On the 9th Day of Decline, the Iowa GOP Gave Us… A Really Bad Environment for Teachers
DES MOINES, IA – On the ninth day of Christmas, Iowans didn’t receive nine ladies dancing. Instead, Iowa Republicans scared away their teachers.
Iowa is ranked the 44th worst state to teach in. The survey considered several factors, including compensation, tenure protections, state spending per student, school system quality and turnover rates.
Iowa’s dismal ranking is reflected in the fact that 500 classrooms began this fall without a full-time teacher and 3,800 positions within Iowa schools were not filled at the beginning of the year.
“Some ten years ago, it wouldn’t be abnormal to get 50 to 75 applicants for a position in rural Iowa, which is where I was,” Algona Community School District Superintendent Joe Carter told WHOTV earlier this year. “Now, you know, we’re probably going to get five or six applicants.”
As Joe Carter told WHOTV some disciplines like foreign language teachers are impossible to fill because there are no candidates at all. Iowa is having a much bigger problem filling these positions than the states around us.
Every child deserves a classroom equipped to succeed, and every teacher deserves the dignity to be supported.
This December, instead of French hens and golden rings, we’re counting down the 12 Days of Iowa’s decline — a daily look at the rankings Iowa has tanked under a decade of one-party rule. Stay tuned tomorrow for Day 10.
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