- First Lady Jill Biden, herself a teacher, will lead a speech at the White House on educational issues.
- ZipRecruiter is launching a new online job portal specifically for K-12 schools.
- The White House is encouraging state and local governments to use American Rescue Plan funds to increase teacher salaries.
Washington – Biden Administration Several major job search firms are trying to address teacher shortages that have plagued many school districts in the country — a move aimed at boosting an increasingly under-attack profession.
According to a White House memo provided exclusively to USA TODAY, the two companies will set up a way for school districts to recruit and hire future teachers and for teachers looking for work to find jobs.
ZipRecruiter is launching an online job portal for K-12 schools. Indeed hosts virtual recruitment fairs for educators and other staff nationwide. Handshake, which helps college students find jobs, is also creating new ways to share job listings with undergraduates in education, including her October virtual event for college students interested in the field.
“The talent shortage in education is a national crisis that could hold back the next generation of Americans – our students,” said Ian Siegel, CEO of Zip Recruiter. “Our nation’s children depend on us, and we must all rise to this opportunity.”
more:Distance learning has had the greatest impact on disadvantaged students. The teacher shortage is only getting worse.
First Lady Jill Biden, a longtime community college professor, was scheduled to host a White House debate on the teacher shortage Wednesday to formally announce the partnership. She will be joined by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and other executives, governors, recruiters, handshakes and executives from Indeed.
In another effort to boost teacher recruitment, the Department of Education and Labor wrote in a Wednesday letter urging states and governments to use funds provided in the 2021 Congressional Democrats-passed America Relief Plan to raise teacher salaries. I plan to reach out to local officials. Schools received $130 billion from the Relief Act, and local and state governments received an additional $350 billion in direct funding.
The Biden administration said it would commit more than $100 million in the next round of the Labor Department’s apprenticeship grants to the education sector.
The White House is also doubling down on efforts to strengthen the pipeline to education through partnerships with states and the National Teachers Federation and the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union. Much of the emphasis is on expanding apprenticeships, teaching residencies and pathways to other non-traditional careers. These programs are popular among future educators of color.
AFT Chairman Randy Weingarten pointed to Houston. Nashua, New Hampshire. New Mexico is raising teacher salaries and expanding residencies as a place to fill teacher vacancies.
“These strategies need to be the rule, not the exception,” she said, noting that educators “just need the tools, the trust, the conditions, the rewards to do the job and keep it going.” ‘ claimed.
It is impossible to quantify teacher vacancies in real time. Comprehensive and reliable data do not exist. Some of the jobs are new positions created with the help of COVID-19 relief funds. For example, schools have seen a significant increase in the number of social her workers, counselors, and nurses.
Shortage of teachers:Students most affected by school staff issues
However, a recent USA TODAY analysis of existing research found that many of the vacancies were related to shortages prior to the coronavirus pandemic, among non-white students and children living in poverty. Meanwhile, another study found a chronic and widespread shortage of non-educational personnel, such as bus drivers and security guards.
Cardona said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the lack of teachers is a symptom of a “teacher respect problem”. He said he earns a lot and that teacher salaries have increased by just $29 over the past 25 years, adjusted for inflation.
more:Are you short of teachers? Here’s what the data say.
“It’s unacceptable,” Cardona said, referring to teachers forced to work as rideshare drivers on weekends. “We have to lift the profession.”
Experts tell USA TODAY that a lot of focus needs to be on removing the barriers that often keep people of color and low-income people from entering the profession. One of her big hurdles is the cost of enrolling in a traditional teacher training program full-time. Non-traditional pathways such as residencies may allow participants to earn money while preparing for a teaching career.
But the same experts say that retaining teachers who remain in the classroom should be equally important. The percentage of educators who say work stress is worth it has dropped steadily since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Please contact Alia Wong at (202) 507-2256 or awong@usatoday.com. Follow @aliaemily on Twitter. Reach out to Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
