PINE BLUFF, Ark. — The new school year is just over a month away, and for school districts, that means it's crunch time when it comes to filling classroom vacancies.
While the problem of filling those vacancies has been nothing new, Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative in Pine Bluff has been working schools in Pine Bluff, Stuttgart, Sheridan and the Arkansas School for the Deaf to get more teachers on board.
"You're considered certified when you have a standard license," said Dr. Celeste Alexander, teacher excellence coordinator for the co-op.
Dr. Alexander also explained, that the only way to get the standard license, is by passing the Praxis exam.
"We have programs here where we work with teachers who are aspiring teachers, also those who are currently in the classroom and working towards their certification [and] we help them prepare for practice exams," Alexander said.
She added how the reality is that not everyone can pass the exam on their own and that has created a tough hiring hurdle for school districts.
"We have workshops for every content area and we have content specialists that do these workshops in the summer," Alexander explained.
The co-op's goal, she said, is for the hands on workshops to prepare teachers to work through different strategies for the Praxis exam. And that will ultimately set the educators on a path to success.
"It demonstrates that you have knowledge and mastery to be successful in that career," Alexander said.
Asides from doing work to try and get potential teachers certified, Alexander added that another goal of theirs is to keep teachers in the communities they grew up in.
"Most people teach 20 miles within where they grew up," Alexander said.
That is why there has been a big focus, especially in areas in southern Arkansas, to find ways to keep educators in the classroom.
The co-op meets with leaders every month, in the five school districts they work closely with.
"We talked to them about the latest strategies for recruiting and retaining teaches," Alexander described.
The co-op in Pine Bluff is one of 12 sister organizations across the state, and they all provide resources such as study groups, one-on-one trainings and certification help.
In the last three years, at least 70 people have completed the programs and they are now licensed educators.
If you are a prospective teacher in the five school districts the Pine Bluff co-op serves and would like help with passing the praxis exam, you can contact Dr. Alexander at alexanderc@aresc.k12.ar.us