TAMPA - Unfilled teaching positions at up to 50 low-performing schools were dismissed as a minor problem Thursday during an advisory group discussion of ways to improve grades at these schools.
One reason: The number of vacancies is rapidly shrinking.
Recently, these so-called Achievement schools had more than 200 vacancies - as many as 20 each at individual schools.
"It's much better now," said Tricia McManus, an assistant superintendent with Hillsborough County Public Schools.
McManus estimated the number of teacher vacancies is down to several dozen.
She attributed the earlier high number to the addition of academic coaching and other resource staff positions to individual school rosters.
Still, the district aims to fill as many classroom positions as possible in the Achievement schools with strong, experienced teachers, she said.
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The teacher's union has agreed to allow Achievement schools to recruit for an extra week among teachers already working in the district, McManus said.
Other schools must stop in-system recruiting on Thursday, Aug. 7. Classes start Aug. 13.
"We also have many people applying daily for teaching jobs in Hillsborough County. They are being directed to our Achievement schools," she said. "We want to make sure all open positions are all filled with certified teachers at beginning of the year."
Achievement schools, designated by the state, are required to demonstrate academic improvement. They include schools at all levels - elementary, middle and high school.
McManus said the goal for the 2018-19 school year is to have every Achievement school move up at least one grade.
To accomplish that, the school district has designed a program modeled after successful programs throughout the country, including one in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., and in Miami-Dade.
A key part of the Hillsborough Achievement school program is the creation of an advisory group of educators, parents and community leaders.
The group has been meeting since May and met again Thursday.
"We will bring reports back to them on what is being done in the schools, and ask for additional ideas to improve the schools. It's important to keep the connection with the community," McManus said.
She told the advisory group that schools will no longer automatically lose their academic coaches and support teams when they improve their school grades.
"We are very proud of our system. We are granting requests to keep resource people in schools even when they increase in grade," McManus said.
Several of the Achievement schools are on the brink of being taken over by a state-mandated external operators. The Phalen Leadership Academy is already working with a group of failed schools in the county.
The advisory group Thursday discussed issues ranging from parent and community engagement to creation of new policies and procedures, teacher training, transforming classroom instruction, and school culture.
Travian Mitchell, a teacher and coach at Chamberlain High School, stressed the need for community engagement.
Getting schools involved in the community would "create a seamless line where you can't tell where one ends and the other begins," he said.
One recommendation Thursday was for the school district to designate a coordinator for the African-American community. Such a position already exists for the Latin community.
One group member, Dr. Samuel L. Wright Sr., recently retired from the University of South Florida and said African-American parents and school communities would be "livid" if they discovered the lack of a coordinator.
McManus pledged to take the matter to the School Board for action.
Contact Sheila Estrada at hillsnews.com