How To Hire More Teachers For Your School

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 567,000 fewer educators in public schools in 2022 than there were before the pandemic. Competition for talent and willing applicants is fierce – making it difficult to hire great teachers for your students. 

To hire teachers, you need recruitment solutions that put you ahead of your competitors.

But, you also need to understand why most educators are leaving the profession. Because the issue isn’t only hiring teachers, it’s also retaining the teachers you currently have. 

Hiring Teachers With Interviewing Technology

Using the right technology to recruit teachers can help school districts & school boards hire the best – boosting school performance and student achievement.

Effective interviewing technology enables K12 administrators to review candidates quickly and effectively, enabling them to make better hiring decisions. The faster and easier the interview process, the more teacher candidates you can screen. Interviewing tools can include:

• One way video interviews to screen candidates faster
• Dashboards to track candidate dropoff, completion rates, and interviewing speed
• Rating and sharing abilities so administrators, HR directors, and superintendents can assess teacher candidates in the recruitment tool.

Using digital interviewing tools, hiring managers can conduct online interviews, watch videos of candidates teaching, and screen candidates faster than before. As a result, they find the best teachers fast and hire them before other school districts and school boards.

Subs And Paras Could Make Great Teacher Candidates

There are people in your local community who want a career in education but haven’t had the chance to meet the qualifications to enter the profession. This idea is what spurred the Grow Your Own Teachers initiative and has successfully helped schools fill open positions. 

Nurturing substitutes or paras is a good place to start “home growing” your teachers. Showing confidence in them from the beginning will go a long way to retaining them later on.

Increase Teachers Pay

With inflation on the rise, people everywhere are struggling to adjust their budgets. When your starting salary is on the low side to begin with, life is even harder. The average national salary needed to live comfortably is $46,864 after taxes, but the salary for first-year teachers is below $40K before taxes. 

Source

As the population as a whole evaluates what profession is going to give them the best chance at a comfortable lifestyle, education is not on the list. Closing this gap is easier said than done, but not impossible.

Find ways to allocate the budget to increase teachers’ pay. This may mean that not every student gets some of the luxuries that are currently available, but it may mean that every student will get a quality education. 

Teacher Recruiting Close To Home

Speak with everyone on staff in your building and community to figure out if anyone is interested in becoming a teacher. After you figure out potential candidates, define what you need to do to upskill them. Some schools have educational stipends for employees, if yours does, make use of it.

You will be surprised at what you learn in these interviews. Giving people a chance expands your talent pool and also promotes loyalty, so once you hire these candidates, employee retention will follow. 

Hire Teachers At Career Fairs

Take advantage of every career fair in the state at every level: high school, college, and professional. These are people who are actively looking for employment and interested in learning about career paths. 

It may also feel like a low priority to talk to a junior in high school about a career in education. Admittedly, it won’t help you in the current or upcoming school years. However, the best way to set the industry up for future success is to invest in the future today. 

• Talk to that high schooler
• Provide information on the career path ahead
• Help them find scholarships and sponsorships to help pay for their education

The more you invest in them, the more they will remember you, and the more likely they will be to send you their resume when they are looking for a career in education. 

Use Interviewstream To Fill Teaching And Substitute Teaching Positions

Looking for a better way to conduct interviews? You could be screening 100% of the candidates that apply with video interviews. We can help you start recruiting teachers faster, so your students have the best teachers and the support they need to thrive. Learn more about how we help K12 school districts and school boards here, or schedule some time to chat with one of our hiring experts here.

About The Author

Caroline Chessia is the Marketing Operations Specialist at interviewstream. She loves color-coordinated graphs, hiking in the mountains, and every dog she meets—especially the Golden Retrievers.