Struggling St. Louis Public Schools
By Faith Caruso- October 19, 2022
In many St. Louis Public Schools, the struggle to find teachers is evident in the data presented on the subject.
According to the St. Louis Public School Foundation, schools are currently employing over 1,600 teachers, while having roughly 23,135 students enrolled. This makes the student-teacher ratio around 14:1. Additionally, U.S. News stated that within these environments there are 54 full-time counselors employed to support students and teachers.
However, teachers in the area are reporting that they are unhappy with their positions and with the support they are receiving. When asked about the morale of teachers Brittany Schnieder, a former public school teacher at Kratz Elementary, shares that teachers are feeling, “Exhausted and tired. They may start off positive but would eventually things pile on and you could never get your head above water. Behavior problems ware very significant too.” This seems to be a mutual feeling among many teachers and faculty within SLPS. Often, many of the students attending schools are economically disadvantaged, so Schnieder explains they need equitable resources to gain progress, putting them back on the right track. However, teachers are not given the support and resources necessary to provide those resources to students in need. With so many students each with different needs, teachers are bending over backwards, working long hours, and sacrificing their mental health to attempt to accomdate their students. These conditions don’t make for a welcoming environment, which discourages potential teachers from pursuing the profession, or causes current teachers to move to a different career.
Additionally, Kelly Ivy, a visiting instructor of educational studies at Saint Louis University, agrees that, “Teachers take on a lot of roles in the classroom outside of being a teacher.” Ivy explained that some districts will begin using the CASEL framework to evaluate students and teachers, but this too brings problems as it causes teachers to take on more of an emotional toll with their students.
With all of these implications within districts, both students and teachers are suffering. The shortage of teachers and support in schools is becoming apparent through student progress as well, causing many students to stay at an academic level below proficiency and giving St. Louis Public School a bad reputation.
