If you run a K-12 charter school that is facing gaps in teacher and other staff positions nationwide, you’re not the only one. Nearly 9 in 10 public schools around the U.S. are currently experiencing staffing shortages, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
When it comes to hiring, charter schools face unique challenges. This includes the pressure to fulfill staffing needs with limited budgets, manage natural shifts in enrollment, and the need for specialized educators who keep motivation high until the day school’s out for summer. No matter the atmosphere at your school, strategic staffing solutions are the key to addressing these issues effectively.
Limited budgets
Although no administrator wants to start the school year understaffed, when this happens, it requires splitting necessary tasks between a smaller staff. But not only is this an inefficient way to work, it puts more pressure on existing staff. Long-term, it can also lead to staff burnout and attrition, leaving you with further vacancies.
In our decades of experience working with K-12 charter schools, we know qualified “RARE” educators play an irreplaceable role in the school environment, driving student success and raising the bar for coworkers. When you hire through Teachers On Demand, INC., we pre-vet our wide network to find motivated educators who fit the qualifications, job description, and salary range you’ve specified.
Our well-established recruiting and onboarding processes make it easier for you to retain teaching staff from day one. We act as a go-between, keeping open lines of communication for feedback and providing educators with necessary mental health resources. This reduces the friction of staffing and saves you time and money in the long term. Plus, happy teachers make better educators!
What about teacher salaries?
Research shows that low salaries can discourage potential teachers from applying for an open role. Today, when 55% of educators are considering whether to leave teaching earlier than originally planned, studies show that offering higher pay — alongside a positive work environment — leads to higher job satisfaction. In an era where high workloads and low morale push teachers out of the profession, 78% of teachers say higher pay would encourage them to stay. In this sense, increasing teacher salaries can be a worthwhile investment for a limited budget, because it can help retain teachers, increase satisfaction, and save resources longer term.
Solution: Engage our team for direct-hire services. We fill most instructional positions within 30 days!
Fluctuating enrollment
We know that retaining your teaching staff is critical. So is keeping your families happy and attracting new students to your school. But uncertainty around how many students you can expect in the new school year also makes it challenging to anticipate the need for teachers.
When you have to fill in the gaps, bringing on substitute educators may be the answer. Teachers On Demand INC.’s sub staffing platform is a flexible solution that offers short-term staffing options for your charter school. (We also recruit long-term substitutes — just let us know!) We work around the clock to make sure your vacancies get filled.
When substitutes feel confident starting at a new school, this creates the critical foundation for success. Our goal is to help K-12 school partners foster a seamless and lasting collaboration that benefits subs, admin, and most importantly, students. This means everything from ensuring subs have the lesson plans, can find the school entrance, and understand how to register once inside — helping to remove obstacles for your team.
Solution: Explore our online substitute scheduling platform, which is available to schools and substitutes 24/7. Once you’re registered, we often fill calls for last-minute substitutes within hours.
The need for specialized educators
When operating on an already limited budget, many charter school HR departments waste resources sorting through applications without finding candidates that fit your school culture.
On the other hand, we’ve spent years cultivating a network of teachers and administrative staff that makes it easier for us to hand-pick a few well-suited candidates for you to review. You can be sure that any candidates we recommend hold the qualifications that you’ve specified, and other needs are discussed with you before we publish the job ad.
This also enables you to take the guesswork out of inclusive hiring practices, an imperative for increasingly diverse schools.
Students deserve to have their identities reflected in school faculty. Plus, diverse teams have been shown to outperform less diverse teams time and time again. Having a staff of educators that come to work with different lived experiences can help provide new perspectives that encourage coworkers to think out of the box and develop professionally.
Solution: Create a tailored ad to post on our job board. You’ll be working with a team that lives and breathes education — because that’s our specialty! Founded by Rosalind Logan, we are a Black-owned and woman-owned business with a diverse operating team that is committed to uplifting the teaching profession and experience for everyone.
Let’s solve your charter school’s HR challenges
Our team knows the challenges of educators inside-out because we have decades of experience as educators ourselves. Find out what makes us the preferred full-service staffing solution for 200+ school partners!