How to Revamp District Recruiting When 8 Percent of Teachers Are Leaving Annually

The teacher deficit is a major pain point for school districts all across the United States.

Back in 1975, a whopping 22 percent of all college students devoted their studies to education, a higher share than any other major, but by 2015, less than one in 10 American college and university students majored in education, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

This shift away from education majors has been most notable among women. Over the past 40 years, the percentage of female college students majoring in education decreased from a substantial 32 percent to a mere 11 percent, as more students have chosen to pursue education in science, fine arts, and communications.

The teacher deficit hasn’t only been caused by a decrease in students pursuing an education in college but also by an increase in students attending public elementary and secondary schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 50.7 million students attended K-12 schools in the fall of 2017, and that number is expected to increase to 51.4 million by 2025.

Furthermore, more and more teachers are leaving teaching each year to pursue other careers. Eight percent leave teaching each year, and two-thirds of teachers now quit before retirement, according to the Learning Policy Institute.

With the teacher deficit at top of mind for school districts, video interviewing is becoming an attractive solution for district recruiters wishing to speed up the hiring process and get top candidates through the door more quickly.

There are benefits to utilizing video interviewing technology during a time when school districts are experiencing a major teacher deficit:

1 | OFFERS ACCESS TO REMOTE CANDIDATES

Video interviewing software gives districts and principals access to remote candidates outside of their geographical region. The software enables districts to conduct live two-way interviews with teachers in other districts, states or even internationally that they might otherwise be unable to bring in for interviews, due to travel costs. This ability not only provides convenience and cost savings to both districts and teacher candidates, but it also allows districts to reduce and even eliminate geographical discrimination.

2 | SAVES CANDIDATES AND DISTRICTS TIME

With both on-demand interviews and two-way interviews, video interviewing software saves candidates and districts time. Candidates are able to complete on-demand interviews on their own time from any location they choose. If teachers are interviewing while working a full-time job, they are able to complete their interviews during off hours, like nights and weekends. On the district’s end, district recruiters are able to cut down significantly on the time spent reviewing applications, screening candidates and even scheduling interviews. They’re also able to get teachers through the door more quickly than competing districts.

Interested in learning more about interviewing software? Schedule a demo with interviewstream today!

About The Author

Esteban Gomez is a marketing consultant with interviewstream. He loves learning and has a passion for traveling, having visited many countries including China, Colombia, Italy, and Peru.