PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The School District of Philadelphia has begun its hiring season, and the district is offering raises and bonuses to attract more teachers.
“We have increased salaries and included bonuses across the board for all educators,” District Chief Talent Officer Larisa Shambaugh said.
The district Thursday launched its annual hiring campaign dubbed “Teach Today. Change Tomorrow,” at a news conference at the Kensington Health Sciences Academy.
The starting salary for a Philadelphia teacher next year is $50,000, Shambaugh said, with the average salary around $82,000. There will be an additional $1,000 bonus in the fall for all teachers.
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“As retention is our best recruitment strategy, starting this coming year, a subset of almost 50 schools will be receiving a $5,000 bonus over the next two years for their work in those schools,” Shambaugh said.
9,100 teachers work in Philadelphia schools, and this year, about 70 more than usual have resigned.
The district usually recruits about 900 teachers each year. Despite the increase in midyear resignations this school year, early indications point to the district hiring the usual number next year.
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“Next week, we’ll have a better sense of the starting number of teachers that we’ll be hiring for,” Shambaugh said.
“We estimate it will be similar to years past, and won’t be a dramatic change.”
In conjunction with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the district has also launched a $2.5 million effort to pay the tuition of classroom aides and paraprofessionals who want to work toward becoming certified teachers.
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People resigning from other professions might also consider opportunities to become first-time teachers, Shambaugh said.
Kensington Health Sciences teacher Jenifer Felix said the last two years have been tough because of COVID-19, but that’s precisely why people should become teachers.
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“It’s great to have a teacher, but you need a teacher who really believes in education and the mission that we have,” Felix said.
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