Rose basketball highlights
FRI.| 4-12-24 | ENTERTAINMENT
Issue 1
September 27th, 2019
Departments adapt to vacancies
SUN. | 02-27-22 | NEWS
In 2022, Rose has had multiple teachers leave mid-semester, placing their classes with long-term substitutes. For all departments except Exceptional Children (EC), these classes will keep the long-term sub all semester due to the fact that Rose is not looking for replacements until the next school year.
The first teacher to resign for the second semester was former English teacher Bethany Waters. Waters is the only teacher to resign before the second semester started; however, the school did not try to find a replacement since she was not teaching full time. Waters was only planning to teach two classes in the second semester, which were originally supposed to have long-term subs. However, English Department Chair Julie Berry and several other teachers decided that it was not fair for Waters’ students to have to learn through Canvas. The ultimate decision was that English teacher Kristine Boccia took one of the English l classes, creating an almost 60-student class, and English
Photo by Sara Scarborough
teacher Susanne Mullis teaches the other, having given up her planning period.
“In the middle of the year, there was no availability of an English teacher unless someone was new to the area,” Berry said. “The portal for vacancies will open in the spring, and the school will hire for the next year then.”
Another vacancy is former history teacher Ariel Tyson, who left about a month into the semester. Her departure left her classes with a long-term sub, but the history department hired a sub that has a background in social studies teaching. This means that despite her position as a sub, she will be up in front of the class teaching. Tyson left lesson plans and set up all assignments on Canvas so the classes are set for the rest of the semester.
“[When Tyson quit], we knew we were going to use a long-term sub because that is what always happens,” History Department chair Amity Kea said. “Unless there is someone who all of a sudden wants to teach and has a background in history teaching and does not have a job.”
The biggest teacher vacancy at Rose is currently in the EC department where they are missing four teachers. This department has the most teachers, but missing four has still seriously impacted the classes. Unlike the history and English departments, the EC department is not waiting to get new teachers until next year since the curriculum is very hands-on and cannot be taught on Canvas. The four vacancies have long-term subs for right now, but the school is constantly looking for new EC teachers.
“[The EC teachers] provide some of the work and we assist the subs,” EC Department Chair Tonya Ebron said. “If a student is struggling and needs extra assistance, they go to [EC teachers] for help.”
This is not just an issue at Rose, but throughout the entire county. According to Pitt County Schools, there are 190 job openings throughout all of the schools. From custodians to teaching to administration to bus driving, the county is currently experiencing many vacancies that they are hoping to fill.
Rose, as well as the rest of the county, is experiencing many teacher vacancies. Classes without a teacher are depending on long-term substitute teachers until schools begin hiring for next year.
