Dive Brief:
- According to an EdSource survey, California’s 25 largest school districts started the school year with almost no open teaching positions, thanks in part to aggressive recruitment.
- EdSource reports recruitment tactics included offering bonuses, covering relocation expenses, lifting salary caps for veteran teachers, and looking in other states and countries for qualified teachers.
- Chris Ungar, president of the California School Boards Association, says their success may be at the expense of smaller districts that don’t have the resources to compete, and it certainly does not mean the state’s teacher shortage is improved.
Dive Insight:
Districts nationwide are being forced to think about creating a teacher pipeline to ensure long-term success in filling open positions. Many are striking deals with current students who promise to come back and teach in their home districts once they graduate with a degree. A number of schools are looking abroad for teachers, especially those who need to work with English language learners or run increasingly popular dual language programs. Teachers in Puerto Rico and Spain have been sought after for these positions.
The Learning Policy Institute has identified retention efforts as key to limiting the worst of the teacher shortage. If significantly fewer teachers left the field each year for other jobs, many regions wouldn’t have any crisis at all. Even beyond better pay, teachers today are looking for better working conditions, including opportunities for shared leadership and better classroom resources.