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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Low employment rate for recent education grads

The cycle of teacher employment is on the low side for the next two years after Texas’ budget cut earlier this year.

According to a comparison chart, Texas Education Agency’s total federal funding would drop by more than $3 billion between 2010-2011 and 2012-2013.

Director of Student Teaching and Career Services Dale Young said the need for teachers was still there.

Although the College of Education usually sees 99 percent of graduates attain jobs by mid-July, Young said only 70 percent were employed this summer.

Junior secondary education life science major Callie Williams said her professors in the College of Education spoke to students about position availability compared to previous years.

Her supervising teacher said it was always a cycle from not enough teachers to employment cuts.

Williams said she planned on teaching at a high school in the Fort Worth area and added a math minor and certification in math to increase her chances of employment.

Some graduates from the College of Education have yet to find jobs, Williams said.

Young said schools have not been hiring because of the cuts, but he knew of a few districts that were hiring teachers in October.

External Communications Coordinator for the Fort Worth Independent School District Clint Bond said Fort Worth ISD enrolled 2,000 more students than expected and might hire more teachers before the first week of October.

According to Fort Worth ISD’s budget summary, the district proposed money depletion in almost every category.

“[Education] is an important area, for not just my job security or anything but for the security of our future as a nation and a state,” Williams said.

The budget cuts do not only hurt teacher employment but administration buildings, salaries and student travel funds, Young said.

While the cuts makes it harder for districts to hire more teachers, low retirement rates are also affecting graduate jobs, Young said.

Schools would have 50 percent of teachers ready for retirement in two years, Young said.

The Fort Worth school district offered teachers and staff members the opportunity to receive a stipend if they told the district they planned to retire or leave the district, Bond said. Two hundred teachers replied to the stipend offer, and replacement is still in the works.

“I don’t really think that education is something that you should cut out,” Williams said.

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