Too Many Chiefs (not enough Indians) | Eastern North Carolina Now

    "If you want to see the problem with American education look at the comparative growth in the number of students, teachers and district administrators in the public schools between 2000 and 2019. The number of district administrators grew by a whopping 87.6 percent during these years far outstripping the number of students (7.6%) and teachers (8.7%)". - Larry Arnn/ The Epoch times

    This not only a national problem but a local problem as well. According to The National Center for Educational Statistics, The Beaufort County Public Schools in 2020-2021 had 6,061 students, 427.87 classroom teachers, 89.31 instructional aides, 18.91 guidance counselors, 8 librarians, 166.85 support staff and 71.49 administrators. If you figure out the ratios involved, the teacher to student ratio is one teacher per 14.71 students. This 14.71 ratio represents the lowest average pupil to teacher ratio in the state of NC or the nation and that doesn't include teachers aides in the equation. The teacher to administrator ratio is a whopping one administrators for every 16.7 teachers. Getting the picture yet? If you realize that of the 166.85 support staff 28.48 of those represent direct support of administrators the picture becomes even clearer.

    Now, I'm am not in the business of costing anyone their job but something has to change. These changes can be brought about by a hiring freeze on any positions other than necessary teachers and maintenance staff. A gradual attrition of other staff over a predetermined amount of time through resignations or retirement and a gradual rise in the teacher to pupil ratio. In fact, it might be a good idea to assign two full time teachers to a classroom of 28-29 students. One teacher being a veteran and the other being a teacher with zero to three years of experience. If you want to ensure a readily available supply of teachers, send a good number of teachers aides back to school to become certified teachers. Affordability would come from the savings of excess staff and teachers aides.

    What really needs to be determined is WHY so many administrators are needed in the first place. Look no further than the departments of education, the politicians and the teachers unions who have forcibly piled up the paperwork for every school system in America. The public school systems have been forced into an institutional model that replicates our overstuffed political models. In other words, CYA. Other nonessential paper-pushers rely on the volume of paper coming out of every school system but the information has done little to improve public education. In fact, this information has deterred creative and imaginative thinking for occurring and produced "a one size fits all mind set". The collective above the individual who has diverse abilities and talents. Do we even have a locl philosophy of education? I think not. The classical education that our forbears and my generation redceived is no more and mores the pity.

Follow the Yellow Arrow
    John W. LaCava  •  Bath, NC  •  June 25, 2022