How do you recruit and retain teachers?
You can find news articles in nearly every major city detailing their school districts’ need to hire additional staff, whether that be teachers, bus drivers, substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, or some other classification.
The need for school staff has been growing in recent years and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of graduates from traditional teacher preparation programs is decreasing, and the need to implement emergency licenses is increasing. As is described on our Teacher Retention page, hiring those with an emergency license can solve an immediate problem but with a tradeoff of higher turnover than a teacher trained in a traditional college or university setting.
So what actions can you focus on right now to recruit and retain teachers and staff? Below is a non-comprehensive list of what school leaders are doing right now to both recruit and retain teachers and staff:
Teacher Recruitment Strategies:
Job fairs - job fairs are traditionally held in late spring summer to prepare for the upcoming year. However, many districts are holding job fairs now to fill their many open positions. Consider advertising on social media to spread the word.
Grow your own programs - a grow your own program is designed to recruit teachers already in the community. Several states, including California, New York, Texas, and others even offer grants to incentivize educator preparation programs.
Signing bonuses - many schools and districts are currently offering signing bonuses to those who accept an offer to work for them. These signing bonuses can range from a few hundred dollars to $20,000.
Hire high school students - some districts have recruited high school students to fill open positions, including the Northwest School District in Missouri.
Reach out to recent retirees - the increased stress levels have caused some veteran educators to retire earlier than expected. These recent retirees may be more willing to sub than have a classroom of their own. Consider paying retired substitute teachers more than you pay other subs.
Share stories about why working with and for you can be transformative - nothing connects people to an organization or role more than a good story. Collect and publicly share stories about the amazing work you do to attract more candidates to your positions.
Teacher Retention Strategies:
Share recognition and appreciation for what your staff is doing - similar to the recruiting strategy listed above, collect and publicly share stories about the impact your existing staff is making. We all need reminders of the importance of the work we do. Sharing a great story helps connect people to each other, the students, the organization, and the community.
Collect your people’s input through pulse surveys and engagement surveys - everybody wants to know they are heard and that their voice matters. Running occasional pulse and engagement surveys will allow your people a medium through which they can share their experiences at work. They also give administrators a chance to make changes and measure the employee experience over the course of time.
Run best-in-class new-hire induction programs - research shows 50% of new hires leave within their first five years. The greatest impact you can make on overall staff and teacher retention is to focus on your new-hire induction program. As mentioned in our Teacher Retention Strategies page, creating a long-lasting and automated new-teacher induction program can transform your retention outcomes.
Support, support, support - teachers and staff need more support now than ever. The job has never been more stressful, and buckets have never been more empty. School and district administrators need to do whatever they can to make sure teachers feel supported and appreciated. Many administrators are covering classrooms, driving buses, and serving lunches. It really is all hands on deck right now.
Leadership development for administrators - research has shown a correlation between administrator effectiveness and teacher turnover. The adage of “people leave their managers, not their jobs.” is true in education as well. Strong leaders create processes and cultures that are conducive to higher retention rates.
Teacher and staff recruitment and retention are more difficult now than before the pandemic. However, effective school and district administrators have access to strategies that can move the needle for both.
What have you found to be effective now for teacher recruitment and retention?