Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

The state’s commission on teacher recruitment and retention says Missouri should find a way to pay teachers more.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released its preliminary 2021-22 grade level and end-of-course assessments. Students are not performing at pre-pandemic levels.

Missouri’s average starting teacher salary ranks as one of the lowest in the nation. Educators recounted that new and veteran teachers often have to find second jobs to make ends meet.

It’s part of an effort to study the teacher shortage in the state and make policy changes to address high turnover rates.

At forums in Riverview Gardens and Normandy, community members came together to discuss attendance, teacher turnover and the state’s role in the school districts.

Federal funding will help pay for the statewide initiative to keep kids in class this summer and help make up for pandemic-related learning loss.

This year is part of a “transition” as Missouri education officials update the state’s accountability program for schools.

After a reporter identified a security flaw that exposed teachers’ social security numbers, Missouri said it would offer credit monitoring.

After personal information for thousands of educators in Missouri was shown to be vulnerable due to a website flaw, a Washington University professor sees this as an opportunity for the state to reevaluate its cybersecurity practices.

Missouri’s Board of Education approved a new emergency amendment to give prospective substitute teachers the option to take a 20-hour online certification course to address a statewide substitute teacher shortage.