Education officials in Kansas are taking a two-pronged approach to reducing teacher shortages: raising pay and fast-tracking teaching assistants and other professionals to the front of the classroom.
Last year, Kansas schools had more than 600 vacant positions. Many of the openings were concentrated in rural areas and the states most urban districts.
Low pay has been blamed for much of the trouble attracting and retaining teachers. But education officials believe they have an opportunity to tackle that with the recent boosts to state funding.
