The labor woes, however, have persisted, and the district’s tense relationship with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has been evident throughout its hiring push. The district achieved some measure of financial stability this year and is running a small surplus. Those years have been marked by fiscal crises and an ongoing dispute with the teachers union, which has been without a contract since the middle of 2013. The district’s vacancy woes re-emerged in the last couple of school years. The 2012-13 school year began with just 12 open positions. At the start of the 2011-12 school year the district reported that all of its positions - with the exception of a single library post - had been staffed. The district had, however, been able to fill its vacancies in the not-too-distant past. The 84 vacancies represent roughly 1 percent of all full-time positions. Geary also noted that some of the special education vacancies will be filled by contractors until permanent teachers can be found. “Hiring and retaining top talent remains a priority, and we continue to work to hire new teachers to fill vacancies as they occur.” “We have recruited and hired over 700 teachers, 99 percent of our teacher positions are staffed, and retention rates are up,” said district spokesman Kevin Geary in a statement. Still, the district said, its focus on hiring has borne fruit. “We’re very excited about that, and we think they will be as well.”Ī little over two months later, vacancies continue, many in traditionally hard-to-staff areas such as special education and foreign language. “This year, parents will experience something different because all of their children will be in classrooms that are staffed by certified teachers,” said Hite at the event. On June 28, the district held a press event designed to highlight its success. For much of the summer, users couldn’t log onto the district website without first seeing an advertisement seeking applicants for district teaching jobs. They rolled out a series of recruitment videos, hosted a number of job fairs, and prodded principals to take care of hiring early. The state Department of Education, meanwhile, found that three dozen students at Roosevelt Elementary School in Germantown received inadequate education due to long-term teacher absences.ĭistrict officials vowed to fix the problem. A rolling substitute teacher shortage compounded the problem, and the district held voluntary summer classes for students who’d missed out on instructional time. The district had 118 teacher vacancies when the 2015-16 school year began and 132 when the year ended. It is the most basic mission of the school.” “It is a fundamental mission for the School District of Philadelphia to begin the school year with a teacher in every classroom. “It is simply unacceptable,” Gym said of the remaining vacancies. That sentiment, however, didn’t sit well with City Councilwoman Helen Gym, who has been a leading critic of the district amid its vacancy woes. “We are significantly ahead of where we were a year ago,” said Superintendent William Hite at the end of last week. It would appear they’ve made some progress, but fallen short of their overall goal. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor
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