School uses programs to ‘grow its own’ teachers
Scholarship, signing bonus draw grads back to district
ENID — Teacher Amy Thielke would receive an annual disbursement of funds from her Enid school for classroom supplies, until another round of budget reductions hit the school last year.
But after recently learning she will be the recipient of a $1,000 “signing bonus” this year and next, she said she plans to spend some of the money on her students to make up for the cuts.
“It helps big time,” Thielke said.
The signing bonus is funded through a new program at Enid Public Schools that will offer Enid alumni $1,000 each their first two years for returning to the district to teach.
Enid students already were offered a $1,000, four-year scholarship to pursue a career in education. But the scholarship program, in partnership with the Cherokee Strip Community Foundation, will now fund the signing bonuses.
“With the teacher shortage, we must do everything we can to encourage teaching as a career path for our best and brightest,” said Darrell Floyd, Enid’s super- intendent. “The Leta Corr Professional Educators Scholarship is a model example of how the school system and private citizens can work together to strengthen education in our community and our state.”
At least 18 Enid graduates who have received the Leta Corr scholarship are eligible for the signing bonus if they choose to come back to Enid, according to the district.
Thielke, who was the first scholarship recipient and has been teaching in Enid since 2005, is receiving the signing bonus retroactively.
“It was a big surprise to hear I would be getting it,” Thielke said. “I think it’s our duty to get out there to help reach these students and tell them teaching is a wonderful career and this helps.”
School districts across the state have reported struggles in finding enough certified teachers to fill openings.
Low pay and challenging conditions, especially as the state’s public school funding has failed to keep pace with increasing student enrollment, has been blamed on the shortage and for sending many prospective teachers out of state or out of the profession.
Besides the scholarship and new bonus program, Enid is also looking to “grow its own” teachers through a new end-ofthe-year reception that honors seniors preparing to go into the teaching field.
“The reception is akin to a signing event for a student getting an athletic scholarship,” said district spokesperson Amber Graham Fitzgerald. “It gave us the opportunity to not only honor those students but talk in a public event about the importance of teachers and how we need people to choose public education as a career path.”
Oklahoma set a record last year with more than 1,300 emergency certified teachers, which are teachers without traditional training in their subject area but are hired because of a lack of qualified applicants.
Enid used 25 emergency certified teachers last year, Fitzgerald said.
“We are definitely facing the same challenges as other Oklahoma school districts,” Fitzgerald said. “We really want to create the best and brightest teachers and one of the ways we can do that is to grow our own.”