Volume LH , Number 5
Serving UNC-Wilmington Since 1 948
Incentives offered to alleviate teacher shortage
CONDITIONS Contributing to Teacher Shortage
Reason for Shortage Percentage of School Districts with Shortage
Increase Special Needs/LED Students
Fewer Grads from Teaching Programs
Increased Enrollment
Class Size reduction
50%
Increased ^lormal ^Retirements
Impact of Early Retirement Incentive
Higher Turnover of Veteran Teachers
■^^■■■124%
Higher Academic Standards
■Mill%
Improved Local Funding
i^Hl!%
Improved State funding
■■5%
1 1 1 1
0%
20%
40%
60%
80% 100%
llluslrttion by LynOaey Bland/The S«ahawk
Sourc9' Am»tK»n Fadeiatior) of Teachers
Inside "m
This ■
Issue...
We’re back online!
Starting today, check out
www.theseahawk.org
for the latest UHCW news.
Well be improving the site
throughttheyear,so
check in often.
Canvassing the Canvas
St. John’s Art Museum forms
new art social club/11
Sweet Victory!
Volleyball squad ends winless
streak in a big way Tuesday /
15
INDEX
Campus
Classifieds 8
OP/ED.. 9
A & E 11
The Scene .......14
Sports 15
SOMER BTAHL
Staff Writer
Teacher shortages across the country
are forcing legislators to make immedi
ate improvements in teacher benefits and
to offer incentives to attract students to
the field.
In a recent report, the American
Federation of Teachers research depart
ment showed that 68 percent of the
nation’s largest school districts reported
a lack of certified apphcants for 1998-
1999. The study cited increased school
enrollment, increased number of special
needs students, and fewer teaching pro
gram graduates as potential reasons for
the shortage.
“I think what we’re seeing is a lot of
teachers coming to retirement age and
increasing concerns about working en
vironments,” said Kathleen
Benzaquin, director of the Teaching Fel
lowship Program at UNC-Wilmington.
UNCW is currently ranked third in
producing the highest number of teach
ers in North Carolina. The Watson
School of Education has an estimated en
rollment of 1000 for the 2000-2001
school year but this number is not
enough to fill the teaching void.
Benzaquin said that last year North
Carolina hired 9,000 new teachers. 3,000
of these students were graduates of in
state schools, about 4,000 came from out
of state and approximately 2,000 trans
ferred from other careers or came out of
retirement. Still, an additional 9,000
teachers will have to be hired per year
for the next ten years to alleviate over
all shortage.
Alternative programs and incentives
are being offered to attract people to the
teaching profession. Benzaquin said that
the state is trying to get mid-level grads
to teach, offering jobs to those with other
degrees who will finish certification
while they begin to teach in the class
room. The state is also giving incentives
to bring teachers out of retirement.
Last Tuesday, Governor Jim Hunt
suggested that North Carolina institute
See Shortage, Page 5
ASG President resigns amid allegations of larceny
Webster becomes second consecutive president to resign because of scandal
Cliff Webster, the 1999 - 2000
TODD VOUKSTDRF
Staff Writer
The UNC Association of Student
Governments (ASG) began the 2000
academic year in the midst of yet an
other scandal surrounding its presi
dent.
A tropical depression that formed off
Cape Hatteras last weekend blossomed into
Hurricane Florence on Tuesday, and is be
ing closely watched for possible movement
toward the U.S. east coast.
Gene Fundeibuik, a forecaster with the
Wilmington office of the National Weather
Service, said Tuesday aftemoon that the
storm was expected to drift away from the
coast. “It should move toward the northeast”
he said.
As ofWednesday morning, the storm had
student body president at East Caro
lina University, was elected as presi
dent of the ASG at the end of the
spring 2000 semester. In June,
Webster was arrested and charged
with misdemeanor and felony lar
ceny for an apparent prank gone
maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per
hour, with little or no strengthening expected.
Assistant Vice Chancellor Dick Scott,
who leads the UNCW emergency response
team, said no response plans are in effect
yet, but the university continues to monitor
the storm. “If anything changes drastically,
we’re prepared,” he said.
Officii storm updates can be found on
the internet athttpV/www.nhc.noaaeov. and
storm-related information from the univer
sity is available at 962-3991 or 1-888-657-
5751.
awry. Webster is accused of steal
ing some “outdoor type” benches
from the ECU campus.
This, the second of two ASG
presidential scandals in two con
secutive years, led to Webster’s res
ignation at a special session of the
ASG last Thursday.
Webster said he could not discuss
the details about the incident due to
court orders. He did however com
ment on his resignation.
“My heart said to stay, but my
mind said to go,” he said.
Webster said that he feels he was
unfairly forced out of office and that
there was no real reason for him to
resign. He thinks of himself as an
e\teryday guy who was elected be
cause of a down-to-earth attitude.
See ASG, Page 5
Hurricane Florence off N.C. coast
FROM STAFF REPC3RTS