Coaches, special education staff could fill in for teachers in DeKalb County Schools amid shortage

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — There’s a plan to address a teacher shortage in DeKalb County, but not everyone is on board. DeKalb County school administrators say they have 400 openings.

Now, they will allow some coaches, special education staff, and other certified employees to cover the gaps.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes spoke with some teachers and parents about why they are against the move.

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Cameron Lewellen is a parent with two kids in the DeKalb County School System.

He’s confused by what the district is doing to get teachers in classrooms.

“Maybe consider paying the teachers what they’re worth,” Lewellen said.

DeKalb is currently short 400 teachers.

“Part of the problem is that COVID really uncovered what the market should value teachers at, so a bunch of them left for a private option,” Lewellen said.

Anyone in the district who is a certified educator will be a temporary teacher.

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That includes special education staff, coaches, coordinators, and student support staff.

They’ll get a $1,500 stipend to teach for 45 days, which is about $33 per day.

Many traditional teachers and parents say it’s unfair.

“I understand and I totally agree that if we’re putting you out of your way, you should be compensated for that. But it does feel like a little bit of a slap in the face to the people who took the time to get the education and are currently still paying off student loans for it,” Lewellen said.

He went on to say that a teacher’s enthusiasm for difficult subjects could make or break a student’s interest.

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Fernandes spoke to a coach and a special education teacher off-camera and they’re both feeling a bit anxious because they don’t know what they’ll be teaching and they don’t want to walk into these classrooms unprepared.

A district spokesperson assured Fernandes that temporary teachers have nothing to worry about because they will have plenty of support.

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