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Catherine Squirewell
(cts2134@cumc.columbia.edu)

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I appreacited your extensive knowledge working both for and within schools. I also appreacited you keeping the classes short and not unnecessarily dragging anything out for the sake of meeting for 3 hours.

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Definitely agree that this class would be great over the course of a full semester. Also opportunities to engage in real time with the folks that gave the asynch lectures/presentations would be great!

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Student resiliancy often relies on teachers resiliancy and if we cannot provide teachers with time and resesources to take care of themselves we then also doing students a disservice.

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I so appreciate how supportive our classroom felt this semester. I loved having the opportunity to learn from so many educators and work directly with a local school community. The healing session (even in its brevity) was right on time too--thank you for that!

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Thank you so much for being so thoughtful and open in this class! I really think it helped me crystallize where I want to be within the context of school health :)

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Shweta Tatkar (sat2202@cumc.columbia.edu)

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Thoroughly enjoyed the class!

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I loved how interactive every single part of class was - it really helped me digest the material once, twice, and thrice.

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It was really interesting learning more about school models that center justice and outline examples of what more inclusive, and community-centered curricula can look like. This class also highlighted how difficult it can be to change structures and mindsets around schools due to power differentials and funding.

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Thank you for being a great professor!

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I hope the school is able to harness the strength of their teachers to (re)build the student community in a way that also prevents teacher burnout.

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I think this class would work better as a full semester, especially with the project. I feel like given more time to plan and work on our final project we would be able to both learn more and make a more useful product for the school we work with.

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Full semester for sure! The content is relevant and you have an incredibly engaging teaching style. Would love for there to be more depth in every topic.

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Despite being a somewhat chaotic semester with covid and the strike, I feel like the class felt like a community and learning space. While I wish we would have been able to interact more in person, I feel like the content and conversations were continually engaging and informative.

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It is so tempting for us to create solutions from outside a school/school system that require teachers to add to their workload, but often those solutions are impractical, simply because of workload constraints. We have to ensure that every intervention in school health does not ask more than it gives back.

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Would really love for this class to be a full semester class to allow for deeper/more meaningful engagement with the schools we're working with. During the process of putting the project together, it sometimes felt like we were only able to address a surface-level concern instead of really diving deep into the issues present at the school.

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I liked how in class periods were kept short and sweet and discussion based. Everything seemed really purposeful. I also liked partnering with a CBO.

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I think having us produce something with a real school in mind is so, so valuable. This is the first project I've done that wasn't hypothetical or theoretical.

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I hope they consider the asks of a teacher go far beyond the support they receive. Passion can only go so far and I hope schools acknowledge the true value and weight of the investment of teachers as employees and the curators of the future of the country

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Kevalyn Bharadwaj
kb3189@cumc.columbia.edu
kevalynbharadwaj@gmail.com
<3

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I hope they can implement really sustainable ways to make teachers have boundaries between school like and work life. Angie also mentioned increased behavioral problems in the school post-Covid, which was hard to address within our intervention, but I would be really happy to hear if the school was able to find a solution for making students more comfortable and happy in the classroom especially during these huge educational lapses.

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I think more sessions would be wonderful, it would enable us to dive deeper into the topics!

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It would be awesome to get to meet and work with students at these schools and learn about their experiences. I know school right now is waaay different from when I was in school. Learning about what they are experiencing or feeling, and even for them to connect with us as graduate students could be empowering as well!

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One thing that I will 100% take away with me is the importance of universal design and the other frameworks we discussed in class. While I am not planning to go into school health, I think these frameworks which focus on centering and healing the most vulnerable students will be extremely useful/impactful in my future work.

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I loved how engaging and insightful the material was and getting to understand different models related to school-based health. I feel like I just learned so much and was able to ground/validate my own personal experiences throughout the quarter.

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The conception I had of schools going into this class was really just the tip of the iceberg. I've learned that schools are way more complex and way more important than I previously realized.

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I believe this class should be a 3cr to allow more time to engage with key stakeholders and our peers for such important work

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Logistical detail - but I really appreciate how you set aside time at the end of class sessions for groups to work together! More profs. should do the same

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Meera Kumanan
mk4424@cumc.columbia.edu

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I learned that there are so many people who imagine and fight for a radically different education system, and it offers me hope that we will see change even if it is gradual in this space!

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I appreciated the guest speakers in the videos. I also think the discussion board went well - it was a great opportunity to engage with classmates and work with the material. Also, the fact that we are doing a project directly with a school is amazing! I appreciate the opportunity to see how I can create change.

