PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — To address an ongoing teacher shortage, the School District of Philadelphia will start early to hire teachers for next school year.
The district next month is shifting eight additional hard-to-staff schools to an early hiring process, bringing the total to 25. Principals at those schools may begin offering jobs to teachers in January, Superintendent Tony Watlington said Tuesday.
Twenty-five schools is the maximum number of schools permitted for “early access site selection” under the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers contract.
Bethune Elementary School in North Philadelphia was one of the 17 schools that started hiring early for this current year. Principal Aliya Bradley said it paid off, as Bethune started the year fully staffed.
Related
“We need a diversified workforce that looks like the children of Philadelphia. Folks who think they can fix education, we need you on this side,” Bradley said at a news conference at her school.
“It is incredibly helpful to be able to make offers earlier,” said Larisa Shambaugh, the district’s chief talent officer. “Research also shows that the highest quality teachers are often hired earlier in the hiring season.”
Shambaugh said starting teachers can make $50,000, while the average teacher salary is $82,000.
The district has 98% of its teaching jobs filled right now, she noted. There are 180 vacant positions, with fewer than one per school.
Related
Watlington said the challenge is that fewer people are choosing teaching careers. “The biggest barrier to a 100% fill rate is a declining pipeline of teachers, or individuals, going into teacher education programs,” he said.
“We are not going to let the fact that we are the largest poor city deter us from going after the very best teachers that get in line first.”
According to Watlington, the district is hiring for all positions, including bus drivers, cleaners and nurses.