At Beaufort High School, some students are taking math class without a teacher
Since Monday, Beaufort High School students have been taking an Algebra 2 class without a teacher.
In a letter sent to parents Jan. 6, principal Charity Summers said the school has “been unable to fill the position with a permanent certified instructor.”
Instead, students are using “pre-planned course curriculum” from the math department and are being supervised by a “long-term facilitator.”
Beaufort County School District spokesperson Candace Bruder did not respond when asked if any other district schools had classes without a teacher assigned to them.
As of Thursday afternoon, the district has several teaching vacancies listed on its website. There are 12 “certified” position openings — which must be filled by someone with a teaching license — at elementary schools, 18 openings at middle schools and 15 openings at high schools.
There are an additional 18 openings for certified special education positions, which are based in schools but listed separately, four openings for certified district staff, and 17 openings for certified part-time or temporary positions, most of which are tutoring jobs.
That’s 84 certified position vacancies, compared to 50 vacancies in January 2021.
Staffing classes has been an issue throughout the pandemic, especially after students began to return to in-person classes in October 2020. Last January, Red Cedar Elementary principal Kathleen Corley told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that because of teachers quarantining, she was focused on finding “a body in the room to mind students” while teachers were absent or teaching remotely.
Beaufort County School District is being sued by a Whale Branch Middle School teacher. In her lawsuit, Amanda Patel claims that she and her colleagues providing in-person and remote instruction at the same time for quarantining students have been underpaid. They received a one-time $1,000 bonus for the fall semester instead of an hourly rate for additional work that’s in the district’s salary and stipend handbook, Patel’s lawsuit said.
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 4:30 AM.