American Association of School Personnel Administrators

Kelly Coash-Johnson

Executive Director, American Association of School Personnel Administrators

• Email: Kelly@aaspa.org
• Twitter: @CoashJohnson
• https://www.aaspa.org/

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Shortage to Surplus: 5 Shifts to Address the National Educator Shortage

Today’s Presentation

The educator shortage is a national crisis, and the American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA) has taken a lead role in collaboration with education stakeholders in publishing the 5 Shifts to Address the National Educator Shortage. 

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This session will share comprehensive changes, and system redesign to create workplaces that attract new people into education and retain those already there. You'll also be one of the first groups to learn about the promising practices across the country, including some from Nebraska, that will help make the shift from Shortage to Surplus.

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https://www.aaspa.org/national-educator-shortage-

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National Educator Shortage Summit – February 2022/January 2023/�*February 29-March 1, 2024�Register Here!�

Full report: https://www.aaspa.org/national-educator-shortage-

Licensure & Certification

• Permit alternatives to standardized testing to demonstrate competency for certification.
• Consider different certification and licensure endorsement configurations that would allow individuals who fail a portion of the licensure exam to teach subjects/grades that correspond to passage areas.
• Work with other states to expand systems of licensure reciprocity.
• Offer licensure reciprocity to trailing spouses such as military spouses.
• Sponsor a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) for teachers (e.g., Tennessee's Teacher Occupation Apprenticeship).
• Develop a state-run teacher residency program (e.g., Mississippi Teacher Residency)
• Work with educator preparation providers to offer coursework and opportunities for current teachers to receive additional endorsements in areas such as Special Education, English as a Second Language, or other areas with statewide shortages.

Licensure & Certification

• Offer tutoring and study resources for passing licensure exams.
• Assist individuals with understanding and completing licensure requirements. 
• Become an educator preparation provider (state approval required). 
• Sponsor visas for international candidates.

Increased Affordability

• Assist employees with applying for federal, state, or association student loan forgiveness or scholarship programs to pursue licensure/certification.
• Compensate individuals during preparation experiences (e.g., student teaching, administrator residency, driver-in-training)
• Offer part-time positions for prospective educators who are in school that provide on-the-job learning experiences. �(e.g., substitute teaching or education aide positions). 

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Preparation Programs Completion

Assist prospective educators with overcoming barriers (e.g., costs, transportation, childcare, duration, unpaid/low wage internships) to beginning and/or completing programs. 

�Tennessee Department of Education 

The Tennessee Department of Education achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first state to gain approval from the U.S. Department of Labor for a lasting Grow Your Own model. This pioneering effort involved collaboration between the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Austin Peay State University's Teacher Residency program, resulting in the first registered apprenticeship program for teaching in the country. The model fosters partnerships between Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) and districts, providing innovative, cost-free pathways to teaching by enhancing EPP enrollment and increasing the pool of qualified teachers. This achievement paves the way for other states and territories to initiate similar programs with federal endorsement.

Promising Practices

Licensure & Certification

Address hurdles to obtaining licensure and certification (e.g., costs, understanding the process, options for licensure attainment) while expanding licensure reciprocity both nationally and internationally.

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Westside Community Schools

The Growing our Own - EA to Teacher Ladder Program at Westside Community Schools (Omaha, Nebraska) provides educational assistants and paraprofessionals working within Westside classrooms the chance to elevate their careers by becoming certified teachers. In partnership with Midland University, the program encompasses a blend of academic coursework and hands-on teaching experience strategically designed to equip paraprofessionals with the essential knowledge, skills, and practical expertise needed for successful teaching. Program participants benefit from active guidance, mentorship, and structured support, aiding them in navigating the transition from their current paraprofessional roles to positions as teachers.

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Promising Practices

Organizational People Strategy

• Develop an HR strategic plan and/or ensure the organization’s overall strategic plan includes a people strategy and goals.
• Align human capital practices with the organization’s mission, vision, and strategy. 
• Conduct stay interviews or surveys to understand why employees choose to stay with your organization. Use this feedback to help define your competitive advantage.
• Include the top Human Resources Officer on the executive leadership team.

Talent Development

• Develop a comprehensive onboarding program that supports employees throughout their first 6 months-1 year with the organization. 
• Provide growth and development opportunities to all employees that align with the current roles and/or prepare them for career advancement opportunities. 

