While more students are showing an interest in trade school, New Hampshire schools have struggled to provide the instructors needed to train classes, reports Valley News.
Though Keene High School’s career and technical education center, the Cheshire Career Center, has seen enrollment on the rise, the school has struggled to find the instructors needed to accommodate the courses.
The disparity has led its automotive programs, as well as its construction programs, to be temporarily paused.
A large issue spurring the lack of instructors is the difference in pay between working in the field and being an educator, with the minimum starting salary for a teacher in the Keene School District being $42,600 as of the 2023-24 school year.
Part of what the school is doing to combat this is offering 10 steps worth of credit in the salary scale for every 20 years an individual has spent working in their field, in addition to retirement and health benefits.
A lack of programs offering credentials in educator and instructor positions, and the costs associated with becoming certified, also can deter many from teaching.
Applicants for teaching positions who aren’t certified educators but hold experience in the subject may be hired on under an intern authorization, which allows them to teach under the mentorship of an experienced teacher. This required step will cost $120, and the other required action, a portfolio review, typically costs $500.
While these factors make it clear why some are discouraged from teaching, there are young students interested in filling the demand for automotive technicians and other trades—they just need someone there to train them, as Keene High Principal Cindy Gallagher underscored.
“Kids want these jobs,” said Gallagher. “We just need to find the teachers who will help get them there.”
