How can DPS retain & recruit the best teachers in our region?

Bill Clevenger says it will take a a culture of support and excellence "that people thrive in", while "expect[ing] staff to perform at high levels throughout our community". He says this depends on leadership, including "second level leadership," and he says "if we have a functional board [and] a high performing superintendent, we're gonna get much better results from our [schools]."

Bill said he believes in public education, having come from a family of teachers - including his mother, grandmother, and grandfather. He says "It took us years to get where we are. It's gonna take hard work and steady leadership to get us out of this."

Misty Fronk says "the teachers have to feel like they're safe in their classrooms," in order to teach effectively. She also advocates for "more teachers in classrooms," to help struggling kids and keep lessons on-track for students who are doing well. She says "If the teachers felt safe and [they] felt like the community," the school board, and the super intendent were behind them "they would stay in Decatur and our schools would flourish," since teachers would be able to focus on teaching instead of discipline.

Jacob Jenkins says, "as a former union president", he says "one of the greatest attractions" for teachers is "better wages that are on par with other districts of similar composition," and that "paying teachers more and paying them what they're worth will make a huge difference." He said CARES money could have incentivized teachers and afforded additional staff. He wants more teaching assistants and staff in classrooms to manage distractions from educational time.

Jacob says we have to recognize the national trend of teachers "leaving the classroom because they are fed up," but that Decatur is fortunate to have committed teachers with a 99% attendance rate. He says "Let's pay them better, and let's treat them better, and get them the support and the resources they need to be successful."

Fact Check: According to the Illinois Report Card, teacher attendance is measured as "teachers with fewer than 10 absences in a school year". In 2017-2019, teacher attendance was 63.7% - 71.4%. 2020 was 96.8%. 2021 & 2022 are 100%. From 2017-2022, teacher retention was 67.4% - 72.9%. Average teacher salary was $47,414 in 2017 and was $54,438 for 2022.

Mark Reynolds wants more parental involvement and volunteerism, and he is concerned about how stressed teachers are, based on his recent experience substitute teaching. He says changing the culture to reduce stress levels is important because "if our population of teachers is totally stressed out, it just sends a bad signal to people we're trying to attract."

Mark tells an anecdote about a teacher who had 7 parents schedule parent-teacher conferences, among about 60 students. He said a teacher has a tough time feeling good about the job without parental feedback & involvement. He says parents also need to teach kids how to write their own names & that he has a friend who volunteers at Hope Academy to help kids read. He also mentions the teacher shortage adding to stress.

Will Wetzel says the board needs anonymized exit interview data from teachers to understand why teachers who have not reached retirement age are leaving. He says they need to focus on and fix things within the scope of the board, whether it is pay, time off, admininistrator issues or something else.

Will says Decatur needs to "grow its own leadership" and not rely on "some other group of teachers" from a different community to "come in and save Decatur." He wants to grow programs that get DPS graduates into teaching, saying "we need to save ourselves" by building "good quality graduates," and continuing to "build them up," get them into college, then get them back into DPS schools to teach.

Hannah Wolfe advocates for an "aggressive hiring campaign," "benefits that are going to keep the teachers that we have," and "competitive pay like Jacob said", including good health insurance which she says is "incredibly important to be happy with your job." She agrees with Will that "growing our own" teachers would help.

She discusses her background in Human Resources, focused on data, and that she is "no stranger to the issues" related to recruitment and retention in Decatur. She said it's not just an issue with teachers or DPS61 and that "teachers and nurses are leaving their professions en masse nationwide."

Jalynn Walker withdrew from the School Board Race.

Datrice Weathers withdrew from the School Board Race.