People Managers 

• Create a statewide academy for new principals with professional development, networking, and mentoring focused on strengthening people management skills.
• Ensure educator leadership standards (e.g., principal standards, superintendent standards) include responsibilities for talent management and development.

Talent Development

• Crosswalk principal licensure standards with HCLE standards. Address gaps in preparation program curriculum.
• Explore opportunities to expand the amount of time prospective educators spend in their clinical experiences (e.g., multi-year residencies for aspiring teachers).

Talent Acquisition

Find, attract, and hire qualified educators.

�Michigan Department of Education

The Michigan Department of Education received funding to develop the Michigan Online Registry for Educators (MORE), a collaborative data system involving multiple agencies. A key aspect of MORE is its focus on connecting credentialing and employment data, helping districts quickly verify staff credentials and ensuring compliance with regulations. This will prevent costly investigations and funding deductions for districts while maintaining educational quality. MORE's design also improves reporting, aiding the state in understanding workforce trends and needs. The system aligns with the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS), a federal initiative to standardize education data nationally using a common vocabulary and data models to support education stakeholders and initiatives across the country.

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Promising Practices

Talent Development

Foster employee learning and growth through feedback, interaction, and job-specific training and development. 

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Jefferson County Public Schools

Since 2020, Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS; Louisville, KY) has collaborated with Upbeat, a teacher retention organization founded by former educators. Over the span of two years, teacher retention in Accelerated Improvement Schools within JCPS increased by 12.7%. In Fall 2022, Upbeat conducted a thorough survey focused on research-based aspects affecting teacher retention, such as school atmosphere, recruitment and orientation, professional growth opportunities, teacher involvement and leadership, and teacher recognition. Survey data informed principal action plans to improve staff morale, culture, and retention.

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Promising Practices

Employee-Centered Total Rewards Strategy

• Ask staff about their satisfaction with total rewards options. Track and monitor total rewards utilization and return on investment (ROI). 
• Provide equitable and adequate opportunities for career advancement.

Flexible Staffing Models

• Investigate flexible or non traditional work arrangements (work from home, virtual classroom, etc.) for positions/jobs the organization has strategically selected.

Incentives for Education Careers

• Support educators to apply for federal, state, or association student loan forgiveness.
• Work with the community to create a listing of discount or rewards programs for educators.
• Recognize previous relevant work or military experience when determining starting salaries. 

Flexible Staffing Models

• Create a committee to investigate changes to staffing models and/or learning models (e.g., year-round school and moving employees to 260-day contracts, virtual or hybrid schools).
• Create a resource center to help PK-12 organizations design flexible work arrangements.

Funding & Policy Flexibility

• Examine funding structures and state salary schedules that do not allow for district flexibility.
• Provide districts the ability to experiment with and/or consider compensation plans that compensate individuals for factors other than degrees such as performance, additional duties, working in hard-to-staff buildings or in subjects experiencing staff shortages (i.e., differentiated compensation, performance pay, alternative compensation, strategic compensation).

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Flexible Staffing Models

Support work-life integration by exploring flexible or non-traditional work arrangements (e.g., flex schedules, work from home, combining part-time roles).

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Michigan Department of Education

Michigan's System of Permits & Staffing Flexibilities aims to grant school districts more control over hiring experienced educators, lower entry barriers, and encourage teaching as a viable career. The system allows those with non-traditional qualifications to obtain temporary permits for K-12 teaching while pursuing full certification. By doing so, it broadens the pool of potential educators, helping to address the teacher shortage. The approach enables individuals with relevant skills and experience to enter teaching even without traditional credentials. While offering an alternate route into teaching, the system upholds high standards for core content knowledge and entry into teacher preparation programs. Permit recipients must demonstrate their subject expertise through testing or coursework and are required to enroll in a teacher preparation program within the first year of teaching. This ensures students are taught by knowledgeable educators committed to the profession.

Promising Practices

Meaningful Work

• Encourage managers to learn what their employees find meaningful.
• Reduce bureaucratic workloads and maximize the amount of time employees have to engage in meaningful work. 

