Temp services, job fairs helping Treasure Coast school districts recruit for teaching jobs

A statewide teacher shortage has school districts here searching for alternative ways to find educators.

That includes using a temporary staffing agency to find long- and short-term substitutes; offering a guaranteed job for high school students who return home after they get their degrees; and, in some cases, offering a no-cost option for district paraprofessionals to earn their teaching certification and get on-the-job training.

"Everyone's facing the same challenges," said Jeff Raimann, director of recruitment and retention for Martin County schools. "Districts are being challenged to be innovative."

As of March, there still were about 75 teacher vacancies across the Treasure Coast, more than half the number of teachers needed at the beginning of the school year in August, officials said. Statewide, there were about 4,096 vacancies to begin the second semester of the 2023-2024 school year, according to the Florida Education Association, which tracks the number twice a year. Statewide, districts began the school year short almost 7,000 teachers, the FEA said.

As of March, St. Lucie and Martin county school districts each had 24 teacher vacancies. Indian River County schools had 27 teacher vacancies.

Hiring qualified teachers — and keeping them — is a concern for most school districts and teachers unions.

Districts are resorting to creative programs to recruit teachers. St. Lucie schools, for example, through its Promise is a Promise program, guarantees a teaching job to St. Lucie graduates who return to the district after college graduation with a degree in education. This year, in fact, one of those St. Lucie grads — Katlyn McCue — was named the district's Outstanding First-Year Teacher. Martin County schools this year instituted a program to help district paraprofessionals earn their teaching certification while on the job.

Teachers unions pitch in to help districts keep the teachers in the district, with mentorship programs and professional-development classes. Unions, however, say that's becoming more difficult as state law has made recruiting members and collecting union dues more difficult.

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Unions such as the St. Lucie Education Association have had to cut back on staffing and staff development, said President David Freeland.

Indian River County schools offers a mentoring program for new teachers, but, union President Jennifer Freeland pointed out, some veteran teachers are reluctant to participate in the voluntary program as unpaid mentors.

Long-term substitutes

When a full-time teacher is unavailable, districts draw from available staff or find what's known as a long-term substitute to the teach class. On the Treasure Coast, there are 171 long-term substitutes, who hold higher credentials than substitute teachers and, in some cases, are offered benefits. Long-term subs are paid more than daily substitutes.

St. Lucie County schools has the highest number of long-term subs — about 147 — representing about 6% of the teachers in the district, district spokeswoman Lydia Martin said. Martin County schools currently have three long-term substitutes, while Indian River County schools uses 21 long-term substitutes, according to district records.

Long-term substitutes can be beneficial for students, educators said.

"It's better than a different person (in the classroom) every day," Raimann said. "They're the best available until you get someone (full-time)."

Yet long-term substitutes might not be the best option for teachers, who often are asked to help with lesson plans, union leaders said.

"It makes more work for the teacher, who should be focused on their classroom," David Freeland said.

A veteran teacher might be asked to help plan for three or four substitutes, Jennifer Freeland said.

"Now we have one teacher handling four classrooms," she said. When that happens, the district is left with overworked teachers, she said.

In December, Martin County schools contracted with Kelly Services, a global temporary-staffing agency, to provide "guest teachers" for the district. The move helps ensure classrooms are covered, at a 90% to 100% rate, said Raimann.

Teacher recruitment

Fewer students are graduating from college with an education degree, Raimann said.

While districts still use traditional recruiting methods such as job fairs and virtual interviews to attract teachers, officials say they need to do more to fill classrooms with the best-qualified educators.

The St. Lucie teachers union wants to help the district recruit teachers because it's more beneficial to the teachers in adjacent classrooms, David Freedland said.

"I don't want an empty classroom sitting next to me," he said.

In Indian River County, there were 27 teacher vacancies as of March, down from 55 in January. Some have been vacant since the beginning of the school year, Jennifer Freeland said.

"It puts a heavy load on the teachers who are left," she said. Teacher shortages impact classroom size, she said, as districts will fill classrooms with more students. An intensive reading class, for example, might have up to 30 students, she said.

Teacher retention

Long-term substitutes are ineligible for union membership, so it benefits the union for the district to hire teachers who are going to stay there, David Freeland said.

"Our focus is on retaining. They are here. We want to keep them here," he said.

In Martin County, teacher turnover is an issue. Studies show that the district has a 42% turnover rate, Raimann said.

"We're only keeping 58% (of the teachers) every year," he said.

Exit surveys showed the No. 1 reason teachers were leaving was a feeling of being unsupported, Raimann said. In December, the district launched a Teacher Retention Input Committee to hear what teachers need.

"The purpose (of the committee) is to get input now versus after they've left," Raimann said. The committee plans to present its findings to the board for possible action, he said.

Alternative ways of hiring teachers

Martin schools also implemented a $250,000 program which offers paraprofessionals training and education to become teachers.

"It's creating your own pipeline," Raimann said. About 15 paraprofessionals are currently enrolled in the program, he said.

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Still, changes need to be made so people want to teach as a career, veteran teachers say.

"The fix is going to be better pay, better discipline, better schools so (teachers) can teach during the day," Jennifer Freeland said.

Substitute teachers might not be the answer, as districts can be short available substitutes, Jennifer Freeland said.

"Nobody is wanting to get into education," she said.

Teachers today are overwhelmed with other responsibilities besides instruction, she said.

"If teachers could just teach 30% of their day, they'd be thrilled," Jennifer Freeland said. "We test, we discipline, we counsel."

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Finding good teachers to work in Florida is becoming difficult, David Freeland said.

"They would rather go somewhere else," he said, "where they feel protected."

Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. Contact her at Colleen.Wixon@TCPalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Treasure Coast schools try alternative ways to fill teacher vacancies