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CLARKSDALE 鈥� Clarksdale had the second highest teacher shortage in Mississippi last year 鈥� 40 posted vacancies in July. 

For district administrators, that staffing challenge hits particularly hard each year in late summer when they try to fill vacancies before the new school year begins. The problem affects students, too, when they’re taught by substitute teachers for weeks at a time. 

Clarksdale schools leaders have also tried a solution that researchers and think tanks suggest: Identifying potential teachers early 鈥� before they even graduate high school. This approach also in local teacher workforces, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality.

Nearly half of Mississippi public school students are Black, but about a quarter of their teachers are, according to . The gap has only shrunk by roughly one and a half points in the last 10 years.

鈥淲e cannot continue to work in the education arena like it鈥檚 a factory putting out the next product,鈥� said Adrienne Hudson, who runs Clarksdale-based nonprofit organization , which assists aspiring educators with licensure requirements. 鈥淎s we can see in the numbers, we don鈥檛 have enough products. The supply and demand are not matching.鈥� 

鈥淲e have to do better at cultivating the educators in our schools and communities.鈥�

Cultivating educators in the community would also address disparities between the demographics of teachers and their students. 

 A way 鈥榯o change kids鈥� lives鈥�

One way the district is trying to cultivate educators is through a vocational educator preparation class Candace Barron teaches at Clarksdale Municipal School District鈥檚 Carl Keen Career and Technical Education center. 

Triccia Hudson, the center鈥檚 director, had the goal of widening the pipeline for future educators in Clarksdale. She first recruited Barron to teach the course during the 2021-2022 school year.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 see as many families of educators any more,鈥� Hudson said. 鈥淚t was clear to me that aspiring teachers needed more mentorship.鈥�

More than a dozen Clarksdale students are getting a feel for a career well known to them: teaching. In a classroom once devoted to a cosmetology course, students are learning how to plan lessons, manage classrooms and about the different roles in a school district.

In Barron鈥檚 course, students start their first semester learning about the origins of public education. The introductory lectures fascinate students.

It was interesting to learn that it鈥檚 always been about helping people by 鈥渟preading information,鈥� Clarksdale High School sophomore Khloe Reed said.

Beyond having the opportunity to join a profession that predates the country鈥檚 founding, students in Barron鈥檚 class say they are drawn to education because of their lived experiences in their community. 

Barron has observed that high school-aged students understand the obstacles facing their fellow students and are in a good position to learn skills teachers employ to educate and inspire developing minds.

For sophomore Leah Myles, helping kids with learning disabilities inspired her to take the course. She saw how her brother struggled with his reading lessons, and she was moved 鈥渢o learn how to help students like him.鈥�

Sophomore Jamarick Davis said education has the power to 鈥渃hange kids鈥� lives.鈥� He remembers his assistant teachers fondly and saw the impact a good teacher can have on a student who struggles in the classroom and at home 鈥� and might act out in class for attention.

Davis鈥� favorite teacher never seems to be in a bad mood despite challenges that educators face outside and inside the classroom.

Some students come from teacher families, while others admire alumni who entered the profession. All were aware that a teacher鈥檚 role involves more than what is in the textbook. 

As Reed put it, teachers are a positive role model in a young person鈥檚 life. Myles said teachers help students by challenging them, and demonstrating how they care.

鈥淭eachers play a very important role in our community because without them, we wouldn’t really know anything,鈥� said Reed. 鈥淚t wouldn’t be a very lively life if you didn’t know anything at all. 

22 years in the classroom

Candace Barron has taught elementary school for 18 years and high school for four, but she still lights up with admiration when a student grasps a new concept or demonstrates eloquence. 

The Clarksdale native has taught hundreds of students and seen her corner of the world regress and progress from under the fluorescent bulbs in Clarksdale鈥檚 city classrooms.

When she graduated college, Barron followed in her parents鈥� steps when she became a teacher. She realized how important empathy was to a teacher whose classroom has students from various households and skill levels. 

鈥淚 do have bad days, but I try not to bring it to work,鈥� Barron said. 鈥淚 don’t know what (students) have been through at home and I don’t want to add to that by coming in and bringing my problems. So I come in, I have my game face on, I’m going to do what we have to do.鈥�

That dedication matters as the teacher shortage has gotten worse in Clarksdale in the past year. 

鈥淲e really have lost a lot of the efforts that were put in place to combat the teacher storage crisis, ” Adrienne Hudson said. 鈥淢any of the scholarship incentives that used to be prevalent and professional development opportunities no longer exist.鈥�

Barron said she believes the program can ignite students鈥� interest in an education career. The lessons give students the confidence and skillset to pursue careers where communication and project management are components 鈥� even those who don鈥檛 end up pursuing education, Barron said.

One student told Barron the class helped her with a speech impediment. The student felt more confident delivering presentations, and began to imagine careers that she felt discouraged from pursuing previously. 

鈥淎t this age, they’re still trying to decide what they want to do. So the more you expose them to every different area, it’ll help them decide,鈥� Barron said.

Outside of the state-approved curriculum and textbook, students learn the art of crafting classroom bulletin boards. Fewer craft projects conjure as much nostalgia and appreciation. Some teachers spend hours with a ruler and yards of colored construction paper decorating their classroom in late July before school starts.

Creativity is the key to a successful poster board, Barron said. One student was inspired to construct a data wall with construction paper made to look like wood, while another put together a yellow bulletin board with crayons bearing the name of students. 

鈥淚 really hope that by the end of the program that they feel like they can make an impact on somebody’s life by becoming a teacher or getting into the education field,鈥� said Barron. 鈥淭hat is my hope. So all of the negatives that they hear, I hope that I can dismiss some of them. 

鈥淪tudents tell me at the end of (the course), they want to be successful like teachers.鈥�

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