6 Strategies to Recruit Teachers in 2024 and Beyond

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 79% of public school districts struggled to fill teaching positions at the start of the 2023–2024 school year. As a result, many schools have resorted to hiring underqualified candidates to get by.

While this solves the short-term problem of putting bodies in the classroom, it does little to help with the overall shortage. That’s why it’s crucial to recruit with intention, including investing in younger generations and passionate individuals looking to make a career change, to maintain a strong talent pipeline that'll help stabilize the education industry.

In this article, we’ll dive into short- and long-term strategies educational institutions can use to find and recruit qualified teachers.

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6 Teacher Recruitment Strategies

Here are six strategies your school can leverage to attract top talent who can give your students the high-quality education they deserve:

Post Job Ads on Education Job Boards

Job seekers are often advised to conduct a targeted job search to increase their chances of getting a response from prospective employers with similar values and goals. In turn, it’s best to advertise your open positions on niche education job boards to zero in on qualified talent.

Here are some options to get you started:

• K12JobSpot: Over one million teaching jobs have been filled using K12JobSpot. Employers can post unlimited positions and search their database of more than 500,000 certified K-12 teachers, administrators, and service personnel.
• NASET: Standing for the National Association of Special Education Teachers, NASET helps employers find qualified special education teaching candidates at all levels, ranging from early childhood to college.
• HigherEdJobs: Whether you’re recruiting for a small liberal arts college or a large public research university, you can advertise here to fill faculty, administrative, and executive positions in higher education.

If you need some inspiration for writing job descriptions, we’ve got you covered. Check out our job description library, which includes templates for an academic coordinator, dean of students, guidance counselor, teacher, and other positions that can be customized to fit your needs.

Start an Employee Referral Program

Simply put, hiring is time-consuming and costly. In fact, the average time to hire has risen to 44 days, and you can expect to spend $7,500 to $28,000 in hard costs to hire and onboard a new employee. On the bright side, you can speed up the process and lower hiring costs by starting an employee referral program.

Your employees already know your culture, values, curriculum, and teaching methods like the back of their hand, so they’re most likely to recommend qualified educators who’ll be culture adds. Consider offering an incentive, such as a gift card, tickets to a local event, or a bonus contingent on whether their referrals are hired to encourage quality referrals and hires.

What’s more, you can widen your talent pool by also asking former colleagues who left on good terms for referrals. (And using a cloud-based employee database as opposed to an overstuffed filing cabinet makes it much easier to find former employees’ contact information and get back in touch!)

Invest in Diverse Candidates

Beyond being the right thing to do, inclusive hiring leads to better student outcomes. A study found teachers of color are more likely to practice culturally responsive teaching, which is linked to higher social-emotional wellbeing and academic achievement for all students.

Yet about 80% of the teaching force is white, while over 50% of K–12 public school students are students of color.

The good news is there are many strategies for recruiting teachers of color, such as creating a Grow Your Own (GYO) program.

For example, Minnesota’s GYO grant program recruits non-licensed staff members from their schools and individuals from the wider community (e.g., teacher’s assistants, education technicians, and parents) to become teachers. Candidates are people of color or Indigenous people, and the GYO program provides them with tuition scholarships or stipends for their training and licensure fees.

Recruit Student Teachers

Hosting enthusiastic student teachers is mutually beneficial—they have the opportunity to meet their degree requirements while you get to build your talent pipeline. Think of their student-teaching period as a year-long interview, during which you’ll see firsthand how well they perform in the classroom and add to your school’s culture.

If you decide to make a full-time job offer, they’re more likely to accept if they had a positive student teaching experience at your institution. They’re also more likely to be effective teachers their first year since they already know the students and their families, your school’s curriculum, and where to go for support.

Offer Competitive Total Compensation

Teaching is undoubtedly a noble and fulfilling profession, but even the most passionate candidates can’t pursue or sustain a career in education without adequate salary and benefits to support their financial, physical, and mental wellbeing. In addition to attracting top talent, offering a competitive compensation package affirms the invaluable work of educators.

First, research benchmark data on teacher salaries to ensure your school’s offer aligns with or exceeds industry standards (then include a salary range in your job descriptions). The following table compares national average salaries for different types of educators (for educator pay in your state, check out this salary map).

Source: National Education Association

Depending on your institution, HR may not be able to influence salaries. For instance, K–12 teacher salaries come from a combination of federal, state, and local funding and are usually determined by school boards.

However, you can bolster total compensation with meaningful fringe benefits. On top of benefits that are generally considered table stakes, such as medical, dental, and vision coverage and retirement plans, offer mental wellness benefits to help educators manage their stress. Some options to consider are therapy, telemedicine, and employee assistance programs.

What’s more, a study featured in the National Council on Teacher Quality found teachers wish they had more support for their students. Specifically, they would like more school counselors, school nurses, and in-class special education specialists because these professionals would not only benefit the students but also lighten teachers’ non-instructional workload.

If your school already offers these supports, advertise them during recruitment along with other perks that increase job satisfaction.

Build Your Talent Pipeline Early

As you work to fill open positions now, don’t forget to plan for the future. Many school districts have implemented pipeline programs for current high school students or recent graduates interested in pursuing a teaching career to address the teacher shortage in the long term.

For example, through Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) four-year pipeline program, Teach Chicago Tomorrow, CPS graduates receive annual scholarships for select in-state colleges and universities and are offered full-time teaching roles at CPS after completing the program.