K-12 schools need a variety of goods and services to offer the best-quality educational experience to students. Many procurement professionals out there will know exactly how important it is to stretch a school’s budget as far as possible!
This means efficiency is the name of the game, as long as there is an assurance of quality to go with it. For example, offers that seem budget-friendly on the surface can often cost your school in other, hidden ways — making it critical for procurement to stay on their toes.
Let’s talk about what to consider when sourcing the best options for technology, instructional resources, professional development, and staffing and recruitment.
What are school districts procuring in 2024?
Technology
The days of teachers wheeling out a dusty projector for a documentary viewing are long gone. Technology has become a key concern for schools, especially with the growing interest in STEM education.
However, it’s not as simple as sourcing a bunch of screens, SmartBoards and 3D printers. Technology makes up 25% of all Request for Proposals, but a lot of it is unused and goes to waste each year, resulting in billions of dollars down the drain.
Procurement professionals should evaluate technology choices carefully to maximize efficiency — and that includes ensuring teachers know how to use their tech effectively.
Instructional Resources
Beyond technology, instructional resources are vital in any teacher’s arsenal. Textbooks and reference materials have to be relevant, while outdated content needs to go.
The best way to optimize efficiency while procuring instructional resources is to have an open, ongoing dialogue with teachers. This can help you reduce money wasted on materials that end up gathering dust in the back of a storeroom.
While some resources may seem like a great idea at first, they lose effectiveness once they’re implemented. For example, a recent look at textbook innovations showed that, while teachers and students like the idea of a textbook with hyperlinks to more information, they don’t actually have time to use it.
That’s why procurement professionals should always consider the practical value of the resources they bring in, allowing classrooms to make the best possible use of them.
Professional Development
Think back to your favorite teachers when you were in school. Chances are, they displayed a genuine love of learning: a passion they also instilled in their students. Professional development allows teachers to develop their skills while staying passionate about their craft and preventing their pedagogy from turning stale.
Teachers should be given plenty of opportunities to train with new materials procured — whether that’s new tech or new textbooks — and to continue educating themselves in their fields of interest.
Prioritizing professional development has loads of benefits for schools and it can be vital for attracting and retaining top talent. Schools should pay attention to what keeps teachers around, especially given nationwide shortages. Often, procurement professionals play an unrecognized role in securing resources for continuing education so schools can hold onto the good teachers they already have!
Staffing and Recruitment
Teaching staff make or break a school — it’s what sets an amazing school apart from the competition. However, creating and maintaining an incredible staff is easier said than done.
Between posting openings, handling an influx of applications, vetting each teacher, interviewing and onboarding, it’s no wonder K-12 administrators find staffing and recruitment to be one of their greatest headaches.
It’s such an involved process that there’s an increasing trend towards schools outsourcing their staffing and recruitment needs. Instead of wasting valuable time (with no results to show for it), administrators allocate part of their procurement budgets to agencies that can source qualified and experienced teaching professionals on their behalf.
If you’re going this route, however, it’s vital to avoid using a generalist agency. Generalists lack the necessary educator network and hands-on experience required to find the right fit for your school. To get the best value of your time and money, make sure you choose a specialized education agency with an in-depth grasp of what schools need.
Teachers on Demand is a staffing firm founded by and for teachers, specializing in placing interim and permanent staff in K-12 schools. By vetting every teacher on our platform, we connect highly qualified and experienced educators in our partner schools (charter, public and virtual).
We understand that no two schools are alike, so we spend time with our partner schools, getting to know their unique campus culture. This time investment allows us to tailor our staffing recommendations to find the best fit for your school.
Whether you’re seeking substitutes, full-time teachers, administrative support or even leadership positions, we’ve helped over 200 schools in the United States and Canada find exactly who they were searching for.
Take the guesswork out of school staffing procurement
Money doesn’t grow on trees, so it’s frustrating when funds are wasted on unused resources or on staffing choices that don’t work out. However, there are services available to make the lives of busy administrators easier.
As a full-service educational staffing agency, Teachers on Demand can support you by alleviating the stress of sourcing qualified, experienced educators for K-12 schools.
Get in touch to see how we can support your school with ready-to-go solutions.