Tuesday on Sunrise LBK with Dave King and Tom Collins, The Superintendent of the Lubbock Independent School District Dr. Kathy Rollo joined Dave and Tom to talk about their desperate need for substitute teachers, the students of the Advance Technology Center building a habitat for humanity home, how kids can get into firefighting programs, AgriSTEM, Tik Tok challenges doing a lot of damage, and more.

Dr. Rollo started the discussion by talking about the ongoing lack of substitute teachers. She explained that the shortage is a problem across the nation, with Lubbock usually having about 60%-80% teachers in attendance, and that they are always looking for more people. She says that the job has flexible employment where you can work the days you want, has a variety of opportunities, provides a meaningful service, and the only requirement to get started is a high school diploma or GED. Additionally, substitute teacher pay was raised last year, the info for which you can find on their website.

The Superintendent also talked about the Fire Academy Program. The program was one born out of necessity, with the city of Lubbock needing fire fighters, and so this provides an opportunity for students to prepare for such a career. The academy is a dual credit course with South Plains College. Senior students will spend half their day at the fire academy, and half of their day doing their other normal courses. After earning up to 25 credit hours, taking a certification test, plus an EMT certification test after they turn 18, they are immediately ready to go into a firefighting position. Rollo said,

This is a great opportunity for a fantastic career.

Finally, Dr. Rollo was asked to talk about the Tik Tok Challenges that encourage students to destroy school property. She explained that this problem was one that Lubbock faced, and was one that unfortunately affected all of our middle schools and high schools, with property damage ranging from soap dispensers being ripped off the walls, all the way to toilets. Rollo said that this is very frustrating, as they should be spending their resources on educating students, not repairs. Schools have put punishments in place and talked to parents, with some students having alternative placement, and some parents needing to pay for repairs.

 

Listen to the full interview with Dr. Kathy Rollo in the audio above.

Sunrise LBK with Dave King & Tom Collins airs weekday mornings live, from 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, & on the free KFYO app.

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