Lewisville - Flower Mound - Highland Village | August 2022

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Pay

This is not an LISD-specic prob- lem, Rapp said. LISD saw an 11.8% teacher turnover rate based on 2020-21 data, according to the Texas Education Agency. The state averaged 14.3%. “We will continue looking for ways to better compensate all our sta members,” Rapp said. “But more than that, what can make a signicant dif- ference is everyone joining our dis- trict in lifting our educators up and respecting their talents, skills and To help mitigate some of that turnover, the LISD board of trustees approved a 4% pay increase to cam- pus sta during an April 11 meeting. This includes a starting teacher sal- ary of $59,175, which oers competi- tive wages in the region, according to LISD ocials. For example, Plano and Frisco ISDs oer rst-time teachers $58,250 for the 2022-23 school year, according to the districts. “[Teacher pay raises and a higher starting salary] were signicant nancial commitments and very clearly showed the board’s desire to keep our compensation highly com- petitive in the [Dallas-Fort Worth] metroplex,” Rapp said. “Certainly, compensation is a part of the puzzle for the statewide shortage of teach- ers. But I don’t think it would be accurate to say that is the only thing.” Teacher and educator retention goes beyond compensation, accord- ing to The American Federation of Teachers—politics, the pandemic and burnout contribute, as well. “The pandemic, combined with the political culture wars, has made the last two years the toughest in modern times for educators,” AFT President professionalism.” Teacher turnover

NEW FACES

RAISES

Lewisville ISD has seen turnover in some of its top leadership positions, including chief of schools and 10 principals.

The Lewisville ISD board approved pay raises for campus faculty and sta along with other departments.

+4% pay increase for all campus sta

+3% pay increase for all other sta

+100% pay increase for all technology department sta

Chief of middle schools Chantell Upshaw

Chief of elementary schools Jaime Clark

Chief of schools Lori Litcheld

SOURCE: LEWISVILLE ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

A leader

Principals

School location:

Lewisville

Flower Mound

IN WAGES

1 Meredith Whitehouse STEM Academy at Bridlewood Elementary School 2 Christine Hinkle Castle Hills Elementary School 3 Shaunna Buck Central Elementary School 4 Victor Jones DeLay Middle School 5 April Kenely Garden Ridge Elementary School 6 Rachel Flanders Lewisville High School Harmon 7 Lindsay McLennan Lewisville High School Killough 8 Jessica True Marcus Ninth Grade Campus 9 Jill Asher Parkway Elementary School 10 Michael Wetchensky Student Success Center

Lewisville ISD increased its starting teacher salary for the 2022-23 school year from $56,925 to $59,175.

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD

$58,000

Coppell ISD

$58,500

Denton ISD

$58,000

Frisco ISD

$58,250

Lewisville ISD

$59,175

Plano ISD

$58,250

Richardson ISD

$57,000

SOURCES: CARROLLTONFARMERS BRANCH ISD, COPPELL ISD, DENTON ISD, FRISCO ISD, LEWISVILLE ISD, PLANO ISD, RICHARDSON ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

SOURCE: LEWISVILLE ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

Randi Weingarten said in a July report. The report came from the AFT Teacher and School Sta Shortage Task Force, which looked at addressing the nationwide shortage of teachers. The task force was made up of 25 leaders from state and local aliates across the country. “It’s hard not to be stressed when the pandemic has created so much disruption and uncertainty—when

you’re trying to give students indi- vidualized attention but your classes are too large or you are pulled away to cover extra classes or have stu- dents added to yours because of the shortages of sta,” Weingarten said. Though ocials said the pandemic contributed to the teacher shortage, the issue was seen well before 2020. All 50 states started the 2017-18 school year with teacher shortages. Every

year, nearly 300,000 leave the profes- sion, with two-thirds leaving before retirement age, according to the AFT. Teacher turnover is nearly double that of other occupations, with 30% of teachers leaving within ve years compared to 16% of engineers and 19% of nurses and lawyers, according to the AFT report. “Educators have been on the front- line of a global pandemic, which

COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM