ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — First-time and veteran teachers are engaged at Lindbergh Schools' central office in Sappington all this week.
For more than 25 years, the public school district in St. Louis County has held its Teachers Institute to orient those teaching with them for the first time.
Many schools across the nation have struggled to hire and keep teachers with a lot of the crisis attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic recently.
Lindbergh Schools has been able to keep its staff levels steady.
There are 10 schools, Pre-K through 12th, within the district with about 500 teaching staff members on board.
Staff noted they only have 39 openings right now with resignations due to things like retirement, promotion, and relocation and there are 1200 applications in the queue.
On Wednesday, about 60 teachers including special education and general education teachers sat in on sessions that included lessons required for first timers including how to navigate the district's learning management system.
There are also introductions to safety, communications, and curriculum-based resources.
Tara Sparks, chief Academic Officer, remembered being in the newbie seat getting similar training 25 years ago with the district.
She cites it as one of the reasons her team has been able to keep their numbers afloat.
"I think it's just being really intentional about what people need. It's obviously starting with this experience and building that community for our teachers but also continuing that support,” Sparks added.
It does not matter if you have a few years of experience like Lauren Paul.
"I feel like everyone that works in the Central office is helping us all accomplish the same goal,” said Lauren Paul, an eighth-grade teacher.
"I'm still surprised every year. There's still something thrown your way and there's always something new and there's always something that changes. It's very fluid,” added Andrew Little who has taught for 19 years.
Lindbergh Schools invites a number of other schools throughout the year for a New Staff Collaborative Induction program to keep things fresh for teachers.