Staffing shortages, academic progress and safety are all top of mind for some metro Atlanta districts going into the new school year. Each has been a persistent challenge for school systems.
Superintendents in Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton and Henry counties held previews of the 2023-2024 academic year in recent days, including press conferences Tuesday. Classes start in each district in the next few days.
Clayton County sticking with clear bookbags
For the second year, Clayton County Schools is providing clear bookbags to its approximately 52,000 students. Clayton mandated see-through backpacks, installed metal detectors and bought more security wands at the end of the 2021-22 academic year, which Superintendent Anthony Smith said reduced the number of weapons and other illegal contraband brought on school grounds by more than half last school year.
Clayton is also launching a club for juniors and seniors interested in the medical field and hopes to see at least 24 students get their commercial pilots license through its aviation program.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Clayton’s plan to address its teacher vacancies, which are currently at about 200 positions, is to have central office and various departments fill the gaps in classrooms in the first 90 days while leaders search for candidates.
DeKalb still hiring
DeKalb is starting the year with openings for 379 full-time teachers. Last school year began with about 300 teaching vacancies, said Superintendent Devon Horton Tuesday.
That means that on the first day of school, other district staff members will be assigned to teach classes. Within the first 45 days of the school year, the district will get an official student headcount and adjust classes as necessary. This process typically lowers the number of teachers that are needed.
Credit: Cassidy Alexander
Credit: Cassidy Alexander
The district also still needs to hire about 150 bus drivers. Current bus drivers will run two or three times as many routes as they normally do when school starts to make sure every student makes it to class.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Fulton gears up for a new year
Fulton County is also experiencing a bus driver shortage. While classroom teachers are 99% staffed, 86% of bus driver positions have been filled.
As Georgia schools implement new math standards, the district tried a new approach to recruiting math teachers. Fulton looked to countries such as India.
“We had to think differently,” said Gonzalo La Cava, Fulton’s chief human resources officer.
La Cava said the district hired 23 international math teachers this year.
Cooler Henry gyms and buses
After years of requests, Henry County will start the year with air conditioning in each of its 28 elementary school gymnasiums. The school system, using federal air quality improvement funding, is saying goodbye to the big fans that cooled the gyms.
Credit: Katelyn Myrick
Credit: Katelyn Myrick
The school system also is working on air conditioning for school buses. About half are air-conditioned and the district wants to reach 100% in the next five years at the earliest.
Henry officials will also monitor the impact of a pilot program where some children participated in early kindergarten, six weeks before school began.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the number of teacher vacancies in DeKalb County at this time last year. The story has been updated.
