School Districts Offer Perks Like $ 20,000 Signing Bonuses To Staff Classrooms As Teachers Resign Due To Burnout And COVID-Related Safety Concerns



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Learning Support Teacher Sabrina Werley works with Grade 4 student Jeremiah Ruiz at Cumru Primary School in Cumru Township on Wednesday morning April 14, 2021.

Learning Support Teacher Sabrina Werley works with 4th grade student Jeremiah Ruiz at Cumru Primary School in Cumru Township on Wednesday morning April 14, 2021. Ben Hasty / Getty Images

  • Exhausted from a year of online teaching, many educators quit their jobs.

  • Others have left because they fear receiving COVID-19 from unmasked or unvaccinated students.

  • As a result, schools are offering signing bonuses of up to $ 20,000 and other perks for filling roles.

  • See more stories on the Insider business page.

Teachers have just gone through a grueling year of distance learning. Now, many have returned to face-to-face classes and worry about their health in unmasked or unvaccinated student rooms.

Other teachers have already left work. A June survey of 2,690 members of the National Education Association found that 32% said the pandemic caused them to consider leaving the profession earlier than expected.

As a result, many school districts are scrambling to attract new talent and retain existing teachers to ensure classrooms are adequately staffed this school year.

Some of these districts offer big advantages for doing so:

  • Guilford County schools in North Carolina are offering a signing bonus of $ 20,000 new teachers who agree to work in one of the worst performing schools in the district for three years and meet certain other criteria.

  • In Oklahoma, Union Public Schools will pay $ 1,000 in signing bonuses to teachers in several subjects, as well as school nurses and speech language pathologists.

  • At LEAD Charter School in New Jersey, some teachers can expect to receive a bonus of $ 4,000 when they start working there.

Bonuses are also provided for certain returning teachers. In the Marlboro County School District in South Carolina, teachers received retention bonuses of $ 2,500 to keep them on board for another school year.

Read more: Wall Street bankers target professors and guidance counselors for hiring intelligence to gain an edge in trending market for talent

Other school districts are taking different steps to rally teachers.

The Colorado Sun reports that the state’s West Grand School District is one of several rural school districts that provide worker child care so schools don’t lose teachers because they don’t. there is no one to watch their children. Beyond school districts, states are developing plans for teacher affinity groups, professional development, and mentoring and induction programs to help retention efforts, according to K-12 Dive.

The labor shortage does not only affect the ranks of teachers. Outside of the classroom, other campus staff, such as cafeteria workers and bus drivers, are also in short supply in some schools. Some schools also offer signing bonuses for filling these roles as well.

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