PECULIAR, Mo — In an effort to curb the nation-wide teacher shortage, Missouri schools are finding unique solutions.
“It is tough right now to find instructors,” said, Dr. Mike Slagle, superintendent of the Raymore-Peculiar R-II School District
Slagle said he noticed a lack of teachers in the pipeline, making the need for a quick solution necessary.
In Missouri, retired teachers can collect their pensions and a paycheck for an extra four years if they return to the classroom full-time.
“I know that our retirees have retired for a reason,” Slagle said. “This is not a long-term solution. This is more of a short-term fix, but education as a whole needs to look at a long-term fix and that’s getting more students, people interested in becoming a teacher.”
Eric Arnold is a former science teacher turned administrator.
He retired in 2021 and returned full-time as a science teacher, where his career began.
“I just thought that I would try and see what else was out there, find something that was a little different,” Arnold said. “It turned out that the different thing was coming back to the classroom.”
Arnold’s own teachers and his father inspired him to create a career in the classroom, twice.
“It came down to, I just really still enjoyed this,” Arnold said. “It’s nice to still be wanted and needed.”
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