Missouri’s new top educator focuses on teacher recruitment and retention

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri’s top educator says she’s fine with four-day school weeks as long as districts take good care of students and overall achievement goes up.

Instead of running for re-election this year, Karla Eslinger was chosen to lead the Missouri Department of Education. With a long background as an educator and school administrator, a major issue she wants to tackle is how to manage teacher recruitment and retention.

“If we can’t compete, our kids lose,” Eslinger said. “I think we’ve wasted a lot of time in our state with different opinions on how to parent. Let’s talk about what’s right; let’s find a common goal that we can all move toward and let’s pull together on that rope.”

A familiar face is back at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). After serving as a teacher and superintendent in southern Missouri, Eslinger became an assistant superintendent at DESE. She went on to serve schools across the country, working for the U.S. Department of Education, but her most recent role was as a state senator.

“The relationships I’ve had allow me to find more common ground and discuss what we can do together, rather than pointing fingers and talking about what’s not working or what’s not working,” Eslinger said.

Eslinger replaced Margie Vandeven after she announced in October that she would step down next summer. Vandeven and Eslinger were both colleagues in the department almost a decade ago.

As head of the department, Eslinger said it is a priority for her to demonstrate how important an investment in education is to the workforce and the future of this state.

“It shouldn’t be on the shoulders of principals to figure out where we’re going to get these dollars,” Eslinger said. “It’s our responsibility to make sure we’re funding education at a level where we can excel, where we can really and truly recruit and retain.”

This year, lawmakers voted to raise the minimum salary for teachers from $25,000 to $40,000 a year. Eslinger said that’s a start, but more is needed to keep teachers in the classroom.

“Is it paychecks? Is it social media? Is it the classroom environment? It’s all of those things, but we have to address them because our kids are too important to us,” Eslinger said. “I think if we really look at what we’re doing with our dollars in our state, investing in kids, investing in the future is an economic driver for the state.”

As for a shortened school week, Eslinger said she’s not opposed to the idea, but she’s cautious about what that fifth day looks like. About 30% of all Missouri school districts have been open just four days a week over the past year.

Independence School District, just outside Kansas City, is the largest school district to make the switch so far, with 14,000 students.

“So, five days, seven days, whatever it is, that’s a local decision and as long as they’re taking care of their kids and their performance goes up, I have no problem,” Eslinger said.

The General Assembly this year passed a major education package that incentivizes districts to maintain a five-day workweek by giving those schools a boost in state aid, which can be used to raise teacher salaries. Districts within a city or county with more than 30,000 residents would be required to ask local voters whether the district should move to a four-day workweek.

The provision is aimed at districts like Independence, with 14,000 students; it is the largest district to make the switch so far. The Independence School District has until July 2026 to ask local voters whether the district should continue with a four-day week.

Once the school year starts again, Eslinger plans to travel around the state to meet with school districts and community leaders to hear their needs and concerns regarding education.