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LTPS officals talk about tackling teacher shortages INTERVIEW BY BILL SANSERVINO
Boys’ lacrosse player Alex Knabb, number 7, fights to score during a recent game.
Knab has blossomed as a scorer for Lawrence lacrosse RICH FISHER
Alex Knab’s first exposure to lacrosse was not voluntary. “We would go to my brother’s tournaments,” Knab said. “It was kind of boring at first. I didn’t really have much of a say, I was just dragged to wherever my brothers went.” But Knab found playing base-
ball more boring than watching lacrosse and his mom signed him up for the Lawrence rec lax program. “I got tired of sitting in the dugout during baseball games,” he said. “At first I didn’t like lacrosse, but I honestly don’t remember why.” That dislike lasted for just one year. By second grade, Knabb
embraced the sport and a career was underway. With the graduation of Reilly Cahill, the senior attackman was Lawrence High’s leading returning scorer this season. Through the Cardinals’ 4-2 start this year, Knab led the team in points with 22 goals and 10 assists and was second in goals to Gabe McNaSee KNAB, Page 9
The Lawrence Gazette recently say down with officials from the Lawrence Township Public Schools to talk about issues confronting the district. The first part of the Q&A resulting from that interview ran in the April issue of the Gazette and reflected officials’ thoughts about the school budget, and a potential reconfiguration of grades currently attending the elementary schools and the Lawrence Intermediate School. To read that article, go to communitynews.org. This month, Superintendent Robyn Klim and Sean Fry, the director of personnel and administrative services, talk with Lawrence Gazette editor Bill Sanservino about how the nationwide teacher shortage is impacting the district and how the LTPS is responding, A lightly edited version of their talk appear in the Q&A below. Other topics discussed will appear in appear in subsequent issues. *** Lawrence Gazette: There’s a teacher shortage, which has
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been ongoing for some time now. Can you talk about the situation and some of the difficulties that you and other school districts are having? Sean Fr y: School districts across the state are all facing the exact same problem, and that’s that the pipeline is drying up. I mean, that’s the reality. When we go to our job fairs, there’s typically less candidates there. We see that through the number of student teaching requests that we get annually. Practicum students, those numbers have all reduced. So, we’re having less people coming in because those programs have gotten smaller in size. So therefore, there are fewer candidates for us to choose from. There are fewer aspiring teachers coming through our buildings. We try to house as many of them as we can, because it’s a great recruitment tool. You get eyes on teachers and get to see them and kind of mold them. But it’s, it’s definitely a huge challenge. We also face the fact that some of the programs that offer certain education preparation See TEACHERS, Page 6
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