Recommendations Over Conclusions

As my internship progressed, I began to research each the two biggest public-school districts in the states that iteach operates in. I started by creating data points with my boss Dr. Amato. Using the basics including number of students year over year as well as the number of teachers was my starting point. Unfortunately, each district had different types of data leaving many holes in my data sheet. With the Covid-19 pandemic, school districts were not required to make their data public. This made finding data difficult.

This was the first large problem that I ran into. Because of this, we created an email template for me to send the staffing coordinators for each district. This email included questions about issues hiring teachers as well as the biggest job openings. At times, it was difficult to find email addresses or specific phone numbers with the information I needed. I was passed from one staff member to another, not receiving any of the information that I requested. Some districts only had departmentwide email addresses. I didn’t give up. Luckily, the Staffing Coordinator for one of the largest counties in the state gave the exact response that I was looking for. She answered all of my questions about the issues with hiring teachers in her state.

The first issue this district had was that the majority of their open teaching positions are in special education, but most inquiries by potential hires were for general education subjects. There is also a rising cost of living in this area forcing new teachers to live outside of the district which makes it hard to recruit. She told me that it is nearly impossible for new hires to find housing in that district. They also noted that licensure in the state was incredibly difficult to navigate causing those attempting to become a teacher in the district to be discouraged. With this information, I was able to recommend to Leaners Edge that they directly reach out to more people like her. The staffing coordinators have the most insight on the reasons why a district might be going through a teacher shortage. Dr. Amato always stressed to me the importance and goal of recommending actionable steps to her and the company. This was the first time I had that feeling where I was contributing meaningful information that could advance and change strategy within Learners Edge and iteach.