KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There's only a couple months left before students head back to schools.
But how's the staffing at the schools they will be attending?
KSHB 41 asked that question to leaders in Kansas City Kansas Public Schools and checked in with a prospective teacher on what she's looking for in her job search.
The school district held a career fair Thursday afternoon to help find people needed to run a school: teachers, cleaners, nurses and nutritionists.
"Always teachers, we are looking for teachers at all levels," said Cynthia Fulks, the district's assistant for recruitment and substitute staffing.
Teachers are needed at nearly every school district KSHB 41 talked with, but KCKPS is ahead of the curve in finding staff for non-teaching positions.
"Our bus drivers are fully staffed," Fulks said. "Our nutritional services are almost fully staffed. Our law enforcement officers — almost fully staffed. We've been working this whole past couple of years to really hone in on that, and that's why our attention now needs to be with our nurses. Needs to be with our teachers."
What are prospective teachers looking for in a school district?
"One of the things that I'm really looking into for a teaching job is the support staff and what the support looks like as a teacher," said Delaney List, a prospective teacher who came to the career fair.
The district says it's been working on exactly what List is describing.
"We needed to listen to our teachers," Fulks said. "To understand what do they need to be supported."
Ultimately, that's the goal for school districts and their teachers.
It's why List wants to be a teacher.
"I really just want to be a teacher because I want to make a difference," she said.
