Recruitment & Hiring

Stephanie LeBlanc, instructional strategist at Greeley Middle School in Cumberland Center, Maine.
Stephanie LeBlanc, an instructional strategist at Greely Middle School in Cumberland Center, Maine, has picked up numerous additional duties to help cover for staffing shortages at the school.
Ryan David Brown for Education Week
School & District Management How Staff Shortages Are Crushing Schools
Teachers are sacrificing their planning periods, students are arriving hours late, meals are out of whack, and patience is running thin.
Mark Lieberman, October 15, 2021
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11 min read
Image of an empty classroom.
urfinguss/iStock/Getty
School & District Management The Already Dire Substitute Shortage Could Get 'Worse Before It Gets Better'
School districts are trying all sorts of tactics, including increasing pay and relaxing requirements, to get more subs in classrooms.
Madeline Will, October 13, 2021
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10 min read
illustration of tutor and student
Getty
Recruitment & Retention Schools Are in Desperate Need of Tutors. But Qualified Ones Are Hard to Find
Schools are evaluating a variety of tutoring approaches to address "unfinished learning," but the supply of qualified tutors is low.
Elizabeth Heubeck, October 12, 2021
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5 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.
More than two-thirds of school district leaders and principals say they're having trouble hiring enough bus drivers this school year, according to a new EdWeek Research Center survey on staffing shortages.
Matt York/AP
Recruitment & Retention From Our Research Center How Bad Are School Staffing Shortages? What We Learned by Asking Administrators
More than two-thirds of administrators say they're telling existing staff to take on additional responsibilities.
Mark Lieberman, October 12, 2021
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2 min read
A "Bus Drivers Wanted" sign is shown Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, in Sandy, Utah. A shortage of bus drivers is complicating the start of a new school year already facing a surge in COVID-19 cases and conflicts over whether masks should be required in school buildings.
A "Bus Drivers Wanted" sign is shown Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, in Sandy, Utah. A shortage of bus drivers is complicating the start of a new school year already facing a surge in COVID-19 cases and conflicts over whether masks should be required in school buildings.
Rick Bowmer/AP
Recruitment & Retention 'No Respect and No Support': K-12 Workers Explain Why Schools Struggle With Staffing
Bus drivers, custodians, and other school employees share stories of low pay, meager benefits, minimal respect, and dangerous conditions.
Mark Lieberman, September 24, 2021
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5 min read
Rycc Smith welcomes Montello Elementary School students as they board his bus outside the Lewiston, Maine school after the first day back in nearly a month on Jan. 21, 2021. The entire school district switched to all remote learning after an uptick in COVID-19 cases last month.
Rycc Smith welcomes Montello Elementary School students as they board his bus outside the Lewiston, Maine school after the first day back in nearly a month on Jan. 21, 2021. The entire school district switched to all remote learning after an uptick in COVID-19 cases last month.
Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP
Recruitment & Retention Video What’s Behind the School Staffing Shortages – And What Districts Can Do To Address Them
Schools are experiencing a staffing shortage across a range of classified and low-wage positions. A look at the causes, and some solutions.
Jaclyn Borowski & Mark Lieberman, September 23, 2021
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4:03
Rycc Smith welcomes Montello Elementary School students as they board his bus outside the Lewiston, Maine school after the first day back in nearly a month on Jan. 21, 2021. The entire school district switched to all remote learning after an uptick in COVID-19 cases last month.
Rycc Smith welcomes Montello Elementary School students as they board his bus outside the Lewiston, Maine school after the first day back in nearly a month on Jan. 21, 2021. The entire school district switched to all remote learning after an uptick in COVID-19 cases last month.
Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP
Recruitment & Retention No Bus Drivers, Custodians, or Subs. What's Really Behind Schools' Staffing Shortages?
Dismal pay, certification requirements, and longstanding disrespect are causing many classified workers to quit.
Mark Lieberman, September 20, 2021
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10 min read
group of diverse people fading away
Getty
Recruitment & Retention Download GUIDE: How Administrators Can Address Staff Shortages in Schools
The number of job openings in schools this year is daunting, but there are steps district leaders can take to keep operations running smoothly.
Mark Lieberman & Gina Tomko, September 20, 2021
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1 min read
Substitutes size is fine
Getty
Recruitment & Retention This District Built a Better, More Reliable Supply of Substitute Teachers. Here's How
A Rhode Island school district tackles one of the biggest staffing challenges for school administrators. So far, it's working.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 2, 2021
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6 min read
A student at Crosby High School works in class in Waterbury, Conn. on Nov. 2, 2019. While students in the Waterbury public school district are predominantly black and Hispanic, the vast majority of its educators, as in school districts across the country, are white.
A student at Crosby High School works in class in Waterbury, Conn. on Nov. 2, 2019. While students in the Waterbury public school district are predominantly black and Hispanic, the vast majority of its educators, as in school districts across the country, are white.
Jessica Hill/AP
Equity & Diversity Video A Black Male Educator From Virginia on What He’s Faced in the School Building
After experiencing racism in the school building early in his career, a black male teacher in Alexandria, Va., sought out a school with leaders who looked like him. Here, he explains why that matters and discusses the issues he continues to see in the education system.
Jaclyn Borowski , June 25, 2021
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4:50
Diverse team builds a geometric shapes structure together
Rudzhan Nagiev/iStock /Getty Images Plus
Recruitment & Retention How 'Grow-Your-Own' Programs Are Helping Recruit Teachers of Color
Learn which strategies are working to recruit and support future teachers of color.
Elizabeth Heubeck, June 8, 2021
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6 min read
A worker passes public school buses parked at a depot in Manchester, N.H., Monday, April 27, 2020. New Hampshire public school children continue to be taught with remote learning, while buildings are closed to students through the end of the academic year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In school districts across the country, buses sat idle through much of the past year. Some districts turned to bus drivers or other support staff to fill IT jobs.
Charles Krupa/AP
Recruitment & Retention Understaffed School District IT Departments Are a Big Problem. Here's One Way to Solve It
An Oregon district needed bilingual support staff to help Spanish-speaking families manage virtual learning. It didn't need to look far.
Alyson Klein, June 3, 2021
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4 min read
Rycc Smith welcomes Montello Elementary School students as they board his bus outside the Lewiston, Maine school after the first day back in nearly a month on Jan. 21, 2021. The entire school district switched to all remote learning after an uptick in COVID-19 cases last month.
Bus driver Rycc Smith welcomes Montello Elementary School students as they board his bus in Lewiston, Maine, in January on their first day back to school after a month of remote learning.
Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP
School & District Management Bus Driver Shortages Worsening for Many Districts as Schools Reopen
A perennial problem gets worse as districts across the country struggle to find enough drivers to get all their students back to school.
Dalia Faheid, May 19, 2021
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6 min read
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner speaks at a news conference at the school district headquarters in Los Angeles on March 13, 2020. Beutner will step down as superintendent after his contract ends in June, he announced Wednesday, April 21, 2021.
Austin Beutner, the superintendent of Los Angeles Unified, will step down after his contract ends in June.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
School & District Management Wanted: Superintendents to Lead Districts Through the End of a Pandemic
Former superintendents say there are signs when it's time to move on. Their replacements are more likely to be greenhorns, experts say.
Stephen Sawchuk, May 7, 2021
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4 min read
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