STOCKTON, Calif. — With just weeks to go until more than 40,000 students take their seats in classrooms at Stockton's largest school district, officials with the Stockton Unified School District are scrambling to fill dozens of vacancies across the district's 55 schools.
They're hiring for 137 positions, including dozens of openings for teachers.
“We know that those who see our students at sites and in the classrooms have the greatest impact," wrote Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez in a statement. "We strive to bring quality staff in order to bring world-class education for our students."
With dozens of vacancies left and just 20 days to fill them, the district is offering signing bonuses between $7,000 and $10,000. They are also hosting a job fair on July 19 from 4-6 p.m. at Flora Arca Matra School.
According to the district, more than 100 teachers retired following the 2022-2023 school year. The surge came as the nation dealt with a teacher shortage.
"We all know that there is a teacher shortage here in the region, but it's also statewide as well as national," said Girlie Hale, President of the Teachers College of San Joaquin. "One of the things that is really prevalent in the research right now is the fact that we do have a generation of teachers who are of retirement age, so through natural attrition in their careers, they are looking to retire."
With more teachers naturally leaving the field, Hale says specialized teaching positions are growing in demand.
"We have subject areas such as math, science, special ed., those are usually hard to fill positions just because they require a very specialized level of expertise," said Hale. "There are several factors that play into that teacher shortage."
While most of the reasons for San Joaquin County's teacher shortage are the same ones causing a shortage nationwide, the region's growing population is exacerbating the problem.
"We as a county are going to experience a large growth and increase in the student population that we have. We actually have the highest numeric growth anticipated within the next 10 years," said Hale. "What we do today and what we do now is going to continue to help fill the classrooms in our region."
To help recruit more teachers, Hale and the Teachers College of San Joaquin are promoting initiatives like allowing teachers to work for pay while earning their credentials and opening up a teacher residency program.
"We really work with our school districts and try to tap into their own communities. We want our schools to reflect the students in which we serve," said Hale. "We have always supported our districts, our county, and we are very pleased to continue doing that."
Editor's Note: (This story was updated to clarify that the teachers retired from the school district.)
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