The school year is about a month in, and at schools across the state, hallways are lined with bulletin boards, homework is being sent home, and the business of the school year is well upon us. Teachers and students are working on initial relationships and paving the road for a year full of learning and joy. Unfortunately, for hundreds of students in Sacramento, the back to school season that should be underway is on halt as there are a total of 100 vacancies within the district. This means that there are hundreds of students in Sacramento that are being taught by either a substitute teacher, another district employee, or being added to already large sized classrooms at their schools. 

In a recent interview with KCRA, a spokesman for the Sacramento City Unified School District, Alex Barrios stated, “…there are 46 classroom teaching vacancies currently being filled by substitute teachers, plus 24 vacancies in nonclassroom positions like counselors, nurses, psychologists and librarians.” While these “nonclassroom” district employees are busy watching over classrooms that should be filled with a teacher, their own responsibilities are piling up, leading only to the further disservice to the students within the district. The consequences of the high level of teacher vacancies are creating a domino effect within the district. 

Teacher shortages within California and within the country are not new. Last school year, there were many teacher protests around the country calling attention to the conditions that teachers are facing, which some say are contributing to people leaving the profession. Forbes recently published an article on the shortage and added that “calling the situation a “teacher shortage” suggests…that there simply aren’t enough people out there who could do the job. There is no reason to believe that is true. But pretending that it is true sets up justification for a variety of bad “solutions” to the shortage.” The article goes on to point out that lowering the expectations for teachers just to have a body in the classroom with students is only aggravating this problem.

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Daniela Felix

Daniela is a first generation college student who is heavily involved in education in her home district, West Contra Costa Unified. After becoming a mother at a young age, Daniela’s passion for education justice only intensified and she began to fight for an equitable education for all children, regardless of background or zip code. Daniela played a key role in organizing parents with the California Charter Schools Association and is a firm believer in school choice for all families. She is currently a Lead Organizer with Students for Education Reform, organizing college students around education justice issues in her home district. She was recently accepted into Teach for America and plans to continue impacting the lives of children in her hometown of Richmond, CA as a high school social studies teacher. Daniela is a UC Berkeley senior pursuing her B.A. in Legal Studies and Education along with her 4 year old daughter and husband. Daniela is a firm believer in that every single child is capable of meeting high expectations if given the correct support. Daniela hopes to be a provider of that support.

Latest posts by Daniela Felix (see all)

• The Importance of Mid Year Data for Teachers, Students, and Families - December 18, 2019
• Las Familias Deben Participar en la Mejora de los Resultados de las Pruebas SBAC de California - December 10, 2019
• La Guia de los Aprendices de Inglés de California es un Recurso Útil para los Maestros - December 4, 2019
• California’s English Learner Roadmap Is a Helpful Resource for Teachers - December 2, 2019
• Families Need To Be Involved in Improving California’s SBAC Test Results - November 27, 2019