Teaching Teachers at Sparks High School

By MICHELLE RINDELS

Associated Press

    

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada's two largest school districts this week said they'd hired hundreds of first-time teachers over the summer with the help of recruiters, billboards and even a Clark County superintendent zip-lining through downtown Las Vegas in a superhero cape.

    

But when it was Nevada Board of Education President Elaine Wynn's chance to speak about the nearly 1,000 teacher positions statewide that still remain vacant and are being filled with stopgap measures such as long-term subs, she said she was alarmed by the situation.

    

Nevada is suffering an acute teacher shortage as its student population rises and its primary supplier of educators - California - deals with a shortage of its own. Some blame the shortage on low pay, especially for first-year teachers, and a general lack of respect for the profession.

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