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I appreciated the reflective conversations we had about our own learning and experience

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Laura Glucksman
lrg2151@cumc.columbia.edu

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In-class discussions, working on a project that addresses particular details from partner interviews.

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Rachel Kim
rsk2179@cumc.columbia.edu

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Carrie Scherder, cs4005@cumc.columbia.edu

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I enjoyed actually getting to meet and work with school educators/staff to improving the environment for educators experiencing burnout!!

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Annika Brauer
aab2272@cumc.columbia.edu

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ss6137@cumc.columbia.edu

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I liked how the school we worked with is going to use the project we made.

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I liked how the school we worked with is going to use the project we made.

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There is SO much need in so many different areas of school-based health and there isn't one-size fits all solution for any school, community, or student.

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I learned about the dynamic nature of what goes into our school systems, whats missing, and who now, with the power they have, are effecting change.

I want to see a better system for the students of today and tomorrow and this class gave me the insights I needed to hopefully do that in future work

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Having partners be ones that directly work with a singular school or a few schools rather than being a part of a larger organization. It might have made it easier to figure out what was needed specifically.

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how complex and diverse even models for inclusive education can be, and the necessary steps we ALL need to make to ensure our schools are truly equitable and inclusive for everyone

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Learned a lot about the current health-related trends in schools, different frameworks that connect education and public health, how essential it is to address ALL students in interventions.

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Carolyn Mayer
Carolyn.mayer@columbia.edu
cm4046@cumc.columbia.eddu

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Olivia Langley, ol2235@cumc.columbia.edu

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Shaye Samp (ss6136)

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Madison Lambert, ml4559@cumc.columbia.edu

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The importance and power of partnership between CBOs and schools, how schools and public health can work hand and hand, and how models for educational improvement like SEL, MTSS, and others can also play a major role in improving health of marginalized students.

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This might be obvious but there are so many moving parts to get schools functioning. They are often controlled about what money is available.

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Manuela Pia Ortiz, mpo2122@cumc.columbia.edu

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"Reimaginging" education is ultimately a conceptual change, but schools lack the resources to effectively implement them. They need teachers before anything else.

COVID offered parents a unique opportunity to see how challenging a teacher's job is, but they never materialized that new-found respect into action. Also, is action even possible when educational institutions are so big and dependent on politics and taxes?

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Schools should strategize how to help teachers be well, happy, and supported through their longer term career trajectories. Job security and stability in earning potential guarantees from schools would be beneficial as well. Test taking should also be re-imagined. Rather than teaching to a test, especially standardized tests that have been proven to not adeptly assess all students' grasp of material, curricula requirements should focus on simply building knowledge, self-efficacy, and critical thinking.

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Schools need to prioritize keeping students and teachers afloat during this difficult time. This can look like rethinking school hours (for example starting later or having a shorter day) reducing homework loads and focusing on wellbeing.

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We think incorporating multiple SEM levels into the care and support of a student would be helpful as well as moving towards healing-centered engagement between teachers/staff and students. Going back to the beginning of the course, incorporating universal design for all students in all classrooms should also be a priority.

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We think incorporating multiple SEM levels into the care and support of a student would be helpful as well as moving towards healing-centered engagement between teachers/staff and students. Going back to the beginning of the course, incorporating universal design for all students in all classrooms should also be a priority.

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- Mental health and socio-emotional learning (SEL) not only for students but also for the support of teachers/staff/counselors; relationships between teacher-student and student-student

- Justice (framework involving varying aspects: environmental, racial); transparency in discussion and community-involvement/engagement

- Flexibility in the structure of the school system (standards in terms of testing, assessment/grading, homework, classwork) -which would address diversity in learning among students

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Schools need to take on a community mindset outside of traditional educational attainment goals, AND they need the resources to execute those goals and pay people to do so.

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Schools need money…and they need to spend it in places that actually matter, not admin pockets. No matter how we approach education, the financial constraints will always be the limiting factor (or the helpful factor). We also need more transparency around how that money is spent!

Schools also need to prioritize emotional and mental safety as much as they prioritize physical safety, especially now. This is bare minimum, which is so sad.

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We need a focus on relationships in the effort to create a positive environment - whether it be the teacher-student relationship or even teacher-teacher relationships. For students, this would be an adult figure that they can rely on and greatly improve mental health. For teachers, this would also help with retention issues if there is a sense of community. Education needs to prioritize relationships just as much as they do content-related metrics.

