Study: Half of Aspiring Teachers Leave South Dakota
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — An education task force appointed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard has found that about half of all aspiring teachers graduating from South Dakota colleges leave the state after earning their degrees.
The study also found that 240 classrooms in the state started the 2014-15 school year without a teacher.
The Argus Leader reports that the numbers were presented Wednesday to lawmakers and educators who are part of a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teachers and Students. The group was formed in the spring to reconsider how schools are funded and address concerns about salaries.
Task force member Steve O'Brien, a Watertown English teacher, says it's the first indication that the state is starting in a hole, He says thousands of students are going without opportunity because of the shortage.
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