On a second, a fist holds a bulging bag of coins. At first glance, the advertisements look better aimed at gamblers than teachers. Fort Worth's blunt approach is understandable - the district expects to lose more than 10 percent of its teachers this spring, mostly to retirement. And it is not alone. Across the country, districts are bracing for a serious shortage of teachers in the next decade as a generation of educators retires and student populations swell.
Demographics are the primary force behind the looming teacher crunch.
With late-marrying baby boomers still sending a steady stream of children to school, elementary and secondary enrollments are expected to set new records every year until 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Education. And with almost a third of the country's teachers having taught for more than 20 years, the government predicts the nation will need at least 2 million new teachers in the next decade. In the past we've just had cold auditions at the studio. Tim Moses didn't want a formal ceremony marking his donation to Middlesex Township of a Douglas fir tree in memory of his father. Moses is a member of the Middlesex Township Recreation Advisory Board.