Rural Texas school districts are experiencing a teacher shortage, even more than their larger counterparts are.
It can be difficult for these districts to not only attract teachers to work there, but also to stay there.
Taylor McWilliams went to school in a small town and is in student teaching right now.
She hopes to teach in a rural area, something she watched her grandfather do.
“Actually my grandfather was a six-man high school football coach, and he taught math at six-man schools up until he passed away a year ago, and he taught me math,” McWilliams said.
The Grow Your Own program at Texas Tech is encouraging students to consider teaching students at schools in smaller towns.
“If we can identify teachers from the community who want to become teachers they provide a great resource for the school, they know the kids, they know the community, and they stay and they’re effective,” said Doug Hamman, the department chair of teacher preparation at Texas Tech.
“There are 5.5 million students that go to school in Texas schools, and 20 percent of them are in rural schools,” said Jody Dennis, site coordinator for the program.
The need for those teachers is becoming greater every year.
“Teachers are getting harder and harder to find professions. It’s tough to educate kids, work with the parents, work with the state,” said Shawn Mason, superintendent at Crosbyton ISD.
It’s students like McWilliams who know just how important teachers are in these small communities.
“I want to impact their lives not only in an educational way, but in a way that says, ‘You can do this, it doesn’t matter what your background is,'” McWilliams said.
