As teacher vacancies continue to plague K12 schools across the country, administrators are looking for more creative incentives to bring teachers back into the classroom—and keep them. Recent research suggests that benefit packages alone, which many leaders have upgraded using federal funds, aren’t enough to quickly recruit educators. Most often, applicants desire a salary that’s livable and respectable. Unfortunately, not every school district can offer competitive pay. So what are they doing instead?
A statewide intervention
Several districts are leveraging newly implemented strategies to increase their exposure and potentially draw more eyes—specifically potential teachers—toward their schools. That’s the case for Pennsylvania, which launched a new website this week encouraging students of all ages to pursue a career in education as the state continues to deal with teacher vacancies in its classrooms, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Initiated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the “Teach in PA” website includes insights and testimonials from current teachers who describe the certification process and how others can join the teaching profession.
“At the Pennsylvania Department of Education, we know the critical and fundamental role educators play in our communities and are committed to rebuilding the educator pipeline in the Commonwealth,” Education Secretary Khalid N. Mumin said in a statement. “What’s more, as a former teacher and administrator, I know firsthand how rewarding this job can be. The Teach in PA website will help inspire students to become educators and provide them with the resources they need to enter into this meaningful, fulfilling career.”
This strategic intervention comes at a time when at least 7.7% of teachers throughout the state left their jobs between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, according to research by the Penn State Center for Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis.
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Virtual teachers fill classrooms in the meantime
Montana is still seeing the negative effects brought forth by the pandemic in their classrooms, so they’re relying on virtual teachers to fill their vacancies while they work to replenish their teaching staff, NPR reports.
According to Montana Public Radio’s Austin Amestoy, who was interviewed by NPR, several math classes at Florence-Carlton High School in Florence, Montana are being taught by virtual teachers as provided by the state-funded Montana Digital Academy. For the first time ever, students enter the classroom with their laptops in hand as they await their instructor via virtual communication.
“Florence-Carlton is one of at least schools in Montana relying on the state’s online learning program to fill teaching positions,” Amestoy told NPR. “It’s one symptom of an unprecedented nationwide crisis of teacher recruitment and retention.”
Seeking talent abroad
At the Eagle County School District in Colorado, officials reported having more than 40 vacant licensed positions (including teachers) ahead of this school year, according to Vail Daily. Superintendent Philip Qualman said that their trouble recruiting teachers largely stems from the area’s cost of living.
“What we’re experiencing in terms of the challenge of hiring qualified educators, it’s not isolated to us, it’s a national problem,” he said during a board of education meeting last month, according to Vail Daily. “We feel it much more here than others because of the cost of living here. We have a very hard time hiring people because nobody can afford to live here.”
Given the district’s shrinking pool of local applicants, they’re looking to expand their options by considering international applicants. Qualman said that the vast majority of their applicants now come from overseas, and very few have gone through “traditional ed programs.”
According to the district’s Chief Human Resources Officer Adele Wilson, the district had 59 teachers from other countries heading into the 2022-23 school year. The process started nearly 20 years ago, but the district’s reliance on international educators has grown significantly since the pandemic.
However, it’s not a long-term fix to their recruiting and retention challenges, Vail Daily reports. The district works with J-1 visa to make these international hires, and the contract lasts three years and can be extended an additional two. Additionally, the cost per visa is around $3,000 apiece.
Qualman said he is working with state senators to hopefully update the state’s visa laws so that there is more flexibility time-wise for international educators serving public education.
“It takes three years, at least, for a domestic teacher to understand the job and become extremely proficient at it,” he said, according to Vail Daily. “So for somebody coming in from overseas, it takes a little bit longer because there’s a cultural adaptation that has to happen.”
