Name: K-12 Lens 2026: What New Staffing Data Reveals About District Operations
Start: 2026-03-18T14:00:00ZEDT
End: 2026-03-18T15:00:00ZEDT

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Staffing across K-12 has shifted over the past two years. While teacher shortages have eased in many areas, districts are still balancing workload strain, hard-to-fill roles, and uneven funding, all of which affect daily operations.

In this session, findings from Frontline Education’s 2026 K-12 Lens survey, an annual nationwide survey of school and district leaders, set the stage for a conversation with district practitioners. Drawing on responses from more than 1,000 leaders, this discussion explores where staffing pressures have eased, where they remain, and how these realities show up in day-to-day work.

District practitioners will share how they are responding on the ground, including how they:

Manage staffing changes, role shifts, and coverage decisions
Track vacancies and assignments to support planning
Balance administrative workload and compliance demands
Reduce last-minute staffing fixes and improve daily coordination

Designed for districts and school teams, this webinar pairs national data with real-world experience to provide a practical look at how districts are adapting operations to maintain stability and continuity.

Jennifer Caradine, Esq.

Legal Counsel, Monongalia County Schools

Jennifer Caradine is Legal Counsel for Monongalia County Schools, where she advises district leadership and the Board of Education on human resources, policy, and governance matters. With 20 years of legal experience, she represents the Board in administrative grievance hearings and oversees personnel-related policy and compliance. She also serves as the 2026 President of the West Virginia Association of School Human Resource Officials (WVASHRO), supporting HR leaders across the state.

Heath Simpson

Executive Director of HR, Frenship Independent School District

Heath Simpson serves as Executive Director of Human Resources for Frenship Independent School District, bringing 23 years of experience in education, including eight years in campus administration. He began his career as a science teacher and coach before joining Frenship ISD in 2013 as an assistant principal at Frenship High School. He later helped lead the opening of the Ninth Grade Center and served as principal, earning Region 17 Principal of the Year honors in 2018. In his current role, Heath supports districtwide staffing, retention, evaluation, and leadership development efforts across all 16 campuses.

Mitch Welch

Engagement Strategist, Frontline Education

Mitch Welch is an Engagement Strategist at Frontline Education, bringing more than 13 years of experience as a public school teacher and administrator. During his time in K-12, he taught science and mathematics and led school turnaround efforts as an assistant principal and principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. He has also served as a national consultant, building training departments and designing programs focused on leadership development, mentoring, classroom management, and family engagement. Today, Mitch partners with districts nationwide to implement and connect strategic HR and K-12 solutions that support educators and students.

Ellen Agnello, Ph.D.

Marketing Analyst, Frontline Education

Ellen Agnello leads research-informed content strategy at Frontline Education, where she analyzes and translates national K-12 Lens survey data into insights on staffing trends, retention, and operational sustainability. Prior to joining Frontline, she worked as a university instructor and researcher, teaching methods courses to preservice teachers. Before that, she taught English language arts at a public high school.

Education Week is serving only as the host for this presentation. The content was created by the sponsor. The opinions expressed in this webinar are those of the sponsor and do not reflect the opinion of or constitute an endorsement by Editorial Projects in Education or any of its publications.

A transcript will be available for download from the resource list within five business days after the event.

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For all webinars broadcast by Education Week after August 1, 2019, Certificates of Completion are available to all registered live attendees who attend 53 minutes or more of this webinar. Educators can download a PDF certificate verifying 1 hour of Professional Development credit. As with all professional development hours delivered, Education Week recommends each educator verify ahead of the webinar broadcast that the content will qualify for professional development in your school, district, county, or state with your supervisor, human resources professional, and/or principal or superintendent’s office.

K-12 Lens 2026: What New Staffing Data Reveals About District Operations

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