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I'm also thinking about the longer term impact that the lack of support for educators that's prompted shortages will have on aspiring educators and the students that are losing out educationally and emotionally. We talked a lot about how much we should value educators because of their resilience during the beginning of the pandemic, but we've yet to see tangible change and support that might slow exits from the field.

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I think it highlights how little we regard teachers in our society, and how this issue likely could have been avoided with better pay and security. We offer nurses hazard pay, but not for teachers although the risk with pandemic has increased their likelihood of encountering COVID. The people who make these budgetary decisions decide to save money on education, which I believe is incredibly misguided.

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Interesting to note that teachers reported losing community and support from colleagues who left which has untold harms on teachers and the school as a whole

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When students can tell their teacher is not passionate about a subject or isn't meant to be in that particular classroom, that affects students' engagement with that material in the future. If shortages are happening in certain fields more than others, what does that mean for future learners in those fields?

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It seems like the root cause of teacher shortage is not being considered. Financial incentives and referral programs are a band-aid in this context, why would educators want to refer their friends or colleagues to a role that they know they will be overstretched and not supported?

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I'm wondering what the quality of education will look like long-term with these teachers moving though school quicker and having to complete fewer credits. So while I understand the need to fill positions, I'm concered at what cost this rapid employment is happening.

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It's disheartening to see students having to pay primarily for the administrative and system level short-falls. Their cognitive, emotional, and social development are being compromised because of a failing capitalistic system. It'll become difficult for students and teachers alike to create healthy relationships at school that facilitate learning.

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What stood out to me was the short-term solution of cutting credits for teachers/substitutes. Even though it resolves the shortage issue, the quality of their training may not be enough to handle all students' needs.

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It seems to me like this is a self-perpetuating cycle where difficult teaching conditions lead teachers to quit which then makes the teaching conditions more difficult for the teachers who stay. I also have concerns around the larger proportion of teachers who are substitutes or from Teach for America and the implications that has for student learning and stability.

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it's like a domino effect. If teachers get the sense that a particular school is a toxic environment, they won't work there. THen the students won't have a positive relationship with the school which will have greater repercussions for them.

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it's like a domino effect. If teachers get the sense that a particular school is a toxic environment, they won't work there. THen the students won't have a positive relationship with the school which will have greater repercussions for them.

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It's scary how deeply tied money is to our public education system. this affects willingness to become an educator, student apathy, and availability of competent educators. It's also very interesting to see which subjects in particular were impacted (bilingual courses and special ed). It again makes me think about what identities end up hurting the most because of this (ESL and students with special needs may fall behind as a result).

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Demonstrates how this does not only affect students in terms of learning loss, but very crucially, on socio-emotional factors as well... Making students feel as though the school/teachers don't care about them is as significant as not being able to fully learn a subject.

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Students cannot get the attention they need when teachers are either teaching extra periods or have large class sizes. It's a vicious cycle, as more burden is getting put onto teachers, more will leave to pursue better paying, less taxing jobs.

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I think that a big problem the article doesn't address is how school districts are often severely underfunded so monetary bonuses to teachers are not actually incentivizing them to stay in those districts when they lack support in every other aspect of their jobs.

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I think this means many extracurriculars and elective subjects will get cut, which will have a major impact on students and how they interact with school

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In addition to the obvious content-related education deficits the teacher shortage will cause, I can see the clear impact it will have on teacher-student relationships. So many of us can point to teachers who have shaped or changed our life in some way through a closer relationship and some of these students may never get to experience that without continuity.

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Teacher shortages amid the pandemic can worsen, and even compound, student learning loss. Even to address retention, the answer is often better pay, which is already a sore spot for teachers and their admin.

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Financial incentives are not working, which is especially concerning for ESL students.

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to share your response

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When Madison Upshaw showed up to her forensic science class at Newark's Barringer High School on the first day of school, she found an athletic coach at the front of the room.

"He was like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna be your sub for the whole year,'" the 12th-grader said. "I guess they can't find anybody."

Upshaw was one of many Newark students who returned last week to a school without enough teachers.

Across the district, 120 instructional positions were still unfilled when classes started Sept. 7 - a larger number of open jobs than around this time in the previous two school years, according to data obtained by Chalkbeat through a public records request. Barringer alone is short 15 teachers, including five for bilingual classes, three for special education, and others for math, science, social studies, and more.

