Job search giants ZipRecruiter and Indeed are stepping in to help the Biden administration attempt to tackle the nation’s teacher shortage, the White House announced Wednesday.
ZipRecruiter is launching an online K-12 job portal designed to showcase openings for teachers, nurses, guidance counselors, social workers, mental health counselors, librarians, and other roles. ZipRecruiter is also offering to post open positions for free. Indeed will organize virtual hiring fairs for teachers, administrators, counselors, and other staff. Participating organizations will get access to the company’s free suite of tools to manage the hiring process, from postings to interviews to job offers, the White House says.
Handshake, a site for college students, will encourage undergraduates to explore careers in education. In October, the website will host a free virtual event to give students information about the full range of education pathways, from teaching to counseling to special education. Handshake will also post a list of schools and districts that are currently hiring students and college graduates. Some 10 million current and recent students have joined Handshake’s network.
There are conflicting views on the severity of the nation’s teacher shortage. Researchers at Brown University found at least 36,504 vacant teacher positions by examining U.S. Department of Education data and news reports from across the nation. But NEA President Rebecca Pringle has said there is a shortage of nearly 300,000 educators, support staff and non-teaching personnel. The factors being blamed for the shortages are many: worsening student behavior, politically driven restrictions on instruction, harassment by parents and others, and so-called pay penalties that leave teachers with lower salaries than other professionals with similar levels of education and experience.
FETC 2023
The Future of Education Technology® Conference takes place live and in-person Jan. 23-26, 2023, in New Orleans. Register now!
It’s estimated that the average teacher will make $66,397 for the 2021-2022 school year, as salaries have been increasing gradually. But when adjusted for inflation, this year’s earnings are also about $2,200 less—or about 4%—than a teacher earned a decade ago, according to new figures from the NEA labor union.
Answering questions of quality
The White House also announced Wednesday that The Pathways Alliance, a coalition of public and private organizations working to diversify the educator pipeline, is developing guidelines to help states and districts establish high-quality teacher apprenticeship programs.
Apprenticeships will also be the focus of a partnership between The Council of Chief State School Officers, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the National Governors Association are announcing. Those organizations intend to create new supports for educators who are pursuing apprenticeships and to strengthen pathways for those who want to enter and grow in the teaching profession, the White House says.
The two unions also staged a “National Day of Action” on Wednesday to ensure members are taking advantage of the temporary changes the Biden administration has made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
More from DA: Maryland is ranked no. 1 for education equality. Where does your state rank?
