According to a recent AP story, Utah is considering dividing the school year into trimesters to alleviate the teacher shortage. Teachers would have to work year-round, but stand to gain as much as a 60 percent hike in salary. Students, however, would choose or follow different academic calendars, depending upon their age. State Sen. Howard Stephenson called the model a “no brainer;" however, others see problems, including scheduling student testing and uneven classroom numbers.
What’s your take on the trimester model? Would a significant pay raise and possibly smaller classes be enough to entice you to teach the full year? What suggestions do you have for upending the growing teacher shortage?