The problem is widespread: About 60% of the district's 65 schools were short at least one teacher or other instructional staffer, such as a counselor or social worker, the data show. The staffing crunch meant some students found substitute teachers or crowded classrooms on their first day back.

Schools nationwide are struggling to hire enough teachers. The shortage predated the pandemic, but COVID compounded the problem by convincing some teachers to retire early or change professions. The staffing shortfall could have dire consequences this school year because many students faced academic and mental health challenges during their 18 months out of classrooms and now need extra support.

New Jersey reported teacher shortages this school year in math, science, world languages, special education, vocational training, and English as a second language. In Newark, the most acute shortages are for elementary school, bilingual, and special education teachers.

"The more specialized the field, the fewer candidates there have always been," said Karen Bingert, executive director of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association. "And now it's exponentially tighter."

The shortage could spell bad news for students. Schools often fill vacancies with substitute teachers, who might have less experience or expertise in a given subject than a full-time teacher would. Other times, schools make up for the staffing shortfall by combining classes or assigning teachers extra periods.

Even if schools eventually fill the open positions, student learning suffers when teachers are hired midyear, researchers have found. The instability makes it hard for students to build trust and rapport with their teachers, Bingert said.

"That has academic and developmental repercussions" for students, she added. "It can be pretty heartbreaking."

Newark schools were short a dozen bilingual teachers, the Sept. 7 data show. A chronic shortage of bilingual teachers was one of the problems uncovered during a yearslong investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the district's program for students still learning English.

As part of a settlement with the Justice Department, the district must create a plan to recruit and retain more educators who are qualified to teach bilingual or English as a second language classes. The district also is offering $4,000 bonuses to teachers who get certified in one of those areas.

The district, which educates roughly 37,000 students and employed nearly 3,900 instructional staffers last school year, has taken a number of other steps to fill its vacancies.

The district hosted virtual job fairs this summer, including one targeting bilingual teachers that resulted in seven hires, according to school board documents. The district also offered bonuses to employees who helped recruit bilingual teachers, though only 12% of referrals were hired.

In addition, the district hired more than 30 former student teachers as full-time educators; brought on some members of Teach For America, a program that offers abbreviated teacher training; and partnered with Montclair State University to funnel recent graduates into open classroom positions. In total, the district welcomed some 350 new teachers this school year, officials said.

"The district is working tirelessly, aggressively, and strategically in recruiting and hiring the best qualified teaching staff," said district spokesperson Nancy Deering. She added that hard-to-fill positions, including special education, are a top priority.

State lawmakers have also sought to ease the teacher shortage. Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a bill that cut in half the number of credits a college student needs to become a substitute teacher, and extended the length of time that substitutes can fill in for full-time teachers.

While such stopgap measures might be helpful, schools also need long-term solutions to their staffing problems, said Steven LoCascio, head of educational leadership at Kean University's College of Education. One crucial strategy is to improve teacher retention through better pay and more training and support for novice teachers.

"It's hard enough to get new teachers," LoCascio said. "But then when we get them, we're not always able to keep them."

Teacher turnover has long been a challenge for Newark. About 15% of teachers left the district between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years, compared with 9% of teachers who left their districts statewide, according to the most recent data.

From January to August of this year, 176 teachers resigned or retired from the district and 77 were fired or let go, according to district data. The numbers were similar in 2019, suggesting that the pandemic is not the main cause of the churn.

Iris Ventura, a senior at Barringer High School, said several teachers she'd grown close with didn't return this year.

"When you make a bond with them" and they leave, she said, "it's like, 'No!'"

Barringer has another big challenge: Its rising population of English learners, who accounted for 40% of students in 2020, creates an acute need for bilingual teachers - a group in high demand statewide. An administrator at Barringer said hiring bilingual teachers is like "finding unicorns."

Substitute teachers are also in short supply. As a result, administrators have been asking teachers to fill in on days when particular classes are without a full-time or substitute teacher, said one Barringer educator.

The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation, also said extra students were added to her roster because her department is short two teachers. All the scrambling to compensate for missing teachers sends a bad message to students, she added.

"It makes them feel like they don't matter," she said, when in fact, "these kids really deserve the best teachers."

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Teacher shortage leaves Newark schools with 120 unfilled positions

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When Madison Upshaw showed up to her forensic science class at Newark's Barringer High School on the first day of school, she found an athletic coach at the front of the room. "He was like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna be your sub for the whole year,'" the 12th-grader said.