100 instructional positions open out of a total of 274 employment positions listed on their website at the start of the week. President of the Teacher’s Association of Lee County Kevin Daly said he sees the issue in Lee County too. He said the scarcity issue will cause more stress on teachers because they will have to cover more classes, missing planning periods. According to the Florida Department of Education, the shortage represents many teachers who are not certified in the fields they are hired to teach. The Department also says postsecondary institutions are not producing enough graduates to meet demand.