Jefferson Parish Schools decrease teacher vacancies ahead of school year

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WGNO) — As Jefferson Parish students arrived Monday to start the new school year, they were met with smiling faces, many of them new.

“It’s one thing when you kind of see, you know, the preparation gets in place to start the school year. But when the babies show up and you see the smiles on their faces, the smile on their parents’ faces is just a good thing to see that they’re excited about being back in our schools,” said Superintendent James Gray.

Over the summer break, the parish school system made a major turnaround in teacher vacancies, going from close to 150 openings last year to fewer than 70 this year.

Chief Academic Officer Laura Roussel says that number is a great place to be in.

“We don’t want any vacancies, but that at least equates to about one per school or less. Many of our schools are fully staffed. We’ve been putting measures in place to really get our teachers here and to really recruit and retain,” said Roussel.

Roussel explains that many teachers left due to the COVID pandemic. To help fill the openings, the school system turned to job fairs and a partnership with Reach University. The program helps staff members become teachers.

“Allows us, these people, to be in school right now, receiving that four-year degree while working and teaching in Jefferson Parish. So, it’s a great way to invest in our workforce,” said Roussel.

Gray said a boost in pay also helped fill the openings. But he says pay is something he wants to continue fighting for.

“We have another small raise, but another raise that we’ve been able to self-fund again this year. So it’s two years in a row. We were able to make some cuts in some places and put it in the places where we really need it. And that’s in trying to make sure we reduce teacher vacancies,” said Gray.

Both Gray and Roussel say they want to see more jobs filled throughout this school year.

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