#The amount of teacher vacancies left within the Humboldt County School District (HCSD) for the 2024-2025 school year has dwindled from the double digits to just four as of July 25. Unfortunately, three of the four are at the remote rural school McDermitt Combined School in the core subjects English and Science, as well as the position of social worker.
#At its regular meeting on July 25, the HCSD Board of Trustees discussed ideas about — first and foremost — getting McDermitt students the teachers they need and strategizing on how to address the longstanding difficulties of filling positions in McDermitt that they face every year.
#“Despite the best efforts of [Principal] Lindsay and the posting and the recommendations that are out there, we have a couple of key positions that we have been unable to fill [in McDermitt],” explained HCSD Superintendent Dr. Dave Jensen.
#The Board discussed many ideas, dispelling the notions that they have any intention of busing students from McDermitt to Winnemucca or combining Humboldt County’s remote rural schools at the new school being built in Orovada when construction is completed and deciding to pursue the possibility of having McDermitt students tune in virtually to classes at Lowry High School.
#“We’re honing in right now on two areas— English Language Arts and Science— and asking the question, “How do we ensure high quality education for our McDermitt high school students to prepare them to meet the graduation requirements and how to successfully move forward—that’s our focus,” said Jensen.
#McDermitt principal Robert Lindsay was also present at the meeting and voiced some mutual concerns with the Board, as did former student parent and Fort McDermitt Tribal Council Chairman Arlo Crutcher and grandmother to over a dozen McDermitt students and Fort McDermitt Indian Education Committee member Valerie Barr.
#Lindsay had concerns about getting the schedule of McDermitt students to align with Lowry’s schedule, providing a staff member to oversee a classroom with students tuning in virtually, and the intricacies that the technological aspects would entail with McDermitt already struggling to fill positions.
#Lindsay and Jensen agreed to work together with HCSD Director of Technology Joe Brown and Lowry High School Principal Shaun Taylor to determine if this will be feasible.
#Mrs. Barr’s concerns regarded the shortcoming that McDermitt students may face when combined with Lowry students because the students in McDermitt have been utilizing virtual instruction for many years now due to the lack of available teachers, which she deemed had not been as effective as having teachers there in person.
#“My concern with having our students attend virtually with the Lowry High School students is the level that they’re at, because we’ve had our kids on the computer most of the time…I feel that they’re not right at the level of the high school students and so it would take a little bit different planning for our students,” said Barr.
#Trustee Lonnie Hammargren pointed out the significance of having a teacher present to monitor and support students if the Board makes the final decision to pursue virtual classes for McDermitt students with Lowry students.
#“The connection with the person that [students are] seeing every single day and having a real person there to see every day and to be able to create a connection, someone to encourage them— I think that’s profoundly important,” said Hammargren.
#Mr. Crutcher had similar concerns and asked that both HCSD Superintendent Dr. Dave Jensen and the Board’s McDermitt representative Sabrina Uhlmann meet with the Tribal Council to see how they might work together to address the staffing issues in the future.
#“We can all sit down and meet one day because hopefully, as a Tribe, we can try to provide some help…We all need to come together to work through these situations…We’re discussing issues here with our children,” said Crutcher.
#The Board also explored different ways in which to incentivize teachers to work out in McDermitt as well including addressing housing needs, the possible extension of the current sign-on bonus of $10,000 internally, and other prospective ideas.
#Jensen said “I think it’s more than just a dollar amount. We know that there’s a teacher shortage and that it’s a national issue, but are there some things that we can do with our own staff to incentivize them to go out to McDermitt?”
#The only other remaining vacancy in the HCSD is at Lowry High School for a special education teacher, which the district is still hoping to fill by the beginning of the school year.
#Dr. Jensen reported that the number of Aids on Special Assignment, or aids acting as teachers, within the classroom is down to lower this year than the previous few years and that there is a significant amount of certified positions that have been filled by retired staff who have come out of a very well earned retirement to step up to meet the needs of students.
# “I really have to express my appreciation to these individuals that have retired…and then they’re willing to come back and help us out,” said Jensen.