Certified Teachers. Yes, it is a challenge.

As the new school year begins, there is understandably a good deal of conversation on the matter of certified teachers in our classrooms.  It is on our minds as well, and we wanted to take a moment to share the details with the community.

Preliminary accountability data from our most recent test scores reflect that Terrebonne continues to improve and our students continue to out-perform their peers state-wide.  Teachers are a major reason for this.  Placing a trained, certified teacher in every classroom is a crucial factor in this achievement, and vitally important to our students’ continued success.

Still, of our current classroom teachers, approximately 80 are actively working towards obtaining the credentials necessary to become certified. All hold college degrees and all bring significant experience and education to our classrooms and our students.

Starting a school year with a shortage of certified teachers is something we, and many school systems, face each year.  There are many reasons, but everyone agrees that compensation is a core challenge in recruiting teachers and in attracting new teachers to the field of education. It's an issue that we work on daily through our recruiting efforts, our performance-based compensation plans, our benefits plans offered to educators, and our focus on finding additional funds to bring our salaries more in line with other parishes.


We appreciate the patience and support of the families, the students and the community as we work to reach our goal of all classes staffed by certified teachers.

Philip Martin
Superintendent