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 Why Teachers Are Turning Down Lucrative Offers to Stay at This Texas SchoolA supportive culture that values employees' input is one reason why they're staying put.
Recruitment & Retention Behind the Stats: 3 Former Teachers Talk About Why They LeftStudent discipline, inept administrators, and poor pay top their lists.
Recruitment & Retention Recruiters: Prospective Teacher Hires Have Questions. Be PreparedWe flipped the script and polled teachers about what they'd ask recruiters in a job interview. Their responses are revealing.Recruitment & Retention Sponsor 3 Strategies to Overcome the Special Education Teacher ShortageSponsorThis content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.School districts need to have strategies in place not only to retain their current staff but also to attract new professionals to ensure they are fulfilling the immediate needs of the school and its students.
Recruitment & Retention Opinion Stop Trying to Recruit Black Teachers Until You Can Retain the Ones You HaveSchools are desperate to recruit Black teachers, writes Bettina L. Love. But do they know how to support them and value their work?Recruitment & Retention Webinar Exploring Staff Shortage Impact on EducationSponsorThis 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 about the impact of staff shortages, changing roles of educators, and how technology supports teachers & students.
Recruitment & Retention Opinion It Will Take More Than $60K Salaries to Solve the Teacher ShortageThe American Teacher Act would be a good start, but let's not imagine that it will solve all the problems in the teaching profession.
Recruitment & Retention How Many Teachers and Principals Quit in the Pandemic? One State Has AnswersIn North Carolina, the numbers of educators leaving the classroom exceeded new hires.
Recruitment & Retention Building the Superintendent Pipeline: Advice From 3 District LeadersCreating a deep pool of talent pays dividends, superintendents say.
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says How to Keep Science Teachers in the Schools That Need Them MostProfessional connections can be key to retaining educators for STEM courses.
Recruitment & Retention How Can Schools Keep Educators From Leaving? Teacher Retention Looms Large at SXSW EDUThe pandemic and the charged political climate have intensified the challenges of teacher, principal, and superintendent retention.
Recruitment & Retention Why Aren't There More Asian American School Leaders? Here's What We HeardIdeas for making the profession more appealing.
Recruitment & Retention Recruiting Asian American School Leaders: Tips From EducatorsEfforts to increase school leadership diversity often overlook Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
Recruitment & Retention A District’s Long-Term Investment in Cultivating Future Teachers Is Paying OffEctor County, Texas, saw its teacher vacancy rate drop from 18 percent to 1 percent in less than four years.Recruitment & Retention Sponsor Sustainable Staffing: Winning Solutions For K-12 Schools and Education ProfessionalsSponsorThis content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.Halfway through the current school year, new data confirms that staffing shortages continue to plague the U.S. education system.
