CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — A new law enacted by West Virginia lawmakers earlier this year that was intended to give elementary teachers a break is now putting pressure on statewide education boards in the weeks leading up to the new school year.

The Third Grade Success Act is meant to help raise reading and literacy scores from first to third grade by adding extra teacher aides in each classroom to focus more on each child. With the passage of the act, elementary schools statewide will introduce the first phase this upcoming school year, which will only have extra assistance in first-grade classrooms.

“Imagine an opportunity where the classroom teacher is running a station on the science of reading, which is another huge component of this bill, and then, the teacher aide in the classroom also gets to work on sight words,” Meighan Jones, Assistant Principal of Big Elm Elementary School said. “So, just imagine how much more instruction our kids are going to get with the classroom teacher and the aide.”

Educators and officials across the state said that they are very excited to introduce the bill this upcoming school year, but they are also becoming concerned with filling the positions for teacher aides.

Superintendent of Monongalia County Schools, Dr. Eddie Campbell told 12 News that the problem is not necessarily filling the teacher aide positions, but more so in the positions that are now vacant. Especially in the department for autism mentors in special education classrooms.

Due to the worry of not being able to find teacher aides, education boards across the state have made 19 job postings that could be filled with professional educators who are already working.

“As these positions become posted, and are being filled, they’re being filled by our current employees who are currently in special ed classrooms, kindergarten classrooms, pre-k classrooms, special needs classrooms. Because there is a little bit of a pay bump,” said Campbell.

While the Monongalia Board of Education itself may not have found a permanent solution to this issue quite yet, it will use substitute teachers to fill the absent position in the meantime.

“We’re really going to have to concentrate on getting them the training that they need early on while they’re on the job. They’re not going to come to us having that skill set in their back pocket already. Which is what we want, but I don’t think we’re going to have that luxury,” Campbell said.