It’s part of an effort by UAM to answer the critical shortage of classroom teachers in Arkansas, particularly in the southern and eastern portions of the state. Much of the effort is being financed by grants from the Arkansas Department of Education, which is engaged in a statewide effort to improve teacher recruitment and retention. Funding is also being provided by the Education Renewal Zone to pay for billboards and banners. UAM will place billboards at various locations in southeast Arkansas as well as use radio advertising and public outreach to raise awareness of the teacher shortage.

   “Teacher attrition is a serious problem and concern,” Peggy Doss, dean of the UAM School of Education, said. “Districts are struggling to retain qualified teachers and there is so much competition from other career opportunities. Traditionally the Delta suffers the greatest shortages and difficulties, in terms of recruiting and retaining quality teachers, but all Arkansas districts struggle in some ways.”

   Doss and her colleagues at UAM are trying to dispel some perceptions of the teaching profession by spotlighting rising salaries and benefits.  Doss also noted new programs available to teacher education students to help reduce the cost of their education. Doss also mentioned the availability of student loan cancellation programs, signing bonuses and funding for continuing education for teachers who commit to teaching in certain geographic areas of the state.           

   “There has never been a better time to enter the teaching profession,” Doss said. “There are opportunities available to teachers that never existed before. But being a teacher has always been, and will continue to be, about much more than monetary reward. Teaching is an honorable, highly skilled profession and its practitioners transform lives. Almost all of us have fond memories of a particular teacher that influenced our lives. Teaching is about reaching young people and shaping the future.”

   For more information contact Peggy Doss at 460-1062.