The school year started for the Storm Lake District on Thursday. Several districts had openings for multiple teacher positions in the days leading up to the start of school.
Storm Lake, and superintendent Dr. Stacey Cole, have been dealing with a shortage of teachers, especially in special education, for a number of years. Dr. Cole says the national teacher crisis has been knocking on Storm Lake’s door, but the apprenticeship grant has provided the district some relief this year…(audio clip below :36 )
The apprenticeship grant is being provided by the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Workforce Development.
Dr. Cole says the music programs are also feeling the crunch, as Storm Lake’s 4th through 12th grade orchestra instructor left the district last year. A replacement has yet to be found, and the district hasn’t been able to find an apprentice for that program either…(audio clip below :44 )
Dr. Cole still has high hopes that they’ll be able to have the orchestra program in the future, and says there are all kinds of extra curricular things that the district currently doesn’t have the manpower to do.
