Heading into the 2024-25 school year, the district has seen some improvements in its ability to recruit and retain teachers while challenges still remain, district officials said.
The district has begun paying for teachers to receive their national board certification and is exploring joining the Teacher Incentive Allotment this school year as efforts to encourage retention with the district.
Community Impact spoke with Chief Human Resources Officer Karie Lynn Eggeling and Lisa Gibbs, executive director of talent acquisition and employee support, about the state of the district’s teacher workforce during an interview in August.
The big picture
The district saw improvements in its retention rate for teachers and other staff members from the 2021-22 to 2022-23 school years, which remained relatively unchanged for the 2023-24 school year, according to LISD data obtained through a public records request.
LISD has seen more former teachers returning to the district and witnessed improvements through its Grow Your Own program and Spirit Cultural Exchange program that recruits teachers from other countries, Gibbs said.
The district’s Grow Your Own program pays for instructional assistants and other district employees to receive their teaching certification upon committing to teaching in the district for three years, Eggeling said. The program is focused on filling critical shortage areas in LISD such as math, science, special education and bilingual or Spanish positions, Eggeling and Gibbs said.
“It's a great partnership between our current employees and community who are interested in maybe becoming a teacher,” Eggeling said.
The district has also looked to give leadership opportunities to teachers through offering them stipends to provide professional development or set up their classroom as a model for other teachers, Gibbs said.
Also of note
The district is continuing to face some challenges in retaining and recruiting teachers, officials said. LISD saw a slight increase in teacher turnover last school year compared to the 2022-23 school year with 511 teachers leaving the district, according to data provided by LISD.
A high cost of living and housing in the area alongside increased inflation has been the main factor impacting the district's ability to hire and retain teachers, Eggeling said. There has also been a decrease in the number of college students pursuing degrees in education, she said.
Teachers have faced higher stress levels and an increased demand for communication with parents and staff following the pandemic, Gibbs said.
“All staff and teachers have a real desire for more of a work-life balance,” Eggeling said.
Zooming in
At nearly 34%, the district's largest cohort of teachers for the 2023-24 school year had 0-5 years of experience, according to LISD data.
The district has sought to support new or less experienced teachers through assigning them mentors and instructional coaches as well as allowing them to view model classrooms and learn from more experienced teachers' instructional practices, Eggeling said.
Additionally, the district has hired uncertified teachers who may teach in the district as they work to complete an alternative certification program over the course of a year. These programs help individuals who are knowledgeable in a certain subject area learn teaching skills, Gibbs said.
“We have seen an increase in the need for certification waivers,” Eggeling said. “Although I will say this year we have fewer certification waivers than we did last year, so we feel like we're going in the right direction.”
The approach
The district has employed the following methods to recruit new teachers:
- Recruiting teachers from across the country through two recruiters
- Attending and hosting job fairs
- Providing a $1,250 stipend to student teachers and an additional $1,250 stipend if they are hired by the district
- Providing a $200 stipend to new teachers to help them set up their classrooms
- Presenting to college classes ahead of graduation
- Staying in touch with former high school students in the district’s Ready, Set, Teach program
- Posting on the district’s website, social media and Handshake hiring platform
What’s next
This school year, the district will begin paying for teachers to receive their national board certification, which allows teachers to receive $2,700 to $3,900 a year through the Teacher Incentive Allotment, Eggeling said.
The district will also explore whether to join the TIA through holding listening sessions with teachers and administrators, she said. Joining the TIA would allow some LISD teachers who display high performance to receive thousands of dollars in additional funding.
LISD has received a grant to pilot UTeach this school year—an alternative certification program through The University of Texas at Austin that aims fill secondary math and science teaching positions, Gibbs said.
“We're always looking at how can we get the best teachers in front of our students in Leander,” Gibbs said.
