La Habra Hiring Teachers to Meet Growth

Facing an unexpected increase in enrollment, the La Habra City School District is hiring two more teachers for classes that are expected to begin early next month, bringing to 11 the number of new teachers hired to absorb the jump in enrollment.

In all, enrollment this year has been put at 4,500 students, or 250 more than last year.

The district already had hired nine new teachers, but a more accurate first-day enrollment count showed the need for two more classes, officials said.

The new instructors will teach a kindergarten class at El Cerrito Elementary and a first-grade class at Ladera Palma Elementary. A new portable classroom should be added at Ladera Palma by Oct. 2, the day the new teachers will begin teaching classes.

Because of retirements and resignations, new teachers now make up 15% of the district’s faculty, the highest influx of new instructors in recent history, district officials said. And despite the shrinking pool of prospective teachers, the district filled its 33 vacancies without expanding its scope of recruitment, officials said.

“We’ve had good success with our relationships with Cal State Fullerton, Whittier College and other institutions,” said district Supt. Rich Hermann. “Student teachers who are placed with us for practical experience in their last year of training often end up applying for positions in our district.”

Hermann said the student population statewide is growing by about 160,000 a year. A serious shortage of teachers is inevitable unless more young people decide to enter the profession, he added.

In recent years, the La Habra district’s enrollment has climbed steadily. However, long-term projections extending to the year 2010 conclude that the district will never reach the peak enrollment of 6,600 students it had in 1965.

The district also announced that $708,310 in state lottery funds will allow the continuation of 21 special instruction programs and the incorporation of nine new programs.

The money provides additional classroom materials for math and language arts as well as two new music teachers. The money will also provide funds for a youth and community services coordinator, who will work with students at risk of dropping out of school or becoming involved with gangs.