A Quality Education Begins with Quality Teachers
As a cornerstone of our educational system, teachers play a critical role in developing the minds of our future leaders. Their efforts cannot be duplicated by computers or textbooks, and their concern for Missouri’s school children cannot be delivered by a machine without a heart. Unfortunately, over the last decade, a compounding number of issues have led us to a place where we now have a shortage of high quality teachers. This shortage plagues our educational system and if not resolved will become a roadblock to delivering a quality education to Missouri’s school children.
As private sector opportunities have become more and more lucrative, it has become more difficult to attract college students into the education field. Of those who are willing to take on the modern day challenges of educating our students, they find great disparity in pay between the more affluent school districts and those forced to operate on much smaller budgets. This has left schools scrambling to find teachers while the existing faculty struggle to meet the needs of a changing educational environment and more diverse student populations. As the global economy continues to challenge our workforce needs, the demand for teachers who can help develop this workforce has exploded.
As a result of these growing challenges, the Senate has been debating a number of proposals aimed at addressing our teacher shortages. Be it through making the salaries for incoming teachers more competitive or encouraging experienced individuals to transition from businesses to teaching in the classroom, we are committed to attracting and retaining high quality teachers in Missouri.
The education of Missouri’s children has always been my number one priority, and I believe strongly that every child in Missouri has the right to a quality education. I also believe this will only be achieved if we have quality teachers who are committed to meeting the competitive needs of our global economy. I look forward to working with Missouri’s educators and helping provide the tools necessary to ensure that every Missouri child has the best educational opportunities possible.
As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. The Capitol number is (573) 751-1415, my email is brad.lager@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 429, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
As private sector opportunities have become more and more lucrative, it has become more difficult to attract college students into the education field. Of those who are willing to take on the modern day challenges of educating our students, they find great disparity in pay between the more affluent school districts and those forced to operate on much smaller budgets. This has left schools scrambling to find teachers while the existing faculty struggle to meet the needs of a changing educational environment and more diverse student populations. As the global economy continues to challenge our workforce needs, the demand for teachers who can help develop this workforce has exploded.
As a result of these growing challenges, the Senate has been debating a number of proposals aimed at addressing our teacher shortages. Be it through making the salaries for incoming teachers more competitive or encouraging experienced individuals to transition from businesses to teaching in the classroom, we are committed to attracting and retaining high quality teachers in Missouri.
The education of Missouri’s children has always been my number one priority, and I believe strongly that every child in Missouri has the right to a quality education. I also believe this will only be achieved if we have quality teachers who are committed to meeting the competitive needs of our global economy. I look forward to working with Missouri’s educators and helping provide the tools necessary to ensure that every Missouri child has the best educational opportunities possible.
As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. The Capitol number is (573) 751-1415, my email is brad.lager@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 429, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
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