Community Building

• Examine educators’ schedules and provide protected time
• Create partnerships with community organizations to help educators increase their impact. 
• Establish employee resource groups.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

• Develop onboarding and mentoring programs to provide support to educators of color early in their careers. 
• Review current employee programs and policies for bias and inequities. Invest in programs or processes that improve workplace culture. 

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

• Provide professional development and guidance for improving diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
• Form a DEI advisory group to understand the experiences of educators from diverse backgrounds and develop and implement strategies for increasing workforce diversity.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

• Create or connect program participants with affinity groups.
• Evaluate curriculum through a DEI lens. Implement language- and race-conscious pedagogies.

Community Building

• Support future educators and current educators by building networks that allow people to connect.
• Engage alumni from diverse populations to serve as mentors
• Establish cohort groups to help future educators develop a professional learning community with their peers.

Meaningful Work

Help educators feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.

�Who Taught You

"Who Taught You" is a movement addressing the educator shortage and the need for investment and policy changes in the education system. The campaign aims to increase respect, recognition, and compensation for educators by collecting and sharing stories from from people with large public platforms (e.g., celebrities, athletes, business leaders, policymakers) about the impact of teachers. The goal is to shift the narrative and generate a supportive conversation that highlights educators' role in shaping children and safeguarding democracy, ultimately rejuvenating their sense of visibility and purpose.

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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)

Build a welcoming workplace culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.

�Poudre School District 

The Poudre School District (Fort Collins, CO) has established affinity groups called Employee Affinity Groups (EAGs) that are led and organized by employees. These groups are created based on shared interests, backgrounds, identities, and connections. The purpose of these groups is to provide a supportive community where staff can express themselves authentically. By participating in these groups, PSD staff contribute to creating a positive work environment that aligns with the district's values, mission, and commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Currently, the district hosts EAGs for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community, as well as for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Promising Practices

Customer Service

• Increase transparency by making information readily accessible.
• Utilize technology-enabled processes, such as self service, to eliminate wait time and improve data sharing.
• Design processes from the point of view of your employees and the experiences that you want them to have. 

Work-Life Integration

• Engage educators to understand how to serve their need for work-life integration.
• Normalize the use of employee assistance programs
• Create policies and job arrangements that enable employees to work while still meeting their personal responsibilities

Data-driven Improvements

• Collect data to understand the needs and desires.
• Conduct stay interviews and exit surveys to understand why employees choose to leave your organization and what keeps them there. 
• Examine trends in transfers within the organization. 

Customer Service

• Design programs from the point of view of candidates and the experiences that you want them to have.
• Make it easy for individuals to get answers to their questions about preparation programs.

Work-Life Integration

• Provide support to program participants with caregiving responsibilities.

Data-driven Improvements

• Gather feedback from program participants and graduates to inform preparation program improvements.

Work-Life Integration

Promote work-life balance through flexibility and support for all employees.

�West Grand School District 

The West Grand School District (Kremmling, CO) provides an early childcare center for its employees, a strategy adopted by some rural districts to enhance teacher recruitment and retention amid rising housing costs and limited local daycare options. The childcare center was established through a state grant aimed at retaining teachers. Additional funding was secured through collaboration with the local early childhood council and a nearby health center, both of which faced similar childcare challenges. By having the childcare center on the elementary and middle school campus, district employees are spared the commute to a separate childcare facility. Teachers also receive a 25% discount for the service.

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Promising Practices

Customer Service

Treat employees like customers in the workplace.

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Topeka Public Schools

Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka Public Schools (Topeka, KS), maintains a practice of reaching out to the district's 3,000 teachers and staff monthly to inquire if anyone requires time off for professional growth or personal well-being. The district has designated spaces for self-care within schools and offices, featuring dim lighting and opportunities for personal time or stress relief through exercise equipment. Notably, colleagues in the central office often handle the tasks of those taking time off, including classroom teaching. Additionally, the district awards one staff member a paid day off twice a year as recognition for “uplifting” others.

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Promising Practices

American Association of School Personnel Administrators

Kelly Coash-Johnson

Executive Director, American Association of School Personnel Administrators

Email: Kelly@aaspa.org

Twitter: @CoashJohnson

https://www.aaspa.org/

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AASPA Best Practices Magazine

The Teacher Shortage

https://assets.noviams.com/novi-file-uploads/aaspa/may_2022_bp_final_spreads.pdf

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