Retention & Recruitment: Staff Shortages
School leaders are struggling to fill positions as nationwide teacher shortages continue. Many leaders are trying creative approaches to recruitment and thinking of ways to respond to the vacancies.
- “Teachers are standing up for themselves by not standing for the treatment they’ve received. Good luck to the districts around the nation with 100+ staff vacancies trying desperately to find teachers without drastically changing pay/working conditions. You’ll need it.” —School Leader in Ohio
- “To those admin out there who still have open positions, what’s your plan as you begin the school year with vacancies?“ —Middle School Assistant Principal in Virginia
- “It’s so crazy for me to see all of these advertisements from principals trying to find teachers. This week I upped my game, made a @Canva advertisement to be flashier and more appealing. Still nothing.” —Elementary Principal in Virginia
- “Are districts putting instructional coaches back in the classrooms where there are vacancies, or are subs and non-certified teaching our kids? Curious what districts are doing, feel free to share what you’ve heard below.” —Administrator in South Carolina
- “On the topic of teacher shortages for the upcoming school year… ‘It’s okay to have a short term response while we pursue sustainability.’ School leaders need to create pivot plans to meet their building needs as they collaborate with partners for a winning year!“ —School Leader in Maryland
Conversations about staff shortages and vacancies in July 2022 increased by 78.12% year over year, compared against volume from July 2021. Because school leaders are typically less likely to discuss these matters on public platforms, sharing their experiences in a public forum indicates the acuteness of the shortages.
July 2021
July 2022
Methodology: These charts represent a sample of sentiment and mentions of about 5,000 leaders on Twitter in July 2021 compared to July 2022.