Recruitment & Retention
Staff shortages. Grow-your-own programs. Turnover. Learn more about recruiting and retaining teachers and other school and district staff
The State of Teaching
New national data on the teaching profession, vivid reporting from classrooms, and resources to help support this essential profession.
Special Report
STEM Teachers: How to Find the Good Ones and Keep Them
See how schools are making progress, and where they are falling short, in addressing chronic teacher shortages in STEM fields.
Special Report
Strategies for Building a Diverse Staff
Delve into the link between diverse staff and students’ academic performance and explore strategies to recruit and retain diverse staff.
Staffing Our Schools
Special Report
Tackling the School Staffing Crisis
Modifying schedules, expanding the use of contractors and emergency certified teachers, and other tactics schools are trying.
Recruitment & Retention Principals Can Make or Break Schools. How Districts Find the Right FitGauging job candidates' readiness for the challenges of running a school is not easy.
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says Do 4-Day School Weeks Attract and Retain Better Teachers? What the Largest Study Yet SaysShortened schedules may do less than district leaders hope to improve turnover and teacher quality.
Recruitment & Retention Opinion What Trump's $100,000 Visa Fee Could Mean for SchoolsAn expert on teacher migration explains the possible consequences for international teachers.
Recruitment & Retention: Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best ways to recruit good teachers?
The ways that teachers find school jobs has changed in recent years. But recruitment hasn’t gone all virtual. According to a 2022 EdWeek Research Center survey of job seekers, only 5 percent said they find out about K-12 jobs through virtual job fairs. Many more job seekers find jobs by looking at district websites (54 percent), word of mouth (47 percent), and education-focused job websites (42 percent).
Some districts are turning to decidedly non-digital recruitment methods, like highway billboards, flyers in grocery stores, and reaching out to parents to ask them to become substitute teachers.
Some districts are turning to decidedly non-digital recruitment methods, like highway billboards, flyers in grocery stores, and reaching out to parents to ask them to become substitute teachers.
What qualities do principals look for when hiring teachers?
Many principals place the most weight on how a teacher will fit in with their school’s culture. That attribute was more valued by principals than whether the teacher’s certification aligned with their school’s needs, according to a 2022 survey by RAND.
The number of years of teaching experience a teacher had ranked relatively low in principal’s desired teacher qualifications, with less than a quarter of principals saying it was in their top three.
The number of years of teaching experience a teacher had ranked relatively low in principal’s desired teacher qualifications, with less than a quarter of principals saying it was in their top three.
How can schools retain teachers?
Here is some advice on retaining teachers from Principal David Arencibia of Colleyville Middle School in Texas:
· Be clear with teachers about job expectations.
· Create a positive school culture.
· Celebrate your staff.
· Listen to your staff.
· Be clear with teachers about job expectations.
· Create a positive school culture.
· Celebrate your staff.
· Listen to your staff.
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Recruitment & Retention School Districts Look Overseas to Fill Teacher ShortagesDistrict leaders say tapping into a teacher pipeline beyond the mainland U.S. is vital.
Recruitment & Retention 5 Strategies States Are Using to Fill Teacher ShortagesAfter months of scrambling, states have settled on a handful of practices. But experts say some could weaken the quality of teaching.
Recruitment & Retention Opinion What One School Is Doing to Keep Its TeachersIn just three years, my school boosted teacher retention from 63 percent to 100 percent. Here's how.
Recruitment & Retention Schools Are Still Understaffed. Here's How Hard-Pressed Principals Are RespondingFilling hard-to-staff vacancies takes time away from other tasks for principals juggling a multitude of responsibilities.
Recruitment & Retention Improving the Preparation Pipeline for Black Teachers: 5 Ideas From ExpertsFrom acknowledging history to rethinking licensure requirements, five experts suggest ways to improve America's pipeline for Black teachers.
Recruitment & Retention A New Teacher at 50: Inside the Struggle to Rebuild America's Black Teaching WorkforceA suburban Chicago school district was desperate to hire more teachers of color and root out racism. Enter DarLisa Himrod.
Recruitment & Retention Could Retired Teachers Be the Answer to Shortages? It's ComplicatedSome hard-pressed states are letting retired teachers "double dip" and collect their pension on top of a new salary.
Recruitment & Retention From Our Research Center Schools’ Staffing Challenges Persist in New YearSchools are still struggling to fill special education and other positions as the school year gets underway.
Recruitment & Retention Schools Struggle to Hire Mental Health Workers. New Federal Grants Might HelpSchools have long struggled to hire enough psychologists, social workers, and counselors. The pandemic made the need even more urgent.Recruitment & Retention Webinar Be the Change: Strategies to Make Year-Round Hiring HappenSponsorThis content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.Learn how to leverage actionable insights to diversify your recruiting efforts and successfully deploy a year-round recruiting plan.
Recruitment & Retention Q&A They Recruited 100,000 STEM Teachers. Now They’re Setting Their Sights Even HigherThe national nonprofit 100Kin10 has a new name and a new goal.
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says What School Staffing Shortages Look Like NowThe latest federal data suggest districts will need more targeted approaches to fill the broad array of openings.
Recruitment & Retention What to Say—and Do—to Recruit Top Talent for Your SchoolsEffective communication throughout the recruitment process can elevate an employer in the eyes of a job candidate.
Recruitment & Retention How Teacher and Other School Staff Recruitment Is ChangingFor one thing, virtual hiring processes are here to stay.Recruitment & Retention Sponsor Cutting-edge District Leaders Solve for Teacher Shortages with Innovative Teaching and Learning ModelsSponsorThis content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.Stride Learning Solutions is working with districts to fill instructional gaps utilizing non-traditional teaching and learning models
