Recruitment & Retention Download

GUIDE: How Administrators Can Address Staff Shortages in Schools

By Mark Lieberman & Gina Tomko — September 20, 2021 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The pandemic, and political pressure to reopen school buildings for full-time, in-person instruction this fall, are posing major obstacles to hiring enough employees to ensure that schools can operate as ideal learning environments for students and workplaces for adults.

Here’s a look at how big staff shortages are, and what districts can do to tackle them within the constraints of their already-limited resources.

Download the guide

Read next

A sign advertises for school bus drivers outside Norris Middle School in Omaha, Neb., on July 29, 2020.
A sign advertises for school bus drivers outside Norris Middle School in Omaha, Neb., on July 29, 2020.
Nati Harnik/AP

Events

Early Childhood K-12 Essentials Forum Early Childhood Education: Building Essential Skills for Success
Join this free virtual event to examine the biggest challenges in supporting young children, from preschool through elementary school. 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Absenteeism Webinar
Attendance Isn't an Attendance Problem
Boost attendance by strengthening relationships, belonging, and support with practical strategies from Doug Fisher & Nancy Frey.
Content provided by Corwin
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
The Principal's Role in Collective Efficacy and Student Outcomes
Learn practical strategies that help principals translate their confidence into stronger collective teacher efficacy and student outcomes.
Content provided by Otus

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Recruitment & Retention Why This Governor Wants to Ban H-1B Visas for Teachers—and Why Schools Use Them
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to ban schools from using H-1B visas to hire international teachers, a strategy used to fill key staffing gaps.
4 min read
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference on July 29, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. Abbott wants to ban schools from using H-1B visas to hire international educator—a practice used to fill high-need roles teaching subjects like math and foreign languages.
Elvis Martinez-Cartagena/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images<br/>
Recruitment & Retention Why Teachers Would—or Wouldn’t—Move to a High-Needs School
Money and school culture—some factors that influence whether teachers want to work in such schools.
1 min read
Aspiring teacher Amaya Mills, top left, is working with Amanda Malpaya, right, during a reading class for first graders at Ponderosa Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado , on Oct. 29, 2024 .
Aspiring teacher Amaya Mills, left, works with Amanda Malpaya during a reading class for 1st graders at Ponderosa Elementary School in Aurora, Colo., on Oct. 29, 2024. Teachers comment online on what factors go into whether they will work in high-needs schools.
Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via TNS
Recruitment & Retention What Does it Cost to Convince Top Teachers to Switch to High-Need Schools?
New research underscores how hard it is to pull top educators to rural or high-poverty schools.
5 min read
Mike Morath, the Texas Commissioner of Education, walks through a science class at Lucyle Collins Middle School in Lake Worth on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025.
Mike Morath, the Texas Commissioner of Education, walks through a science class at Lucyle Collins Middle School in Lake Worth on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Morath has been a champion of the state's bonus-pay program for teachers, but it's not always helping equalize talent at the state's neediest schools.
Christopher Torres via TNS
Recruitment & Retention Opinion We're Talking About Teacher Shortages the Wrong Way
Oversimplifying our K-12 staffing challenges makes them harder to solve.
4 min read
A blue silhouetted woman standing away from monochrome crowd. Conceptual design. Societal pressures and personal identity. Concept of psychology, loneliness in society, difference.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty