Salem-Keizer schools will slash its administrative budget by $30 million in coming days, enacting salary freezes and layoffs as the district grapples with a funding shortfall it warns will likely result in more grave impacts in the spring.
Administrators are turning to creative solutions to make substitute teaching more desirable. Most commonly, leaders are making efforts to boost pay, especially in high-needs areas.
Increased autonomy and time for deeper personal connections are among the innovations that could help rebuild morale in K12 schools, a new report suggests.
Teacher retention grants and other forms of recruitment assistance are available from state and federal agencies and a wide range of other sources. Here's how K12 leaders are deploying the funds.
Head Start, the federally funded early childhood program for low-income children, has rigorous academic requirements and quality standards. Yet the average salary for Head Start teachers of all degree and job levels, across the country, is roughly $38,500.
New Albany School District Superintendent Lance Evans says they've hired someone to direct workforce development not for their teachers, but for students.
A decade ago, 56 percent of four-year colleges attributed "considerable importance" to test scores like the SAT and ACT, and about half gave the same credence to total high school grades. Today, just 5 percent of four-year colleges place such importance on test scores, but three-quarters place considerable importance on grades.
This fall in Tucson, teacher shortages and superintendent longevity were top of mind but so were issues—such as test scores—that haven't been getting as much attention as of late.
In all, underfunded districts are seeing significant gaps in teacher salaries when compared to their better funded counterparts, have fewer resources such as counselors and librarians, are more likely to fill open positions with people holding emergency teaching permits or those just starting their careers, and are reporting high attrition rates among teachers and principals.
