Recruitment & Retention From Our Research Center

How Bad Are School Staffing Shortages? What We Learned by Asking Administrators

By Mark Lieberman — October 12, 2021 2 min read
In this April 17, 2020, file photo dormant school buses are secured at a facility in Tempe, Ariz. Planning is underway to prepare for reopening Arizona's public schools in the next school year and the state's top education official says the resulting decisions that will be made and the guidance provided to local districts won't come too soon. Some districts start their school years as early as mid-July, with most others following in August, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman told KJZZ.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

More than three-quarters of district leaders and principals say they’re experiencing at least moderate staffing shortages in their school buildings this year, according to the newly published results of a nationally representative EdWeek Research Center survey.

Fifteen percent said shortages are “very severe,” 25 percent said they’re “severe,” and another 37 percent classified staffing challenges as “moderate.”

Just 5 percent of administrators said they aren’t experiencing any staffing shortages in their schools or districts this year. Another 18 percent said the shortages are “mild” or “very mild.”

The shortages are most acute, according to the survey results, among substitute teachers, bus drivers, and instructional aides.

Slightly more than three-quarters of respondents said they’re having trouble finding enough substitutes to cover teacher absences; 68 percent said bus drivers are hard to come by; and 55 percent said they’re struggling to fill open positions for paraprofessionals and instructional aides.

Full-time teaching positions, too, are causing headaches for administrators. Just shy of half of respondents identified teachers among the roles they’re struggling to fill.

Other roles where shortages are a problem include cafeteria workers, custodians, nurses, and mental health counselors. Twelve percent of respondents said they’re struggling to hire enough administrative assistants. A small but not insignificant number—between 3 and 5 percent—even said they’re struggling to hire principals and district-level administrators.

Districts plagued by staffing shortages are taking a wide variety of approaches to addressing the issues—15 percent are offering recruitment bonuses; 22 percent are turning to contractors; 18 percent are hosting job fairs; 17 percent are asking volunteers to fill the gaps.

But by far the most common tactic districts are employing is asking current employees to take on additional responsibilities. Roughly two-thirds of principals and district leaders say they’re taking that route.

Staffing shortages are hardly a new phenomenon for schools, particularly in rural areas.

But district leaders across the country have told Education Week that this year’s problems far outweigh those of previous years. School workers have been increasingly vocal about their frustrations on social media and in union negotiations.

Pent-up frustrations around poor working conditions and minimal benefits; frustrations with protocols designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19; and concerns about the health risks of working in and around unvaccinated children are among the factors creating a perfect storm of frustration and chaos for schools during this third school year touched by the COVID-19 era.

The results include diminished meal options and chaotic food distribution; protracted bus routes and crowded vehicles; and even temporarily shuttered classrooms.

Events

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
Mathematics Webinar
Pave the Path to Excellence in Math
Empower your students' math journey with Sue O'Connell, author of “Math in Practice” and “Navigating Numeracy.”
Content provided by hand2mind
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
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Combatting Teacher Shortages: Strategies for Classroom Balance and Learning Success
Learn from leaders in education as they share insights and strategies to support teachers and students.
Content provided by DreamBox Learning
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum Reading Instruction and AI: New Strategies for the Big Education Challenges of Our Time
Join the conversation as experts in the field explore these instructional pain points and offer game-changing guidance for K-12 leaders and educators.

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 Teacher Autonomy Isn't Dead. Here's How to Achieve It
Award-winning teachers and other experts suggest ways to build and maintain this cherished professional freedom.
5 min read
Illustration of a teacher using a pencil and writing to post-it notes with goals noted attached to a bullseye.
iStock/Getty
Recruitment & Retention Q&A Behind the Podcast That's Trying to Entice More People of Color Into Teaching
New York City uses outside-the-box strategies to recruit and retain educators of color.
4 min read
Kabir Saad
Saad Kabir, who works on recruitment for New York City public schools, started a podcast to help entice people of color into the classroom.
Courtesy of Saad Kabir
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says How to Find (and Keep) Substitutes
Educators and leaders discuss ways to deepen the substitute labor pool amid staff shortages and absenteeism.
2 min read
Tia Martin teaches a third-grade class at Ulis Elementary School in Henderson, Nev., on Sept. 10, 2015. Martin is a long-term substitute teacher who is taking an alternative route to licensure program to get a regular teaching license. After years of recession-related layoffs and hiring freezes, school systems in pockets across the United States are in urgent need of more qualified teachers and students, instead of meeting their new teacher on their first day of class, are finding a substitute.
Tia Martin teaches a third-grade class at Ulis Elementary School in Henderson, Nev., on Sept. 10, 2015. Martin is a long-term substitute teacher who is taking an alternative route to licensure program to get a regular teaching license. After years of recession-related layoffs and hiring freezes, school systems in pockets across the United States are in urgent need of more qualified teachers and students, instead of meeting their new teacher on their first day of class, are finding a substitute.
John Locher/AP
Recruitment & Retention Video How to Create a School Culture That Teachers Won't Want to Leave
At this Texas middle school, staff have turned down job offers that would boost their salary or significantly cut their commute time.
2 min read