BALTIMORE — The first day of school in Baltimore City Public Schools is August 26. The push to hire as many teachers as possible to start that day, will continue all the way through the 25.
"Historically the team had stopped with hiring so they could focus on processing the people we've hired. Last year, we brought on additional temps to help with the processing so we could keep hiring," Emily Nielson, chief human capital officer for City Schools, told WMAR-2 News' Elizabeth Worthington.
Nielson is in charge of recruiting and hiring for the district's 162 schools and programs. She says since the end of last year, they've hired 700 new teachers. More than 100 were recruited internationally, mostly from Africa and Latin America.
We asked how many people they're short; she couldn't give us a hard number, or even a ballpark, but said the district will share it when school starts. Nielson did say they're in about the same position they were last year.
"So it's a fluid number that changes day by day. We're also talking to principals right now to make sure they have a solid plan for the start of the school year. There are a lot of schools that have zero vacancies right now. There are also some schools that are probably going to start with vacancies so we're working to make sure each school has a plan, whether that's making sure there's a sub lined up, or another coverage plan. Those conversations are happening right now, so that we can refine our vacancy number for the first day of school, which is when we share publicly," Nielson said.
Ironically, in a time where almost every school district is in need of more teachers, some are having to consider layoffs.
The state's 2021 landmark education reform, called the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, also known as the Kirwan plan, requires all new teachers to make at least $60,000 a year by 2026.
Some districts can't afford the mandated salary bump, especially as federal COVID funding for schools, or ESSER funding, ends in September 30.
"We are looking very strong in terms of not needing to lay off teachers in the projection for the next few years into the future," Nielson said of City Schools. We were very careful with how we used our ESSER money. I know many districts across the country have had to lay off teachers with the ESSER cliff ending this year. We haven’t seen that here. We’ve actually hired more teachers."
"We just increased our new teacher salary to $58,895 for this year and we're on track to meet that Kirwan requirement by the deadline," she added. The salary is up from about $53,000 a year, and is similar to what nearby jurisdictions are offering.
Nielson says teacher retention is improving every year. But the Kirwan funding is allowing them to add new positions, so they keep hiring.
"More fine arts teachers, more literacy and math coaches, other positions like that, and teachers are taking on those new assignments, so we’re then having to backfill teachers. So even though our teacher retention has been improving year over year, and we’re having to hire fewer teachers to fill those classes where teachers have left, we’ve been hiring about 1,000 teachers a year, which is significantly more than before the Kirwan funding."
In Baltimore County, there are 182 teacher vacancies as of August 1. This time last year, there were 403. A spokesperson attributes the reduction in vacancies partly to increased salaries, which have become the second-highest in the state.
In Anne Arundel County, there are 138 vacancies. This time last year, there was nearly 250, and the year prior, there were more than 402. You can see our interview with the Chief Communicating Officer from August 1 here.
In Harford County, the public school system is looking to hire about 20 more teachers. This time last year, the district had 36 openings. This year, however, there's an increased need for para-educators. There's 50 openings, compared to 32 last year.
We are working to get numbers from Howard County and Carroll County school districts.
To apply for a position in Baltimore City, click here.
To apply for a position in Baltimore County, click here.
To apply for a position in Anne Arundel County, click here.
To apply for a position in Harford County:
Anyone interested in applying for a position with Harford County Public Schools is encouraged to go to hcps.org and click on the Yellow Sun labeled “Employment Opportunities” on the main page. They are also encouraged to follow Harford County Public Schools Recruiter on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HCPSRecruiter [facebook.com]) for information on specific openings and opportunities to meet with HCPS staff to discuss current openings.
