Huntsville ISD staffing issues approach crisis levels

Huntsville High School sent one letter after another – four in all.  Each said the same thing: "I am taking this opportunity to inform you that your child's teacher does not currently have the appropriate state teaching certificate."

With them, Hayley Luna* and her 10th grade son made a little origami zoo, with a pelican, a wood stork, two alligators and a wombat.

Ha, ha, ha – no. Luna did what any God-fearing American would do – vent on Facebook, thus drawing the attention of The Huntsvillan.

Luna couldn't have known, but those letters reflected a problem long brewing in the Huntsville ISD – getting qualified teachers and keeping them. The district is now hiring uncertified teachers at unprecedented rates, and inexperienced teachers dominate its workforce. These staffing issues are reaching crisis levels.

Teacher experience has crumbled

Teaching is as tough as it is rewarding. Grading and preparing lessons takes lots of time, while classroom management and state testing is stressful.

So many teachers don't stick around for long. Statewide, almost 40% of public schoolteachers are "inexperienced," with just five years or less in the profession. It's always been this way, because teaching has always been a tough job.

For many years, Walker County's public schools had a leg up on everyone else. In the early 2000's, the fraction of inexperienced teachers in the Huntsville and New Waverly districts were below the state average. In New Waverly, it's still that way. There, barely 20% of teachers have five years of experience or less.

But in Huntsville, things have changed. The percentage of inexperienced teachers started rising after the 2006-2007 school year, soon surpassed the state average, and has grown steadily ever since. By 2023, it exceeded 60%.

That level is rarely seen in districts of this size. In neighboring school districts – Willis, Madisonville, Trinity, Anderson-Shiro, and Coldspring – the fraction of inexperienced teachers averaged a little under 40%, similar to Texas as a whole.

Certification rates have crumbled too

While experience has been steady statewide, certification has not. Since 2020 the fraction of teachers lacking certification has tripled, to 12%, partly due to stagnant salaries that the state only recently addressed.

Most local school districts are either near that 12% range (Coldspring, Crockett, Willis) or below it (Conroe, Madisonville, New Waverly, Richards). But in Huntsville, the fraction of teachers that are uncertified has shot up to 31%, the second highest rate of all 55 districts in our educational "region."

Most uncertified teachers are inexperienced, because they must complete their certification within three years. Connecting the dots, roughly 30% of Huntsville ISD's teachers are uncertified and inexperienced, another 30% are certified but new to the profession, and the remaining 40% are both certified and experienced.

It makes a difference

Luna sees the effects on her son. While he has had some great uncertified teachers, others "have plenty of room for improvement and would greatly benefit from training in regard to teacher-student relationships, classroom management, and the over-use of busy work."

The evidence backs her up. Experience makes teachers more effective and well-rounded, which is why districts pay more for it.

The loss of experience probably contributes to Huntsville ISD's recent state ratings, in which the district overall received a "D" on an A-F scale, with "F" ratings for Huntsville, Samuel Walker Houston, and Scott Johnson elementaries.

But it's probably not experience alone. Back in 2011, when the district's teachers were more experienced, there were still three failing schools. Turnover has been elevated ever since. That points to other issues that have outlasted principals and even superintendents. Staffing issues are both a cause and a consequence of the district's problems.

What's next?

We don't know if HISD's administration considers these staffing issues to be a problem. We sent it – nicely, we promise, we know what you are thinking – several questions about teacher hiring and retention, but they did not respond.

The school board has been equally quiet. The Huntsvillan reviewed the agendas of the last year of HISD board meetings and found no item specifically concerning retention or certification. Pay rates are reviewed annually, including last June, but little was said about those topics at that meeting either.

That June pay increase was the district's most aggressive in years. It had saved up some money and so could raise pay beyond what the state required. But the state gave smaller districts nearby even more money (per student) to raise pay with. It may all turn out to be a wash.

Something will have to happen, and soon. Legislation passed last spring strictly limits the use of uncertified teachers going forward. Unless the state gives it an exemption, Huntsville ISD will soon have to staff its classrooms in new ways. At this point, what that would be is anyone's guess.

* Hayley Luna is a pseudonym. The Huntsvillan will return to this topic next year.